Where does the truth lie?

8/9/04


Is John Kerry qualified to be the commander in chief? It depends on who you ask. If your were to ask the Kerry campaign, you would hear something in the nature of: "Of course! John Kerry served honorably in the Navy, in Vietnam, earning 3 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star." The Silver Star is the third highest military award designated solely for heroism in combat. The citation states "For distinguished gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States or while serving with friendly forces against an opposing enemy force."

If you were to ask the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth or the soon to be released book, UNFIT FOR COMMAND, you would get a resounding NO WAY! They say he had at least one self inflicted wound for one of the Purple Hearts. They say he distorted the truth to get at least one of his gallantry medals. They have many other awful things to say about the Democratic Presidential Candidate.

If you ask me, I think that the truth, as local talk show host, Neal Boortz says is somewhere in between. Did Kerry go to Vietnam when he didn't have to? Probably. Did he save the life of Jim Rassman, at the time, a lieutenant with Army Special Forces? Yes. Did he perform honorably at the time? Certainly. Can he command the respect of the US Military? I rather doubt it. He spent too much time telling the world how bad the US troops were. How they violated the rules of warfare and the Geneva Conventions and acted " in a manner reminiscent of Genghis Khan." I think that most US Military personnel will find that Mr. Kerry was too critical by far. I think that this attitude will prevail but if, by some chance Mr. Kerry wins, our military is too steeped in discipline and honor to do anything but "Shut up and soldier, Soldier."

Is Unfit For Command accurate? I doubt that it is completely accurate. I doubt that the Kerry version is exactly true. Since John Kerry has told the American public, in an almost sickeningly repetitious manner that he was a hero and since he has made it his primary campaign issue, it is a question that MUST be asked. In the name of fairness, I await additional information. Failing additional information, I think the prudent action is to simply decide that the truth is between the two groups.