John
Kerry’s 1971 Senate testimony put into the American public’s mind stories of war
crimes being done by American troops serving in Vietnam. These stories Kerry told
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and to the American people were based
on lies by men falsely claiming to be Vietnam veterans. Here is what Kerry said:
“I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several
months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged
and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast
Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the
full awareness of officers at all levels of command."
"It is impossible
to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room,
the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they
did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them
do."
"They told the stories at times they had personally raped,
cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals
and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians,
razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for
fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam
in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging
which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.”
A group of
men, posing as bonafide Vietnam veterans, got together in Detroit, told their
tall tales. Kerry then went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
the American people and repeated their tales.
Can anybody say “hear-say”?
And what about those American soldiers, still back on the ground in Vietnam?
The ones Kerry and his fake Vietnam veteran friends said were committing these
crimes “on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels
of command”? What did they get to say to the Senate Committee and the American
public?
Nothing. Silence.
Can anybody say “due process”?
Generally,
“due process” guarantees the following (this list is not exhaustive):
·
Right to a fair and public trial conducted in a competent manner
· Right
to be present at the trial
· Right to an impartial jury
· Right
to be heard in one's own defense
John Kerry’s 1971 Senate Testimony, based
on hearsay evidence from witnesses proven to be impersonating Vietnam veterans,
became “seared—seared” into the American memory. A socialization process of silencing
of American Vietnam Veterans began, which continues to this day. No due process,
just plain denial of being heard in one’s own defense.
John O’Neill has
challenged John Kerry to sue him. O’Neill has been a practicing attorney for 30
years now. That’s a serious challenge, coming from an attorney. But O’Neill knows
that in a REAL court of law – rather than the court of public opinion or a court
of the press’ own bias – he will finally recieve the due process owed to him and
all the Vietnam veterans.
Will John Kerry take up O’Neill’s challenge and
sue him? No. Kerry would be laughed out of court with the flimsy hearsay ‘evidence’
he presented to that Senate Committee back in 1971. And Kerry would be forced
to submitt ALL his medical and military records to the court – UNSANITIZED – as
part of the discovery process leading up to a trial. That means trouble for Kerry
as well, in that he has already admitted his records contain a falsely awarded
purple heart (for a wound accidentially self-inflicted) and a false claim of a
1968 Christmas in Cambodia.
Due process is owed to America’s Vietnam Veterans.
Playing touchy-feely with John Kerry and the American Press has worn thin with
the American public. Sales of O’Neill’s book, “Unfit for Command” show an America
ready to give these veterans their due process. They are buying and reading the
book in record numbers. They are “listening” – finally -- to these Vietnam veterans.
The fear of John Kerry and the fear of the American Press is that one day
these Vietnam veterans would be given due process and heard. Their fears are becoming
reality with each page turned in “Unfit for Command.” And it’s turning into their
worst nightmare...
America’s Vietnam veterans are over-dued Due Process.
And to John Kerry and the American Press, I say, “It’s over... dude.”
(Linda
Eddy is the webmaster and political cartoonist for IowaPresidentialWatch.com)
