Television political advertisements attacking (8/17/04) the conduct of the U.S. anti-terrorist campaign in Iraq show an American soldier sinking chest-deep into desert sand as he tries to keep his rifle above his head. The ad intones "[The President] got us into this quagmire. It will take a new president to get us out." The ad paints the image of a soldier surrendering, a defeated American soldier.
       A New York Times columnist, in the same vein, asks, "Who will be the last to die for his mistake?" A spokesperson for the Kerry campaign proudly proclaims "It took us 10 years to turn the American people against the Vietnam War, we have only five weeks remaining to turn them against the war in Iraq." These emotionally charged items make direct links to the anti-war movement in America in the early 1970s led by John Kerry and his Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW).
       Read below at the hyperlink to the November/December 2004 issue of the Eternal Vigilance Journal to learn how John Kerry was wrong then regarding his 1971 anti-war testimony to Congress in 1971 just as he is wrong now about the war against Islamic terrorists of global reach. You will see that:

1) The historical record shows regarding Kerry's statement in 1971 that "we cannot fight communism all over the world. I think we should have learned that lesson by now" is demonstrably wrong.

2) When asked by the Senate Committee to give his views on how the Vietnam War might be ended, John Kerry testified (pp. 11, 'The New Soldier') that America should end the war 'immediately and unilaterally.' "I would say we [should] set a date and the date would be the earliest possible date… if the United States were to set a date for withdrawal the prisoners of war would be returned." Of course this was the enemy's position at the Paris Peace Talks, then underway -- immediate withdrawal and unconditional surrender, while leaving our POWs in enemy hands.  Kerry also urged that the Congress "cut off the funds" to continue the support of South Vietnam. Of course, this is exactly the course undertaken by the Congress which cemented the fate of our South Vietnamese ally.

3) When asked by Senator Aiken how long the South Vietnamese could survive if our forces were pulled out of Vietnam, Kerry estimated that the collapse would occur within one week and that (pp. 16, 'The New Soldier') "...we have an obligation to offer sanctuary to perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 people who might face...political assassination or something else. But my feeling is that those 3,000 may have to leave that country…" Of course, that naïve, sophomoric answer was completely overtaken by reality in the years after America abandoned its South Vietnamese ally. The truth is that in 1975, when North Vietnam took over the South, a mass exodus began. Those fearing political repression or fearing for their lives desperately sought to leave the country. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million people set out by sea on anything that would float, risking starvation or drowning. Over a quarter of a million were simply lost at sea. Others were murdered, raped, tortured by pirates. The refugees headed for Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Cong, and the Philippines. As late as 1997, thousands remained in refugee camps scattered across Asia, awaiting naturalization or, even worse, repatriation.

4) John Kerry told Congress and the American people in 1971 that the South Vietnamese did not understand the difference between Communism and American democracy. Read the account of a Vietnamese sailor who served with Kerry and who remembers the horror of the North Vietnamese takeover. Dang was able to escape to the United States, shorn of his family, heritage, and country. The nineteen people in his unit were all placed in re-education camps and disappeared forever. His wife's uncle was taken to a camp on the Chinese border where the only allowed tools were bomb fragments. Without food or medicine, almost everyone in the camp soon died...The Vietnamese sailors of An Thoi -- Swift boat brothers to this day -- have a special memory of John Kerry and his testimony. In Dang's words: 'His testimony is all lies. He is a brother only to other liars -- not to my Swift boat brothers.'

5) Kerry's errors in judgment regarding the Vietnam War is taken from the testimony of Quang X. Pham, a South Vietnamese who escaped when his father, Hoa Van Pham, managed to get his wife and four children into the cargo hold of a C-130 and flown to safety in the United States before the American withdrawal in 1975. Quang was 10 years old at the time. Quang, who joined the Marine Corps after graduation from college in the U.S., tells us that his father, Hoa, a South Vietnamese combat pilot spent 12 years in the harshest rural regions of North Vietnam, doing hard labor and being fed rice and water every other day. And being told repeatedly of the evils of the totalitarian U.S. regime. Quang, who flew helicopters in the first Iraq War warns us that "the U.S. must not abandon Iraq as it did South Vietnam." If it does, we had better take heed of the Vietnam experience and "start erecting refugee camps for those Iraqis who have been on our side" as was the case for over a million of South Vietnamese after John Kerry's betrayal of them in 1971 and its aftermath.

6) If the South Vietnamese did not know the difference between Communism and American democracy as John Kerry testified before congress, why did several million of them brave death to escape on boats and whatever means to escape the communist hell of the re-education camps?

       In addition, the Eternal Vigilance issue at the hyperlink below provides insight as to the nature of the war in Iraq -- from the viewpoint of those who are actually fighting that war -- our ground combat troops. Read what they are doing and their optimism for their mission there. You seldom read or see this viewpoint in our nation's mass media. The media gives us only the bad news every day. Our brave and courageous fighting men give us the truth -- when it is not suppressed by the media. For example, read:

1) Read the essay by Major Glen G. Butler, "Over Najaf, Iraq: Fighting for Des Moines, Iowa." This Marine, flying combat helicopters over Iraq against terrorist insurgents there tells us, "Now we are on the verge of victory or defeat in Iraq. Success depends not only on battlefield superiority, but also on the trust and confidence of the American people. I've read some articles recently that call for cutting back our military presence in Iraq and moving our troops to the peripheries of most cities. Such advice is well-intentioned but wrong - if would soon lead to a total withdrawal. Our goal needs to be a safe Iraq, free of militias and terrorists; if we simply pull back and run, then the region will pose an even greater threat than it did before the invasion. I also fear if we do not win this battle here and now, my 7-year-old son might find himself here in 10 or 11 years, fighting the same enemies and their sons." He also tells us why he is fighting in Iraq, and proud of it. "I miss my family, my friends and my country, but right now there is nowhere else I'd rather be. I am a United States Marine."

2) Read the account of  The Unapologetic Warrior In Iraq, a Marine Corps Captain who is living out his heart's desire. He is a warrior who knows that he is in Iraq to kill the enemy. He leads from the front and has the complete confidence of the marines in his company who are at the tip of the spear fighting in Falujiah, Iraq against the insurgent terrorists. He informs us that "like so many attitudes of the press and public toward the military, the queasiness about unabashed combat veterans is traceable to public opposition to the Vietnam War. A cynic I know says that although Americans remember Sgt. York from World War I and Audie Murphy from World War II, the only heroes most remember from Vietnam are Colin L. Powell and John McCain. One helped fellow soldiers after a helicopter crash, the other was shot down on a mission and survived a horrendous POW experience. Neither is known for killing the enemy." This, of course, is due to the fact that the only heroes America has been allowed to celebrate since the Vietnam War are our POWs. John Kerry and his ilk who represent the 'elites' of the Boomer generation in the media, government, and all of our public institutions are the ones who have visited this shameful situation on our nation. And the Unapoligetic Warriors of a new generation, the 13ers, are having none of it. With them and the following Millennial Generation, hopefully, we can finally pull and push the 'counter-culture' revolution of the Boomers off the stage of American discourse and dump it into the dustbin of history. But we can only accomplish this if John Kerry is defeated in the November presidential election. Otherwise, the disastrous 'counter-culture' revolution, initiated in the mid-1960s and carried to partial completion by the Clintons in the 1990s will continue -- to the decay, dissolution, and finally disappearance of American civilization as our Founding Fathers formed it.

       At the hyperlink below you will also find two book reviews: one for John Kerry's 1971 'The New Soldier,' which is as strong a self-indictment as can be imagined for his unworthiness as our Commander-in-Chief. The other is for John E. O'Neill's 'Unfit for Command,' an account of John Kerry's war record as well as the betrayal of his fellow Swift Boat veterans, our Vietnam POWs and others of us who fought honorably in that war by his anti-war activities while leading the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in the early 1970s.

       This coming presidential election is likely to be very closely contested. It will also be one of the most important elections in our nation's history. It comes at a time when our nation is in the beginning stages of a decades-long global conflict with Islamic jihad. This conflict will prove to be brutal, vicious, and barbaric. Fear, terror, and dreadful threats to America's survival will require - on our part - courage, steadfastness, perseverance, and the will to win.

       Few know how to fight such a war. Despite all of the texts (Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, etc.) which 'tell' us what to expect, none of our current military leaders have ever fought such a war. They are and will be fighting this war by 'trial and error,' hopefully guided by common sense and reason. There will be setbacks. There will be mistakes. There will be uncertainties accompanying any possible course of action.

       Our civilian and military leaders must be willing to take reasonable 'risks' in the course of actions taken against the enemy - Islamic fundamentalists of global reach and all who support them. The American people must realize that such risks may be accompanied by short-term stalemates, and failures as well as the possibility of successes that must lead to a long-term victory.

       One thing this nation cannot survive in this World War is a loss of will. Such a loss led to our nation's political defeat in the Vietnam War and the betrayal of an ally, then militarily capable of winning that war with our continued material support. There are forces at work in America today which make it very difficult to remain steadfast in the pursuit of a positive outcome in our war with Jihadistan.

       Every day we see in our nation's newspapers, news magazines, television, and movies a concerted campaign to undermine the will of the American people to stand fast in the face of a deadly enemy. Michael Moore's award-winning 'documentary,' Fahrenheit 9/11 is an element of such a campaign. The current feeding frenzy regarding the Vietnam War service record of both candidates has devolved into a 'name-calling' contest. Democrats (civilian and a few retired military leaders) point to the relative 'closeness' of their candidate to combat in a 'shooting war' compared to the Republican candidate. Republicans rejoin with charges that the Democrat candidate lied and still lies about his 'combat' service record. The airwaves sizzle with charge and counter-charge with each side bringing in retired military personnel to add 'weight' to their side of the debate.

       Irrespective of the outcome of the latter 'debate,' it is clear that a group of military personnel who served in the same unit and in the same war theater as John Kerry are fighting an uphill battle to be heard. John E. O'Neill has written a book, Unfit for Command about John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam. The Kerry campaign is going all out to silence O'Neill - charging him with a 'political' vendetta. It is clear to me that John O'Neill is NOT politically motivated. With him, as it is with most of us who fought in that war, PERSONAL. We will take his betrayal of us (by publicly speaking out on behalf of the radical anti-war movement in 1971 and later) - and arguably the United States of America - to our grave.

       It is all the more important that we speak out now, in spite of the attempts by the mass media, the Kerry campaign, and the nation's liberal-Left to silence us. We were effectively 'silenced' by the mass media during the 1970s and again during the 1990s. We will not be silenced today. For too long, we have observed the Leftists - those who dodged the draft, fled to Canada, some who even demonstrated against the Vietnam War in foreign lands during the war - write the 'story' of that war. It is they who have chosen the 'heroes,' written the scripts for the Apocalypse Now and other anti-war movies, and in general denigrated the service of those who fought that war. And it is that few - Kerry's 'band of brothers' who returned and attempted to tarnish the record of those who fought with lies about our conduct -- with whom we have a PERSONAL conflict. They turned against the war. They turned against our South Vietnam ally. They turned against us. And they turned against our country.

       It took 30 years after the Vietnam War before Hollywood made a movie, We Were Soldiers, written by those who actually fought a major battle in that war. This film, starring Mel Gibson and based on the book They Were Soldiers Once ... and Young, written by LTGEN Harold G. Moore (and his troops) and Joe Galloway, told the true story of that war. John O'Neill has written a book that tells his story of that war in terms of 'setting the record straight' on John Kerry's allegedly false and misleading claims about his part in that war.

       The 28-minute documentary, 'Stolen Honor,' was to be broadcast by Sinclair Broadcast Group during the last week before the presidential election. It deals with John Kerry's post-Vietnam anti-war activities, featuring  our Vietnam War POWs, the Swift Boat veterans who believe Kerry is unfit for command, and others. The Kerry campaign called on lawyers to exert not only enormous political pressure to keep the film from being broadcast and in the end  threatened shareholder suits by  trial lawyers and government officials to 'pull the show.' In spite of the fact that Michael Moore's flawed 'documentary' was hailed with glee by Democrat supporters and given wide publicity by the mass media, the 'Stolen Honor' film will not be broadcast as originally produced. This coercion by the power tactics of trial lawyers is a brazen attempt at censorship by the Kerry campaign.

       There are others or us who have a story to tell but we have not told it until now. For my small contribution to this effort, I have written three essays and published them in the September/October 2004 issue of the Eternal Vigilance journal as well as the November/December 2004 issue at the hyperlink below. The first issue deals with the war in Iraq, Michael Moore's movie, and the role that Small Town America plays in all of this. The second is as stated above. These essays are accessible on this Web Site.

       We realize that the 2.5-3.0 million who served in Vietnam (and several hundred thousand of us who were shot at in combat there) are but a sliver of the vote in the 2004 election. But for those of you (or those you might know) who are 'undecided' in the upcoming election, it is important that you hear us out. Even though our problem with John Kerry is PERSONAL, we believe it must be heard by those who know little of the Vietnam War - and may care even less.

       It is my hope that you will let your friends, family, and acquaintances know of the existence of the issue of the Eternal Vigilance journal at the hyperlink below - especially if they and/or their friends are 'undecided' in this election. It is vitally important that this information get as wide a distribution as possible before the election. You can do your part by dispersing it far and wide.

       Please click the following hyperlink for all of this material in the November/December 2004 issue of the Eternal Vigilance Journal. It resides on a page on the Dialup4less server and is entitled,

                                                                 John Kerry: The Manchurian Candidate


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