Fact Check on new swift boat ad - Democratic Underground

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Fact Check on new swift boat ad

SBVT AD FACT CHECK

AD TITLE: “Friends”
DATE: 9/21/04
PAID FOR BY: Texas Friends of George Bush, Karl Rove & Karen Hughes

Bush Veterans Group Once Again Twists The Facts

Smear Boat Announcer: “Even before Jane Fonda went to Hanoi to meet with the enemy and mock America, John Kerry secretly met with enemy leaders in Paris.”

Smear Boat Announcer: “Though we were still at war and Americans were being held in North Vietnamese prison camps. Then he returned and accused American troops of committing war crimes on a daily basis.”

Smear Boat Announcer: “Eventually Jane Fonda apologized for her activities, but John Kerry refuses to. In a time of war, can America trust a man who betrayed his country?”

Bush Veterans Group Has a Problem Telling the Truth

Associated Press: “Swift Boat Writer Lied on Cambodia Claim” (AP, 8/25/04)

Washington Post: “Records Counter a Critic of Kerry- Fellow Skipper's Citation Refers To Enemy Fire” (8/19/04)

New York Times: “The Group's Arguments Have Foundered on Other Contradictions.” (8/20/04)

Bush Veterans Group Not Seen As Credible

Las Vegas Sun: “Ad's Smear Should Be Condemned” (8/9/04)

Washington Post: “Swift Boat Smears” (8/12/04)

CNN: “Key Parts of Their Story Don’t Ad Up” (CNN, Now with Paula Zahn, 8/7/04)

Smear Vets Try to Stir Up Old News – Kerry Went to Peace Talks to Learn the Facts About Status of POW’s

Kerry Went Held Informal Discussion at Peace Talks About Status of Returning American POW’s. “(O)n a trip to Europe with his new bride, Mr. Kerry, the 26-year-old ex-lieutenant took a taxicab from Paris to a suburban villa. … ‘It's not a big deal,’ he says now. ‘People were dropping in. It was a regular sort of deal.’ Senator Eugene J. McCarthy had visited Paris months earlier, and other officials often sat in with the Vietnamese and held news conferences afterward. Mr. Kerry said he considered it a fact-finding mission. The talks had been stalemated for months. Still on the table was a year-old Vietcong initiative that included an offer to release American prisoners of war when American forces pulled out. Mr. Kerry recalled ‘testing what I thought the lay of the land was’ in the meeting. ‘Not that you take their word for their word, but because you sort of put the pieces of the puzzle together.’ Asked why the Vietnamese would meet with a 26-year-old, Mr. Kerry suggested it was because he had been on television as a veteran opposed to the war. He acknowledged that they might have been trying to use him to shape American public opinion. ‘I knew that, and I was trying to be careful about what was real and what wasn't real,’ he said. ‘I wanted to really probe. I wanted to look them in the eyes, and say, 'Well, what happens if this happens? And what does this mean?' (New York Times, 4/24/04)

Kerry Did Not Travel to France With Intention of Meeting with Peace Talk Participants. “After their May 1970 marriage, Kerry traveled to Paris with his wife, Julia Thorne, on a private trip, (Kerry spokesman Michael) Meehan said. Kerry did not go to Paris with the intention of meeting with participants in the peace talks or involving himself in the negotiations, Meehan added, saying that while there Kerry had his brief meeting with Binh, which included members of both delegations to the peace talks. … ‘Senator Kerry had no role whatsoever in the Paris peace talks or negotiations,’ Meehan said in his statement. ‘He did not engage in any negotiations and did not attend any session of the talks. Prior to his Senate testimony, he went to Paris on a private trip, where he had one brief meeting with Madam Binh and others. In an effort to find facts, he learned the status of the peace talks from their point of view and about any progress in resolving the conflict, particularly as it related to the fate of the POWs.” (Boston Globe, 3/25/04)

Kerry’s 1971 Testimony Was Relating the Stories He Heard From Fellow Vietnam Veterans—Incidents Which Have Been Openly Admitted & Investigated Since

Kerry Spoke About Testimony He Had Heard From Vietnam Veterans. “I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do.” – John Kerry (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony, 4/22/71)

• Toledo Blade Wins 2004 Pulitzer for Series Exposing American Atrocities in Vietnam. “Three (Toledo) Blade reporters won the Pulitzer Prize - journalism's highest honor - for uncovering the atrocities of an elite U.S. Army fighting unit in the Vietnam War that killed unarmed civilians and children during a seven-month rampage. Michael D. Sallah, Mitch Weiss, and Joe Mahr received the investigative reporting prize for their series – ‘Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths’ - which detailed how the Army failed to stop the atrocities after commanders were told about them. The reporters also discovered that the Army failed to prosecute soldiers who killed unarmed civilians after an investigation found the platoon had committed war crimes. (Toledo Blade, 4/6/04)

• Newsweek: “Record Shows Atrocities Did Occur.” “The historical record shows that atrocities did occur in Vietnam, as in the My Lai massacre or the so-called Tiger Force activities that were recently uncovered.” (Newsday, 2/22/04)

• Vietnam Historian Says There’s No Question Atrocities Occurred. “Stanley Karnow, author of ‘Vietnam: A History,’ said there is no question that atrocities occurred on both sides in the Vietnam War. (Boston Globe, 5/13/04)

• Gen. Tommy Franks: Certain That Atrocities in Vietnam Did Take Place. “I think we had a lot of problems in Vietnam. One was the lack of leadership of young people like in - - in John Kerry's position. He was a young officer over there, and I'm not sure that -- that activities like that didn't take place. In fact, quite the contrary. I'm sure that they did. ...I wouldn't say that the things that Senator Kerry said are undeniable about activities in Vietnam. I think that things didn't go right in Vietnam.” (Hannity and Colmes, 8/3/04)

In 1971 Kerry Condemned America’s Political & Military Leadership—Not His Fellow Veterans

Kerry’s Testimony Was an Indictment of America’s Political Leadership—Not Fellow Veterans. “We are also here to ask, and we are here to ask vehemently, where are the leaders of our country? Where is the leadership? We are here to ask where are McNamara, Rostow, Bundy, Gilpatric and so many others. Where are they now that we, the men whom they sent off to war, have returned? These are commanders who have deserted their troops, and there is no more serious crime in the law of war. The Army says they never leave their wounded. The Marines say they never leave even their dead. These men have left all the casualties and retreated behind a pious shield of public rectitude. They have left the real stuff of their reputation bleaching behind them in the sun in this country.” – John Kerry (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony, 4/22/71)

Kerry Clearly Referred to the Political Leadership at the Time. JUDY WOODRUFF: “They are saying, in effect, you were accusing American troops of war crimes.” JOHN KERRY: “No, I was accusing American leaders of abandoning the troops. And if you read what I said, it is very clearly an indictment of leadership. I said to the Senate, where is the leadership of our country? And it's the leaders who are responsible, not the soldiers. I never said that. I've always fought for the soldiers. In fact, not only did we oppose the war, but we proudly stood up and fought for the additions to the GI Bill so that vets would be able to use it. We fought for the V.A. Hospitals. I wrote the Agent Orange legislation with Tom Daschle. I helped with the post-Vietnam stress syndrome outreach centers. I'm proud of the record of fighting for soldiers and for veterans. And the fact is if we want to redebate the war on Vietnam in 2004, I'm ready for that. It was a mistake, and I'm proud of having stood up and shared with America my perceptions of what was happening.” (CNN, Inside Politics, 2/19/04)

Kerry Has Stated That His Words Were Those of An Angry Young Man Determined to End a War

Kerry on His Use of the Word “Atrocities” KERRY: I thought a lot, for a long time, about that period of time, the things we said, and I think the word is a bad word. I think it's an inappropriate word. I mean, if you wanted to ask me have you ever made mistakes in your life, sure. I think some of the language that I used was a language that reflected an anger. It was honest, but it was in anger, it was a little bit excessive. (NBC, Meet the Press, 4/18/04)

Kerry On His Use of the Words “War Criminals” KERRY: It was, I think, a reflection of the kind of times we found ourselves in and I don't like it when I hear it today. I don't like it, but I want you to notice that at the end, I wasn't talking about the soldiers and the soldiers' blame, and my great regret is, I hope no soldier--I mean, I think some soldiers were angry at me for that, and I understand that and I regret that, because I love them. But the words were honest but on the other hand, they were a little bit over the top. And I think that there were breaches of the Geneva Conventions. There were policies in place that were not acceptable according to the laws of warfare, and everybody knows that. I mean, books have chronicled that, so I'm not going to walk away from that. But I wish I had found a way to say it in a less abrasive way. (NBC, Meet the Press, 4/18/04)

Kerry on His Relating the Stories Told By Other Vietnam Veterans. MR. RUSSERT: But, Senator, when you testified before the Senate, you talked about some of the hearings you had observed at the winter soldiers meeting and you said that people had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and on and on. A lot of those stories have been discredited, and in hindsight was your testimony... SEN. KERRY: Actually, a lot of them have been documented. MR. RUSSERT: So you stand by that?
SEN. KERRY: A lot of those stories have been documented. Have some been discredited? Sure, they have, Tim. The problem is that's not where the focus should have been. And, you know, when you're angry about something and you're young, you know, you're perfectly capable of not--I mean, if I had the kind of experience and time behind me that I have today, I'd have framed some of that differently. Needless to say, I'm proud that I stood up. I don't want anybody to think twice about it. I'm proud that I took the position that I took to oppose it. I think we saved lives, and I'm proud that I stood up at a time when it was important to stand up, but I'm not going to quibble, you know, 35 years later that I might not have phrased things more artfully at times. (NBC, Meet the Press, 4/18/04)

Kerry’s trip was not linked to Jane Fonda’s

Kerry Opposed Fonda's Controversial Trip to Hanoi; Thought It Was "Wrong."

• "Kerry's campaign so far has been low-key in reaction to the GOP criticism, noting only that he did not approve of Fonda's controversial trip to Hanoi." (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2/13/04)
• "Kerry aides said he did not support Fonda's trip to Vietnam, an action for which many veterans still refuse to forgive her more than 30 years later." (CNN.com, 2/10/04)
• "'It's guilt by association,' (Historian and Kerry biographer, Prof. Douglas) Brinkley said. ' "Hanoi Jane" is a lightning rod among many veterans. Even today, many remain angry about her trip to Vietnam. But John Kerry has always spoken out that he thought that trip was the wrong thing to do.' " (Los Angeles Times, 2/12/04)

More Details Reveal Swift Boat Vets Closer to Bush & Rove Than Previously Thought

“Texas Oilmen Key Donors to Swift-Boat Group's Anti-Kerry Ads, Report Says.” “Texas oilmen, led by takeover specialist T. Boone Pickens, have helped fuel the anti-Kerry advertising campaign of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a report shows. Pickens contributed $500,000 to the group, the report said. A second oilman from Dallas, Albert Huddleston, contributed $100,000. The group, whose controversial attacks on the war record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry have attracted national attention, claims it has raised $6.7 million, but it portrays itself as a grass-roots effort thriving on small contributions. The group reported that it spent more than $700,000 to buy time for an anti-Kerry commercial now running on national cable television and paid for it with the contributions listed. Pickens, 75, founder of Mesa Petroleum, the largest independent oil-and-gas producer in the United States, made the largest contribution. A major Republican donor, he previously has supported both Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush. Huddleston, 51, also is a major Republican donor. The chief executive of Hyperion Resources, an oil-and-gas company, raised at least $100,000 for Bush's 2000 campaign. He also is a heavy donor to GOP candidates in Texas, giving $704,500 in 2002, according to the nonpartisan group Follow the Money, which monitors Texas political contributions. The Kerry campaign contends the group is directed by President Bush's re-election campaign in violation of federal law. Three election-watchdog groups have filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission. The veterans group's legal counsel, Benjamin Ginsberg, who also was an adviser to Bush, resigned from the president's campaign after the complaints were filed.” (Knight Ridder, 9/12/04)

Best Known For Helping Bush Smear McCain, Wyly Brothers Now Smearing Kerry. “Texas brothers Sam Wyly and Charles Wyly Jr. each donated $10,000 (to the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush). The brothers, longtime financial backers of Bush, were best known for their ties to Republicans for Clean Air, which spent more than $2.5 million in 2000 attacking McCain's environmental record. McCain has denounced the Swift Boat campaign. Texas investor T. Boone Pickens, who recently donated $2 million to another Republican group that is running anti-Kerry ads, donated $500,000 and is the group's largest donor so far. Dallas oil executive Albert Huddleston, a fundraiser for Bush in 2000, gave $100,000.” Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who gave the group its seed money, donated $200,000 more. (LA Times, 9/11/04)

Bush Pioneers/Rangers Funneling Money to Kerry Attack Ads. According to a newly released Federal Election Commission report, the 527 group known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from George Bush’s leading fundraisers.

“4th Prez Guy Tied to Anti-Kerry Ads” “A fourth Bush campaign official has been linked to a veterans group hammering Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam War heroism. GOP convention Chairman David Norcross practices law in the same D.C. firm, Blank Rome, as William Schachte, a retired Navy admiral who says Kerry did not deserve one of his Purple Heart medals, Time magazine reported yesterday. Schachte is aligned with the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has dominated the campaign in recent weeks with accusations that the former Swift boat skipper is lying about how he got his war medals.” (NY Daily News, 8/30/04)

Bush-Cheney ’04 Lawyer Becomes Second Campaign Official to Resign for Ties to Swift Boat Ads. “Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer for the Bush campaign, resigned Wednesday, a day after acknowledging that he had given legal advice to the anti-Kerry group. Ginsberg said he never told the Bush campaign what he discussed with the group or vice versa, and didn't advise the group on ad strategies. The Kerry campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of illegally coordinating the group's ads.” (AP, 8/25/04)

“Bush Adviser Quits After Appearing in Swift Boat Ad” “A volunteer adviser has quit President Bush's re-election campaign after appearing in a veterans group's television commercial blasting Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's involvement in the Vietnam-era antiwar movement. A Bush campaign statement said it did not know that retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier had appeared in an ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The Kerry campaign has accused the group of illegally working with the Bush campaign.” (CNN.com; 8/22/04)

AP: Florida Bush Headquarters Busted for Handing Out Swift Boat Material. “A volunteer for John Kerry said Friday he picked up a flier in Bush-Cheney headquarters in Gainesville, Fla., promoting Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group the Bush campaign has insisted for weeks it has no connection to. The Kerry campaign e-mailed the flier to news organizations Friday, declaring that the Bush-Cheney campaign was ‘busted’ for coordinating ‘in their smear campaign against John Kerry.’ The flier distributed at Alachua Co. Republican Party headquarters promotes a weekend rally sponsored by ‘Swift Boat Vets for Truth’ and other groups.” (AP, 8/20/04)

New York Times: Bush Family, Bush Political Aide Have Close Ties to These Ads. “In a series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush’s chief political aide, Karl Rove. Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.” (NYT, 8/20/04)

Dallas Morning News: “Veterans' Group Critical of Kerry Backed by Bush Supporter.” Bob Perry, a major supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party, is the biggest financial backer of a veterans group seeking to discredit Democrat John Kerry's military service, according to federal records. Perry, a Houston homebuilder, gave $100,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that has been critical of Kerry's anti-war activities after he returned from Vietnam. That accounted for two-thirds of the organization's receipts to date. (DMN, 7/23/04)

New Polls Find Swift Ads Backfiring on Bush; Majority of Americans Also Believe He Should Denounce Them

Voters Increasingly Believe Bush Behind Smears. “A plurality of Americans believe the Bush campaign is behind the television ads run by critics of John Kerry over his service in Vietnam and his antiwar statements after he returned to the United States. Belief in Bush campaign backing of the ads increased” as the campaign went on. (Annenberg National Election Survey, 8/27/04)

Another Poll Says Half of Americans Believe Bush Behind Smear Campaign on Kerry. According to a poll done by the Gallup Organization, half of all Americans believe Bush is behind the despicable smear campaign on John Kerry. “When asked if they think Bush is responsible for the ads, half of Americans say yes -- 21% say he is ‘very’ responsible, while another 29% say ‘somewhat’ responsible.” (Gallup Organization press release, 8/27/04; http://www.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=12823)

Bush on Wrong Side--Majority of Americans Disagree with Bush Decision Not to Condemn Smear Ad on Kerry. According to the same poll from Gallup , a majority of Americans disagree with President Bush’s decision to condone the smear ad on Kerry. Most Americans believe Bush should have specifically condemned the ad: “Should Bush denounce the commercials? So far, the president has denounced ‘all’ ads by groups outside the campaigns, but has refused to single out the ad criticizing Kerry's service. A majority of Americans, 56%, say he should denounce the specific commercials.” (Gallup, 8/27/04; http://www.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=12823)

“Swift Boat Ads Push GOP Veteran Into Kerry Camp.” “Ed Belfoure, who flew helicopters as a Marine in Vietnam, is a registered Republican. But he promises to cross party lines in November to vote for Democrat John Kerry for president. Belfoure, of Washington, Pa., said yesterday he cannot abide the ‘despicable television ads’ that donors to President Bush's campaign have aimed at Kerry. A group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has attacked Kerry's service record in Vietnam. Kerry received Silver and Bronze stars and three Purple Hearts in the war -- honors that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth say he did not deserve.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 8/25/04)

Former Advisor to Nixon, Ford & Reagan Says “Below-the-Belt” Ads Backfire. Regarding the potential for these ads to backfire, former Nixon, Ford and Reagan advisor, David Gergen said, “While negative ads work in a short term, if they're seen as unfair, as below the belt, as smear tactics, they can backfire on the candidate in the long term.” Gergen also stated that, “in the long term, it may backfire against the White House, especially if Americans decide that the ads are incorrect, they're lies, they're smears, and they're part of a dirty tricks campaign.” (CNN, Inside Politics, 8/25/04; CBS Evening News, 8/23/04)

Vietnam Veteran Predicts These Ads Will Backfire. “At least some veterans have rejected the campaign, and even suggest it could backfire. Dan Foulk, who dropped napalm over the rivers patrolled by swift boats while an air force pilot in Vietnam (said) ‘I don't think it's changing the election at all.’ Standing beside the second world war memorial in Washington, DC, Mr Foulk, 72, said he and his veteran friends were more concerned with healthcare and ‘their sons and daughters dying in Iraq’ than a controversy over medals.” (Financial Times, 8/25/04)