Veteran retracts criticism of Kerry

[fishface]

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | August 6, 2004

WASHINGTON -- A week after Senator John F. Kerry heralded his wartime experience by surrounding himself at the Democratic convention with his Vietnam ''Band of Brothers," a separate group of veterans has launched a television ad campaign and a book that questions the basis for some of Kerry's combat medals.

But yesterday, a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a ''terrible mistake" in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- one of the main allegations in the book. The affidavit was given to The Boston Globe by the anti-Kerry group to justify assertions in their ad and book.

Elliott is quoted as saying that Kerry ''lied about what occurred in Vietnam . . . for example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back."

The statement refers to an episode in which Kerry killed a Viet Cong soldier who had been carrying a rocket launcher, part of a chain of events that formed the basis of his Silver Star. Over time, some Kerry critics have questioned whether the soldier posed a danger to Kerry's crew. Crew members have said Kerry's actions saved their lives.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/06/veteran_retracts_criticism_of_kerry/

[LynneSin]

1. Well thank goodness Scaife can just bulk that book

since obviously the truth is emerging about it and we'll find out that John E. O'Neill essentially wrote a bunch of crap!

[fishface]

2. The wingnutz will now attack him as a liar.

Yesterday he was a good God fearing man of truth..today an obvious America hating liberal.(wink wink)

[saigon68]

3. I agree these revisionists will shred him

f any of this shit were true-- good old J. Edgar Hoover who had thousands of pages on Kerry in the 70's would have exposed him

This is ALL BULLSHIT meant to influence Brain dead trailer trash.

[Bandit]

36. He is a LIAR

It odesn't matter now he has already blown any credibility he ever had. Once he realized that he had contradicted his own glowing account of Kerry's bravery he knew his credibility was shot. He either lied then or is lying now, either way he is a LIAR.

[struggle4progress]

64. Bingo. He can't change his story repeatedly and retain credibility. eom

[sniffa]

7. buLk buys

i've received 5 emaiLs in 2 days from newsmax offering to send me the book for free. now you know why the book is #1 on amazon.

[Rebellious Republican]

4. To little to late Elliot, the books in print asshole!

[Disturbed]

5. He smelled the law suit.

!

[KurtNYC]

32. I hope he smells a lot more of it the near future

[shockingelk]

45. He should hire O'Neill's law firm and sue O'Neill for fraud

Afrter all O'Neill's firm specializes in fraud: http://www.copwf.com/firm_profile/highlights.htm

[mindfulNJ]

6. whoa...

they've REALLY stepped in it this time, haven't they?:crazy:

[ChrisK]

8. Did he not READ what he was signing?!

I mean I can understand small print and how one can miss that but this?..Come on, you were quoted right there IN THE BOOK!!

I'll give him credit for standing up and saying that he felt if was a "terrible mistake" to sigh the statement but still.

Somewhere....a republican is crying. :)...Oh I mean :(

[BiggJawn]

21. Of course not. it was Radar's job to read it...

Didn't you ever see Henry Blake signing stuff on "M.A.S.H."?
<sarcasm>

[Ducks In A Row]

35. ! <snork>

[Hoping4Change]

52. Hi there ChrisK

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[hippywife]

9. Thank you, Fishface!

There is a particularly mean freeper that has been trolling on a music message board that I frequent heralding this crap these assholes have been putting out. Yesterday, he posted a link to the video ad. I posted two articles and two links about the criteria for being awarded the purple heart and the silver star. His response was to ask just which of these four posts makes Lieutenant Commander George Elliot a liar. It was with great pleasure that I responded this morning with the link to this story.

I tell everyone who doesn't know about DU to come here at least for the LBN. Nothing like having thousands of people scanning the news and bringing it all together in one place. This particular forum on DU has always proved to be the most useful of them all.

:yourock:

[fishface]

12. You're welcome..

I myself edned up here after being accused of being a "DU moron" so I came over to see what the fuss was all about.
Best thing I've done in a long time. I've found more stuff to bitchslap the wingnutz here in the short time I've been coming than ever before.

THANKS WINGNUTZ!! :evilgrin:

BWHAHAHAHAHAAAA

[demnan]

18. Hey, it's DU Moran, you know!

(Freeper spelling)

[skip fox]

46. Yes, a great source of news worldwide. All the DU news-junkies providing

a great service.

But when you get done with the serious business of new, look in the Lounge for CAPTIONS!!!!

[Merlin]

10. Hopefully this will make the major news stories about this book today.

I have to say, any soldier who criticizes a GI for shooting an enemy soldier who was carrying an RPG launcher just because he's retreating is a freaking liar. He would do the same in an instant if he had ever been in real combat.

[The Magistrate]

41. Indeed, My Friend

Shooting the enemy in the back is the sum of all tactical and strategic thought....

Since this wretch was Lt. Kerry's commanding officer at the time, he was responsible for investigating the circumstances of any proposed citation, and his initial claim he was decieved about the circumstances of this one is tantamount to a confession he himself was an incompetemt commanding officer. Thus, he cannot smear Sen. Kerry in this regard without revealing himself a man who ought to have been cashiered.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[sendero]

11. Liars develop a conscience?

I hope that Dems are not done until everyone involved in those sorry ads is humiliated, discredited, shamed.

I guarantee you, this guy's change of heart had more to do with legal/reputation issues than it did with a sudden development of a conscience.

[TacticalPeek]

13. Chuck Todd is on c-span now reading this article on Elliott.

At least it is getting some coverage.

Elliott sounds like a pretty confused fella. It can be hard to keep the lies straight if you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground.

[stanwyck]

14. I hope this gets better coverage

than Chuck Todd's muddled piece. If we had a real media, not corporate pets, this story would be paramount this morning and the American people would be angry at the deceit and treachery of the Bushies. But this vague CSPAN report which is as confusing as Elliott himself is not going to get the job done.

[Oilwellian]

17. Did you see....

the pained look on Todd's face as he was reporting the reversal of Elliot's stance? I can't wait to see the rest of the media whores eat crow today. :D

[leftchick]

22. yes I saw it...

Todd looked like he wanted to vomit. Then I switched to CNN where Bill Hummer was absolutely salivating over the original story. No mention of the retraction. We need an AWOL commercial FAST to couter this crap. Moveon.org perhaps?

[Braden]

15. Elliott stood by Kerry in '96

so this reversal isn't too surprising. Either way Rove's key message about the Vietnam debate has absolutely no credibility.

Do you think the Repubs are going to bring to New York the Air Force Dentist who check-ed up the chimps choppers?

[The Zanti Regent]

16. HE SHOULD BE SUED FOR LIBEL AND TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS!

Too little. too late.

[flordehinojos]

19. "Those questioning Kerry's medals, Rassman said, 'are angry about [Kerry]

speaking out against the war.'"

In their attack on Kerry they seem to have taken a page from George Herbert Walker Bush's own life.

As pointed out by Tarpley and Chaitking, the authorized biography of George Herbert Walker Bush hails him as a heroe of WWII jumping out of a plane in Sept. of 1944 which had been hit by the enemy and which the elder Bush says had the wings covered in flames and smoke and the engine blazing. He radioed one of the other flyers in another plane that bailing out was the only option. This man's report states that Bush and one other person were seen to bail out of Bush's plane, that "Bush's chute opened" and he was seen to "land safely in the water, inflate his raft, and paddle away from Chi-Chi-Jima."

However, Tarpley and Chaitking, authors of George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography, write that the turret gunner of the plane flying directly ahead of Poppy's has stated, that there was a puff of smoke coming out of Bush's plane which quickly dissipated and that no more smoke came out of the cockpit when he opened the canopy to bail out. He also adds, he never saw any other parachutes come out.

The gunner maintains that Bush could have saved the lives of the two other men if he had attempted a water landing. He never did.

A link to Webster G. Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin's George W. Bush, The Unauthorized Biography' Chapter 6, in which the full account of Bush's bailing out of the Barbara II appears is here:
http://www.tarpley.net/bush6.htm

Anyhow, my point is that the Bush people are trying to smear Kerry in what appears to have been Poppy's own cowardly actions long ago in the air and on the waters of the Pacific.

Why is it easier for me to believe that Bush simply bailed out of a plane without a minute's thought for either of his two crew members, than it is to believe the story of heroism that Bush wraps himself in?

Also, why is it that John Kerry's presence seems to offer one the hope and reassurance of someone who would be there in one's moment of need?

Maybe because there is a generation history of cowardice and lies trailing the Bush family. Something that does not appear to be there for Kerry.

:hippie:

[demnan]

20. He must have been in debt

and all that Scaife money looked good to him at that time.

[AirAmFan]

31. Great point! The key question for these vets is, 'How much in expenses,

free travel and meals, and other payments have you received in connection with your Swift Boat Veterans for Truth activities?"

Sitting in for Allen Colmes on 'Hannity and Colmes' the other night, a Democratic female USC law professor asked one of the Swift Boat Vets many good questions, but not your key question.

In this Bush economy, I guess every little bit helps. Maybe Scaife's people have made the mistake of not CONTINUING to buy these people off until Election Day.

[AirAmFan]

37. Not Scaife money--at least not directly. It was Bob Perry money--or

subsidized housing.

Questioning a Swift Boat Vet on 'Hannity and Colmes", Susan Estrich (the USC law professor) asked whether he knew Bob Perry. The reply was, 'YES--I "BOUGHT" MY HOME FROM HIM'.

Heres the URL for a Yahoo story about Perry's bankrolling of the Swift Boat Vets:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040805/ap_on_el_pr/republican_donor&cid=694&ncid=1963&sid=96378798

In light of this info, three additional questions become quite relevant for the Swift Boat vets: Do you own a home? When and from whom did you buy it? How much did you pay?

[farmbo]

23. Introducing the GOP's "Band of Boneheads"

eom

[yelladawg]

24. The truth will get out

More of these so-called Vets will admit to their lies.

[Geo55]

25. Ahh...that's so much crap ,

it's like when lawyers say stuff that is over the top , then are overruled by the judge.....the jury still gets the image.
Typical wingnut BS....put it out there , then it's , oops my mistake , my bad.

[seventhson]

26. some key excerpts from the retraction of the affidavit:

from the article linked in the original post:


Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said he regretted signing the affidavit and said he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star.

''I still don't think he shot the guy in the back," Elliott said. ''It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here."

Elliott said he was no under personal or political pressure to sign the statement, but he did feel ''time pressure" from those involved in the book. ''That's no excuse," Elliott said. ''I knew it was wrong . . . In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake."

The affidavit also contradicted earlier statements by Elliott, who came to Boston during Kerry's 1996 Senate campaign to defend Kerry on similar charges, saying that Kerry acted properly and deserved the Silver Star.

[StopTheMorans]

27. great news!

kick

[LiberalVoice]

28. Oh boy...

The shits really hit the fan for Shrub now! <>

[yellowcanine]

29. Wait a damn minute-he makes a serious charge and now he says "sorry,

my mistake"?????? I think he needs to do a little more than that. How about signing another affidavit refuting the previous one and a public apology to John Kerry? - and getting any statement made by him removed from the ad?

[Karenina]

60. Mr. Elliot is now BUSTED

as a LIAR. He needs to look John Kerry in the eye PUBLICLY, answer any questions the gentleman may have about his behaviour and APOLOGIZE. If he has truly "seen the light" he'll come cleaner than he's been. In the next hours/days, we'll see what kind of pressure is brought to bear to prevent him doing so.

This shit is GROTESQUE and runs counter to the core values Mr. Elliot's mama and his military service (same thing :evilgrin:) taught him. He KNOWS what he did was WRONG. Will he bust the fascists? Stay tuned! Ah, the Ami drama...

[KurtNYC]

30. Pet Goat Veterans for Bush - Sue him TODAY

He signed something he admits he knew was not true. If this isn't slander or perjury WHAT IS?

The Kerry campaign should go ahead and say they have heard enough baseless lies. This clown's lie is out there, some damage has been done. An apology (if there was one) is not enough. We could get mileage out of this thing -- drag the other Bush rangers into it.

The Bush camp lies about not being associated with these guys.

[KansDem]

33. He acted without thinking...

So, let's assess the situation:

Lt. John F. Kerry--thinks and acts decisively as a swift boat commander, earns 5 medals, saves the life of a member of his crew;

Lt. Cmdr. George Elliott--acts without thinking, causing a lie to appear in print;

Lt. George W. Bush--neither thinks nor acts as POTUS and CC, causing of the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis;

Who would YOU want as YOUR Commander in Chief?

[Spiffarino]

34. Forwarded story link to Knight-Ridder

:kick:

[ProfessorGAC]

38. I Would Bet Elliott Took Cash

He signed the affidavit for cash, knowing full well he could later retract.

So, he took Scaife's money and then stuffed if up his giggie.

At least i hope so.
The Professor

[Neshanic]

48. Right Professor. Someone knows, and a dime was gonna be dropped

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

39. "time pressure"

Scaife is completely unprincipled. I'll bet the "time pressure" was manufactured just so this guy would hopefully not read the thing carefully before he signed.

And when it was #2 at Amazon, it wasn't even in the top 100 at Barnes & Noble. Proof of bulk buying.

[proud patriot]

40. Good for him

:-) now he can sleep at night without medicating
himself .

[seventhson]

42. DRUDGE HAS IT FRONT PAGE - IN RED LETTERS!!!

That is a good thing.

[vickie]

44. This is very good.

Apparently (of course too late) this man grew a conscience. Hopefully this will further discredit these despicable characters.

I must say, I was surprised by how the sanctimonious screamers from cable tv (with the exception of the frauds of Faux - with the shocking exception of O'Reilly who said the evidence of Kerry's war record obviously supports Kerry) were very tepid and careful on this topic. They mostly sided with Kerry, as the swift boat crew that actually served with him attested to and supported his valor and bravery. Having Rassman (the special ops officer he pulled from the river) out there is very helpful. Having McCain denounce it is equally helpful.

Most of the blatherers seemed to agree that this has the potential to do more damage to the Dim Son than to Kerry (as Kerry actually volunteered to serve).

After the fake BIMBO story and now this. What are these clowns going to come up with next? Kerry was with goats...he's a cross-dresser...wife beater...bank robber...

We are dealing with some really loathesome scum!

Vickie Carter
Redondo Beach, CA

[kwolf68]

51. Next thing will be

Kerry slaughtered an innocent child in Vietnam.

[skip fox]

47. Drudge is as screwy as they get, but he KNOWS a good story!

n/t

[Der_Alte]

43. lied about Kerry's recd

Big question. Where can we bury this retraction, deep, deep?

[Ravy]

49. I think he should allow moveon.org to make a commercial

talking about the tactics these guys are using and really get the word out.

Suing will bring negative publicity to the Kerry campaign. The word of this retraction should be made very public, very quickly, and used against the real culprits.

Let the producers of this trash sue him for providing a false afidavit to them if they dare.

[marlakay]

50. All this stuff pisses me off!

Why are we allowing them to tear kerry apart like this? It is appalling to me with all the sh.. that bush has done that we spend valuable time disarming this crap!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

55. Me too...

Especially since Kerry actually served his country while Dumbyass was AWOL!

Here's a great outlet for your frustrations: http://images.spankbush.com/spank32.swf

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

53. Right, wrong or indifferent,

in a war, the job of the military is to KILL the other guy.
I can imagine if Kerry had chosen to not shoot, thirty years later, the rePubs would be accusing him of cowardice in the face of the enemy.
I'm glad to hear that this guy is rectracting what he has said, though some damage has been done......

[jhml]

54. Vet says retraction report inaccurate

The following statement from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth concerns an article appearing in morning edition of the Boston Globe:

"Viet Vet Captain George Elliott describes an article appearing in today’s edition of the Boston Globe by Mike Kranish as extremely inaccurate and highly misstating his actual views. He reaffirms his statement in the current advertisement paid for by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Captain Elliott reaffirms his affidavit in support of that advertisement, and he reaffirms his request that he ad be played.

“Additional documentation will follow.

The article by Mr. Kranish is particularly surprising given page 102 of Mr. Kranish’s own book quoting John Kerry as acknowledging that he killed a single, wounded, fleeing Viet Cong soldier whom he was afraid would turn around.

[jeanmarc]

56. That's a nondenial denial

He doesn't actually deny a thing.

[A_Possum]

57. Bwhahahahaha

Georgie Elliot has walked himself into a mine field, blindfolded.

What an officer.

Awwww.

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

58. got a link?

I don't see anything about that on their home page.

[chuckhoward]

59. It's on Drudge

n/t

[fjc]

61. link

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash5.htm

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

62. thanks

As usual, I'll believe it when I see it somewhere credible.

[Zorra]

67. The "not too swift" boat veterans said that he took back the retraction

"Captain George Elliott describes an article appearing in today’s edition of the BOSTON GLOBE by Mike Kranish as extremely inaccurate and highly misstating his actual views. He reaffirms his statement in the current advertisement paid for by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Captain Elliott reaffirms his affidavit in support of that advertisement, and he reaffirms his request that the ad be played.

Not Elliot. Why is there not a direct quote from Elliot?

Not too swift boat veterans for Bu$h is a right wing republican financed organization designed to lie for specific propaganda purposes.

Bu$h was AWOL.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5761856

Kerry Service Record

http://www.vietnamwar.net/Kerry-2.htm

Link to extensive service record of Kerry and "service record" of Bu$h

http://www.awolbush.com/kerry-vs-bush.asp

Once again: John Kerry volunteered for active duty in Vietnam. Bu$h went AWOL from the National guard, and never, ever saw Vietnam.

[struggle4progress]

65. If he didn't retract the affidavit he's still lied once. And if he ...

did retract the affidavit, then he's lied twice. Who cares whether it's once or twice? Once a liar, always a liar.

[janx]

66. Mr. Elliot now has a credibility problem--and by extension,

so do the Swift Boat Vets for Bush*.

It's a shame they ever got involved in this campaign. They're being used.

[wildeyed]

63. In addition to making this group

look like the liars that they are, the article nicely highlights Kerry's heroism.

Kerry won the Silver Star for his action on Feb. 28, 1969, in which he shot a Viet Cong soldier who had been carrying a rocket launcher and running toward a hut. All of Kerry's crewmates who participated and are still living said in interviews last year that the action was necessary and appropriate, and it was Elliott who recommended Kerry for the Silver Star.

[0rganism]

68. This may, against all odds, become an _actionable_ libel case

With standards for proving libel against a public figure being what they are, it's traditionally quite difficult to get a conviction. Now, if it comes out that people signed false affadavits under pressure from a publisher with the prior intent of harming John Kerry, the case gets some traction.