It's good to see John Kerry fighting back against these ridiculous "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" or whatever the lying bastards are calling themselves.
The sheer absurdity of Bush supporters attacking Kerry's war record aside, he was to go after these guys. People should know that they're full of shit, and they should know that president Bush has specifically refused to condemn their attacks.
The Washington Post today also had more evidence that one of the leaders of SBVFT, Larry Thurlow, has been blatantly contradicting military records of his own service in his attacks on Kerry.
But Thurlow's military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."
--snip--
Last month, Thurlow swore in an affidavit that Kerry was "not under fire" when he fished Lt. James Rassmann out of the water. He described Kerry's Bronze Star citation, which says that all units involved came under "small arms and automatic weapons fire," as "totally fabricated."
"I never heard a shot," Thurlow said in his affidavit, which was released by Swift Boats Veterans for Truth. The group claims the backing of more than 250 Vietnam veterans, including a majority of Kerry's fellow boat commanders.
A document recommending Thurlow for the Bronze Star noted that all his actions "took place under constant enemy small arms fire which LTJG THURLOW completely ignored in providing immediate assistance" to the disabled boat and its crew. The citation states that all other units in the flotilla also came under fire.
The fact that these allegations have been given as much airtime as they have is truly sad. Some simple research shows that these guys are just liars. I really hope the whole thing just blows up in their faces.
