Swift Vets and POWs for Truth

   

Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, formerly known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), is an organization of American Swift boat veterans and former prisoners of war of the Vietnam War, which became the subject of controversy during the 2004 presidential election campaign when it challenged John Kerry's accounts of this wartime service, the legitimacy of some of his combat medals, and his later anti-war activism. SBVT stated, "Kerry's phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels [sic] us to step forward." Other Vietnam veterans, a number of whom served directly under Kerry or who witnessed the incidents in question, disputed the criticisms of Kerry's medals and supported Kerry in his presidential aspirations. (See John Kerry military service controversy.)

The SBVT, registered under Section 527 of the U.S. tax code, publicized its criticisms of Kerry during the election campaign in a book, in television advertisements that the group ran in swing states, and in the media coverage some members received. The group was the target of complaints from the Kerry campaign (alleging that SBVT illegally coordinated with the Bush campaign) and independent groups (alleging improper fundraising).


Membership

In a best selling book, released in August 2004, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, SBVT authors criticize Kerry's war record.
Enlarge
In a best selling book, released in August 2004, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, SBVT authors criticize Kerry's war record.

The SBVT was formed in 2004. Membership was restricted to veterans of the Vietnam War who at some point served in a Swift boat unit, as did Kerry. Founding members of SBVT include Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (retired), a former commander of Swift boat forces; Houston attorney John O'Neill, the officer who had replaced Kerry as commander of Swift Boat PCF 94 in 1969 and who appeared opposite Kerry in a televised 1971 debate between them on The Dick Cavett Show; and 13 other named veterans. Several of those who joined SBVT during the 2004 campaign were officers who had previously praised Kerry's conduct during the Vietnam War. These included Division Commander Grant Hibbard, who wrote positive evaluations of Kerry, and Commander George Elliott, who submitted Kerry for a Silver Star. SBVT counts, in total, 16 of the 23 surviving officers who served with Kerry in Coastal Division 11 as members. [1] (http://swift1.he.net/~swiftvet/article.php?story=20040808144320243)

Of the 3,500 Swift boat sailors who served in Vietnam, the names of some 250 appeared on the group's statement against Kerry. Later, two of the veterans whose names appeared on the letter denied giving permission for their names to appear and alleged that SBVT would not remove their names when requested by them to do so.[2] (http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&tts=1&display=rednews/2004/09/01/build/state/25-swift-boat.inc) Afterwards, SBVT removed the contested names.[3] (http://www2.swiftvets.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=52483#52483).

The group's initial letter against Kerry stated "It is our collective judgment that, upon your return from Vietnam, you grossly and knowingly distorted the conduct of the American soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen of that war (including a betrayal of many of us, without regard for the danger your actions caused us). Further, we believe that you have withheld and/or distorted material facts as to your own conduct in this war." [4] (http://hail.he.net/~danger/swift/article.php?story=20040629220813790) In response to this latter charge, Kerry posted a partial collection of these military records to his campaign site. [5] (http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/military_records.html) [6] (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=143-04232004)

Of those who served in Kerry's boat crew, only Stephen Gardner joined SBVT. All other living members of Kerry's crew supported his presidential bid, and some frequently campaigned with him. Kerry crewmembers have disputed some of SBVT's various allegations: "pure fabrication" (Jim Rassmann), "totally false" (Drew Whitlow), "garbage" (Gene Thorson), and "a pack of lies" (Del Sandusky). [7] (http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1089817512150830.xml) [8] (http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=19101&format=text) [9] (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/9327026.htm?1c) [10] (http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0408/06/ltm.03.html) No members of SBVT were aboard Kerry's boat during any of the incidents for which he was decorated. For his part, Gardner - who claims to have served on Kerry's boat longer than any of the others - appeared in the group's third television advertisement, contending that Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" story is categorically false (see below).

On September 29, 2004, SBVT announced that it was joining forces with a group of American prisoners of war who were held captive by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War to form the new group, "Swift Vets and POWs For Truth". [11] (http://swift4.he.net/~swift4/article.php?story=2004092911015589)

Media activities

SBVT produced several television advertisements attacking Kerry's actions both in and after Vietnam. For a detailed discussion of SBVT's allegations about Kerry's service in Vietnam, see John Kerry military service controversy.

First television advertisement

SBVT first went public with a May 4, 2004, press conference declaring opposition to Kerry. When the press conference garnered little attention, the organization decided to produce television advertisements. On August 5, 2004, SBVT began airing a one-minute television spot [12] (http://humaneventsonline.com.edgesuite.net/unfit_video_wmv.html) in three hotly contested states in the ongoing presidential election. The advertisement, entitled "Any Questions?", was a collage of short clips of thirteen SBVT members, many who stated they "served with John Kerry" or had direct contact with Kerry during his service in Vietnam. The veterans appearing in the ad said John Kerry was dishonest, unreliable, unfit to lead, and had dishonored his country and fellow veterans. [13] (http://www.swiftvets.com/script.html) None of the men in the advertisement served on the same Swift boat as John Kerry, but some patroled and sailed along side with Kerry's Swift boat on multi-boat patrols. The advertisement generated tremendous media attention and debate about the group and its cause.

Second television advertisement

On August 20, 2004, SBVT released a second television advertisement ((transcript) (http://swiftvets.com/selloutscript.html), (video) (http://swift2.he.net/~swift2/sellout.wmv)) featuring a portion of Kerry's April 1971 testimony ((transcript), (audio) (http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/20/1535232)) before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry, testifying as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), had criticized U.S. policy in Vietnam. He had also described VVAW's 1971 Winter Soldier Investigation, in which more than a hundred soldiers and civilians said they had seen or committed atrocities carried out by U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry's Senate testimony presented a summary of these men's statements; he did not, however, claim any personal knowledge of these atrocities. The SBVT advertisement alternated clips of Kerry's summary of these statements with charges from Vietnam veterans, particularly former POW's, that Kerry's "accusations" had demoralized and "betrayed" soldiers in Vietnam.

See also Fulbright Hearing.

Third television advertisement

A third television advertisement began airing on August 26, 2004, attacking Kerry's past statements that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968 (see "Cambodia Mission" below). This advertisement featured Stephen Gardner stating, "John Kerry claims that he spent Christmas in 1968 in Cambodia and that is categorically a lie. Not in December, not in January. We were never in Cambodia on a secret mission, ever." (video) (http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/gunner.wmv) (transcript) (http://swiftvets.com/gunnerscript.html) Gardner was part of Kerry's crew from November, 1968 to January 23, 1969.

Fourth television advertisement

On August 31, 2004, a fourth advertisement was released by SBVT. The advertisement described Kerry as a man who "renounced his country's symbols," a reference to a Vietnam War protest where Kerry threw war decorations over the fence of the U.S. Capitol building on April 23, 1971.(video) (http://swift3.he.net/~swift3/medals.wmv)(transcript) (http://swiftvets.com/medalsscript.html) The advertisement also contained video clips of Kerry from a WRC-TV program called Viewpoints, in which he stated that he gave back "six, seven, eight, nine medals."[14] (http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Investigation/kerry_vietnam_medals_040425.html)

See also John Kerry VVAW controversy.

Book

SBVT founder and spokesman John O'Neill wrote Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry with co-author Jerome Corsi. The book was published by the conservative Regnery Publishing. A best-seller upon release in August 2004, it criticized Kerry's judgment in battle, his truthfulness, his entitlement to certain medals, and his later anti-War activities. The book was based in part on interviews with some 60 Swift boat veterans who served in Kerry's division. Several members of Kerry's crew stated that O'Neill failed to interview them; some who were interviewed asserted that O'Neill edited their statements to strip out material favorable to Kerry. [15] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html?pagewanted=3&hp) Neither of the co-authors claimed any firsthand knowledge of Kerry's service. O'Neill served on the Swift boats only after Kerry left; Corsi never served in Vietnam.

Controversy

Truthfulness

A major part of the SBVT controversy centers around what some believe is inconsistent and misleading testimony. Among the first to question the veracity of the first ad, was Republican Senator John McCain, a Bush supporter and a Vietnam veteran, who stated, "I condemn the [SBVT] ad, it is dishonest and dishonorable, I think it is very, very wrong." [16] (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=120364&page=1) Several major newspapers were also skeptical of the SBVT allegations. For example, a New York Times news article stated, "on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth prove to be riddled with inconsistencies." [17] (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2747923) ABC News's The Note opined, "the Swift Boat ad and their primary charges about Kerry's medals are personal, negative, extremely suspect, or false." [18] (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=120304&page=1) A Los Angeles Times editorial stated, "Not limited by the conventions of our colleagues in the newsroom, we can say it outright: These charges against John Kerry are false." [19] (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-swiftpress24aug24,1,3137952.story?coll=la-home-headlines)

An August 28 Time magazine poll surveyed public credence in the SBVT advertisements among those who viewed them. The poll showed that about one-third of viewers believed there was at least "some truth" to the allegations. Among swing voters, only about one-fourth felt there was any truth to the ads. [20] (http://www.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,689369,00.html)

Connections with Republicans

SBVT characterized itself as a non-partisan group both in the legal sense and in spirit. But critics have alleged partisanship, pointing out that several prominent individuals who assisted the SBVT also had close ties to the Republican Party. For example, SBVT's chief financiers, according to the group's last quarterly IRS filing, are Houston builder Bob J. Perry and the Crow family, both major Republican donors from Texas. Perry is a long time Bush supporter who has donated $200,000 to fund the SBVT ads. [21] (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2747923) [22] (http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=667&pubid=422) SBVT's media representative, Merrie Spaeth, was a Reagan administration press officer and an advisor to Ken Starr in the Clinton impeachment. Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar, ran for Texas lieutenant governor on George W. Bush's ticket in 1994. John E. O'Neill — the primary author of Unfit for Command and a key player in the formation of SBVT — donated over $14,000 to Republican candidates, was a partner in Lezar's law firm, and co-operated with the Nixon White House in opposing Kerry in 1971. [23] (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4534274/) Retired Admiral William Schachte, the principal source for the SBVT allegations about Kerry's first Purple Heart, has donated to both of Bush’s presidential campaigns. [24] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47542-2004Aug30.html) Chris LaCivita, director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002, works as a private contractor providing media advice for SBVT. [25] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/politics/campaign/25CND-SWIF.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position) The SBVT postal address was registered to Susan Arceneaux, treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a PAC closely tied to the archconservative former Congressional leader Dick Armey. [26] (http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/08/28/swift_bush/index.html)

These ties, along with others (see below), led to accusations that SBVT was a front group for Republicans and caused SBVT to take considerable heat from some observers in the popular press. Slate's editor, Jacob Weisberg, wrote that SBVT was part of the "right-wing slime machine." [27] (http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2105353&)

Connections with the Bush campaign

The Bush campaign became part of the general SBVT controversy when Senator John McCain condemned the first SBVT ad, and said, "I hope that the president will also condemn it." The Bush campaign did not specifically condemn SBVT or the SBVT ads, but stated "We have not and we will not question Senator Kerry's service in Vietnam." [28] (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=5899870) Kerry was dismissive of this statement, saying, "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." [29] (http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0819.html) More recently, Kerry alleged that SBVT was "a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know — he wants them to do his dirty work".

Critics and the Kerry campaign pointed to several specific connections between SBVT and the Bush campaign that they contend are improper. The Kerry campaign asserted that Bush campaign headquarters in Florida distributed fliers promoting SBVT events, a charge the Bush campaign denied.[30] (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-08-20-swift-boat-flier_x.htm) Kenneth Cordier, former vice-chair of Veterans for Bush/Cheney (in 2000) and volunteer member of the Bush campaign veterans steering committee, appeared in the second SBVT advertisement. The Bush campaign asked him to resign and stated that it had been unaware of his SBVT involvement. [31] (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040822/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_ads&cid=694&ncid=716)

On August 25, 2004, Benjamin Ginsberg, lead counsel to the Bush campaign on campaign finance law, also resigned after it was learned that the SBVT was one of his clients. Ginsberg stated that he was withdrawing to avoid being a distraction to the campaign. He declared that he had acted "in a manner that is fully appropriate and legal,"[32] (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20040825/ap_on_el_pr/veterans_group_bush), arguing that it was not uncommon or illegal for lawyers to represent campaigns or political parties while also representing 527 groups. He also maintained that he did not disclose to the Bush campaign that he was simultaneously representing the SBVT group. After leaving the Bush campaign, Ginsberg retained his status as counsel to the SBVT.

FEC complaints

On August 20, 2004, the Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the activities of the SBVT were illegally coordinated with Republicans and the Bush-Cheney campaign. Under federal election law, the SBVT, as a nonpartisan 527 group, was barred from coordinating with any political campaign. The complaint, citing the "ties" noted above, claimed a "web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures, and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove". The complaint added that independent research had discredited the SBVT's claims on its website and in the first television advertisement (the only one that had aired when the complaint was prepared). [33] (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/20/kerry.swiftboat/index.html), [34] (http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/08/19/politics/campaign/20040820swift_graph.gif)

The Bush campaign dismissed charges of ties and asserted there was no co-ordination between SBVT and the campaign. Editorial opinion on the evidence for co-ordination varied. ABC News's The Note opined, "There is no evidence that the Bush campaign is orchestrating the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." [35] (http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote_Aug2304.html) In contrast, the New York Times characterized the SBVT attacks as "orchestrated by negative-campaign specialists deep in the heart of the Texas Republican machine." [36] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/25/opinion/25wed2.html)

On August 10, 2004, three campaign finance watchdog groups — Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center, and the Center for Responsive Politics — jointly filed an independent complaint with the FEC. The complaint alleges that SBVT's sources of funding are in violation of federal election law. [37] (http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/press-1254.html) The same groups later filed a complaint about Texans for Truth, another 527 organization that has run advertisements criticizing Bush's military service record.

Withheld documents

Both sides of the debate have withheld documentation that might settle questions about some of SBVT's accusations. The Kerry campaign refused to release the Senator's private journals and boat log to the press. The campaign cited an exclusivity agreement with historian Douglas Brinkley; however, the agreement only requires that quotations from the materials cite his book, Tour of Duty. [38] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40110-2004Aug27.html) Kerry has not signed a military Form 180 (http://www.swiftvets.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Form180) authorizing an exhaustive release of his Navy records. In mid-September the Navy mentioned 31 pages of documents could not be released in response to a request by Judicial Watch. [39] (http://www.judicialwatch.org/3829.shtml)

Similarly SBVT members refused to release documents. A journal by another of the Swift boat commanders and the relevant Navy records of some of the SBVT members involved in specific allegations have not been released.

The White House refused to release records detailing any Bush administration contacts with prominent individuals associated with SBVT. The denied Freedom of Information Act request was filed on August 24 by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. [40] (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=35271)

External links

SBVT and Kerry web sites

First-hand accounts

News articles about SBVT

Editorial and opinion

Other


Further reading

  • O'Neill, John and Jerome Corsi, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, Regnery Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0895260174


Retrieved from "http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Swift_Vets_and_POWs_for_Truth"

This page has been accessed 136 times. This page was last modified 00:43, 22 Nov 2004. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).