As if this wasn't enough, Kerry fought endlessly over the years to resume normal trade relations with Vietnam even though the prerequisite for this was for the Vietnamese government to prove that it had released all POWs and accounted for MIAs. Sounds reasonable, right? Despite numerous documents detailing sightings of POWs in Vietnam, Kerry shredded copies to prevent the news from being leaked and, thus, derailing his trade normalization pet project.
In his guilt over his part in the Vietnam War, Kerry bent over backwards to aid the Viet Cong and bulldoze normal trade relations over the bodies of those soldiers tortured and/or dead in Vietnam.
You see, it's not all about the fact that Kerry served and that he acted heroically in battle. That's not enough. Kerry would have to have been proud of his service and to back his fellow Americans serving in the war accordingly. Yet his testimony before Congress, his ties to anti-war groups and activities and his Senate record demonstrate that this was not the case.
Want to argue that Bush assaulted the memories of the dead with his 9/11 ads? Fine. Just remember that the only viable alternative to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has repeatedly assaulted the memories of MIAs and the sensitivities of POWs to assuage his guilt over his involvement in Vietnam.
Yet, he will not let us forget that he's a war hero, and never mind the rent-a-Vietnam-Vet-mob, standing behind Kerry. Why was not Kerry behind them? That is what the smart, informed voter will be asking.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
TalkRadioRegurgitations(tm).
2 - Angelina Baker
The Bush doctrine speaks for itself: complete failure.
EARLY 2001 " MAJOR SURGE IN AL QAEDA ACTIVITY: “In late spring 2001, a sudden surge in activity began among known Al Qaeda operatives…a reporter from Middle East Broadcasting visited bin Laden at a camp in Afghanistan and noted that his supporters were preparing for attacks against American ‘interests.’”[Source: The Age of Sacred Terror, 2003]
EARLY 2001 " WHITE HOUSE DEPARTS FROM EFFORTS TO TRACK TERRORIST MONEY: The new Bush Treasury Department “disapproved of the Clinton Administration’s approach to money laundering issues, which had been an important part of the drive to cut off the money flow to bin Laden.” Specifically, the Bush Administration opposed Clinton Administration-backed efforts by the G-7 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that targeted countries with “loose banking regulations” being abused by terrorist financiers. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration provided “no funding for the new National Terrorist Asset Tracking Center.” [Source: The Age of Sacred Terror, 2003]
JULY 2001 "ANOTHER WARNING THAT AL QAEDA PLANNED TO USE PLANES AS MISSILES: The LA Times reported that U.S. and Italian officials were warned in July 2001 that "Islamic terrorists might attempt to kill President Bush and other leaders by crashing an airliner into the Genoa summit of industrialized nations." [Source: LA Times, 9/27/01]...this relates also to Condi and Cheney's lies about having no idea that al Qeada might use airplanes as weapons.
AUGUST 2001 - PRESIDENT PERSONALLY WARNED OF AL QAEDA AIRPLANE PLOT: ABC News reported, Bush Administration "officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes." Dateline NBC reported that on August 6, 2001, the President personally “received a one-and-a-half page briefing advising him that Osama bin Laden was capable of a major strike against the US, and that the plot could include the hijacking of an American airplane." [Source: ABC News, 5/16/02; NBC, 9/10/02]
SO LITTLE CONCERN FOR COUNTER-TERROR THAT A WHITE HOUSE TASK FORCE NEVER MET: The increased warnings about an al Qaeda attack led President Bush in May of 2001 to appoint Vice President Cheney to head a task force "to combat terrorist attacks on the United States." At the announcement, Bush said "I will periodically chair a meeting of the National Security Council to review these efforts." But according to the Washington Post, neither "Cheney's review nor Bush's took place." Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that when senators "sent a copy of draft legislation on counterterrorism and homeland defense to Cheney's office on July 20," they were told by Cheney's top aide "that it might be another six months before he would be able to review the material." [Source: White House release, 5/8/01; Washington Post, 1/20/02; Newsweek, 5/27/02] A vindication of Clarke.