[CTRL] Devil's Advocate: Kerry's War Record

[Adam Bruce]

-Caveat Lector- I do not support the Bush campaign and neither do I support the Kerry campaign.  However, because I often debate with people close to me on these issues, I have recently been put in the position of seeming to support Kerry to some as I try to point out that my Republican friends are just as susceptible to being manipulated and deceived by the politicians that they trust.  This is just one example of what I have found.   Kerry made a big deal of having been in Cambodia at Christmas time, an illegal place to be internationally as we were not at war with Cambodia.  Do you think that he was saying this to draw attention to the fact that it was Christmas that it happened or was he trying to draw attention to the presence of U.S. forces in Cambodia?  Whether or not he was there, I am asking if thrust of his point (invalid or not) was that it was Christmas or that they were in Cambodia illegally?   ~~~   http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108895,00.html (A snip)   Now, there are serious charges. And let me just review very briefly the most serious ones, or, or at least the most interesting ones. The first is that Kerry lied about spending Christmas in Cambodia in 1968. Now, you know, not a single one of his crew mates has said, Yes, we went to Cambodia with Kerry, not another swift boat commander has said he went there or ever heard of anybody going there.   And now Doug Brinkley, the historian, the Kerry historian, has said, no, he wasn't there around Christmas. But you remember, Mort, that Kerry had said many, many times he was there, even in, as a senator ...   ~   http://www.drudgereport.com/dnc93.htm   TOUR OF DUTY author and John Kerry historian Doug Brinkley is rushing a piece for the NEW YORKER: to set-the-record-straight on Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia tale, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.   Kerry has turned to author Brinkley for a "modification" after it was exposed that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas of 1968, as he once claimed from the Senate floor.   The Brinkley piece for the NEW YORKER will now say that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas, but rather in January, publishing sources tell DRUDGE.   ~~~   Now I will repeat the comments and questions at the beginning of this text:   Kerry made a big deal of having been in Cambodia at Christmas time, an illegal place to be internationally as we were not at war with Cambodia.  Do you think that he was saying this to draw attention to the fact that it was Christmas that it happened or was he trying to draw attention to the presence of U.S. forces in Cambodia?  Whether or not he was there, I am asking if thrust of his point (invalid or not) was that it was Christmas or that they were in Cambodia illegally?   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Is it more important whether or not he was there or that it was not Christmas?  Is it possible that the memory that Kerry said was "seared" into his mind (probably largely a visual remembrance) involved a wreath here and there, perhaps a ribbon somewhere?  Is whether or not it was exactly Christmas even important?  Many memories have strong emotional associations so it is entirely possible that Christmas was strongly on his mind, like other vets there at the time, as he was unable to be with his loved ones.   Isn't it funny that the very commanders alleged to have contradicted Kerry's record were just fine with Kerry's performance (to the point of awarding him medals) but switched stances when he got back to the U.S. and TALKED.   Is it patriotism to lie to the American people or otherwise deprive such of the truth, by silence or other means?   It's like the difference between a father that beats his children and claims to love his children more than someone who does not.  Who is listening?  Child abusers, that's who?  Now I don't mean to say that all Bush supporters or that the veterans in questions are child abusers; this is merely an anology and I expect that those caught up in the mindset of blind patriotism are not going to understand the bearing of this analogy on this topic.  This is testimony to the fact that one's belief system are often blinding, whatever one's beliefs are.  I hope this highlights the difference between belief and knowledge.   To say that Kerry is responsible for the anti-establishment sentiment generated by atrocities in the Vietnam war is no different from saying that activists or other dissenters are instigators without which everything would be fine.  Yeah, everything would be fine for those whose interest is in committing such atrocities.   Today, John Kerry may be as corruptible and/or corrupted as any other politician.  I provide this piece because it is absolutely necessary to the health of our people that, on both sides of the political spectrum, we understand that nearly all of us are being manipulated.  There is no surer way to ensure that you are being manipulated than to refuse to entertain that you just might be.     www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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