Ollie Roolz....Kerry Droolz... ;-) Joe Industry is increased, commodities are multiplied, agriculture and manufacturers flourish: and herein consists the true wealth and prosperity of a state. - Alexander Hamilton, Report on a National Bank, December 13, 1790
----- Original Message ----- From: "Pat Smoot" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 5:49 PM Subject: [RollTideFan] Gotta love Ollie > Bring it on, John > Oliver North > > August 27, 2004 > > "Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question my > service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack > group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service > in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on.'" -- Sen. John Kerry > > Dear John, > > As usual, you have it wrong. You don't have a beef with President George > Bush about your war record. He's been exceedingly generous about your > military service. Your complaint is with the 2.5 million of us who served > honorably in a war that ended 29 years ago and which you, not the president, > made the centerpiece of this campaign. > > I talk to a lot of vets, John, and this really isn't about your medals or > how you got them. Like you, I have a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. I only > have two Purple Hearts, though. I turned down the others so that I could > stay with the Marines in my rifle platoon. But I think you might agree with > me, though I've never heard you say it, that the officers always got more > medals than they earned and the youngsters we led never got as many medals > as they deserved. > > This really isn't about how early you came home from that war, either, > John. There have always been guys in every war who want to go home. There > are also lots of guys, like those in my rifle platoon in Vietnam, who did a > full 13 months in the field. And there are, thankfully, lots of young > Americans today in Iraq and Afghanistan who volunteered to return to war > because, as one of them told me in Ramadi a few weeks ago, "the job isn't > finished." > > Nor is this about whether you were in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968. Heck > John, people get lost going on vacation. If you got lost, just say so. Your > campaign has admitted that you now know that you really weren't in Cambodia > that night and that Richard Nixon wasn't really president when you thought > he was. Now would be a good time to explain to us how you could have all > that bogus stuff "seared" into your memory -- especially since you want to > have your finger on our nation's nuclear trigger. > > But that's not really the problem, either. The trouble you're having, John, > isn't about your medals or coming home early or getting lost -- or even > Richard Nixon. The issue is what you did to us when you came home, John. > > When you got home, you co-founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War and > wrote "The New Soldier," which denounced those of us who served -- and were > still serving -- on the battlefields of a thankless war. Worst of all, John, > you then accused me -- and all of us who served in Vietnam -- of committing > terrible crimes and atrocities. > > On April 22, 1971, under oath, you told the Senate Foreign Relations > Committee that you had knowledge that American troops "had personally raped, > cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human > genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly > shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, > shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged > the country side of South Vietnam." And you admitted on television that > "yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other > soldiers have committed." > > And for good measure you stated, "(America is) more guilty than any other > body, of violations of (the) Geneva Conventions ... the torture of > prisoners, the killing of prisoners." > > Your "antiwar" statements and activities were painful for those of us > carrying the scars of Vietnam and trying to move on with our lives. And for > those who were still there, it was even more hurtful. But those who suffered > the most from what you said and did were the hundreds of American prisoners > of war being held by Hanoi. Here's what some of them endured because of you, > John: > > Capt. James Warner had already spent four years in Vietnamese custody when > he was handed a copy of your testimony by his captors. Warner says that for > his captors, your statements "were proof I deserved to be punished." He > wasn't released until March 14, 1973. > > Maj. Kenneth Cordier, an Air Force pilot who was in Vietnamese custody for > 2,284 days, says his captors "repeated incessantly" your one-liner about > being "the last man to die" for a lost cause. Cordier was released March 4, > 1973. > > Navy Lt. Paul Galanti says your accusations "were as demoralizing as > solitary (confinement) ... and a prime reason the war dragged on." He > remained in North Vietnamese hands until February 12, 1973. > > John, did you think they would forget? When Tim Russert asked about your > claim that you and others in Vietnam committed "atrocities," instead of > standing by your sworn testimony, you confessed that your words "were a bit > over the top." Does that mean you lied under oath? Or does it mean you are a > war criminal? You can't have this one both ways, John. Either way, you're > not fit to be a prison guard at Abu Ghraib, much less commander in chief. > > One last thing, John. In 1988, Jane Fonda said: "I would like to say > something ... to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused > to deepen because of things that I said or did. I was trying to help end the > killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and > careless about it and I'm ... very sorry that I hurt them. And I want to > apologize to them and their families." > > Even Jane Fonda apologized. Will you, John? > > > Oliver North is a nationally syndicated columnist, host of the Fox News > Channel's War Stories and founder and honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance. > > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List > > Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit > http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net > > New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP. > > > ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net New AOL.com addresses are NOT allowed on this list. Get a real ISP.
