an attack article someone wrote which is also on the website. I wish I could post more of this article because it's a MUST READ. Worth reading the attack article which this one is in response to, also. Kerry's campaign could use this.
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Flinging the Foul Mud of VietnamJohn Kerry returned a hero. The smears his political enemies are now flinging mark them -- not him -- as beneath contemptMUDDYING THE WATER. Unfortunately, soldiers -- including American soldiers -- commit atrocities in all wars. That was true even of the so-called Greatest Generation in World War II, it was true in Korea and Vietnam, and it's undoubtedly true in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Denying that is to deny the reality of war. And failing to face the harsh realities of war is what makes it so easy for the U.S. to slide into nasty, unnecessary conflicts -- like Vietnam and the Iraq War now.
Americans should never go to war except in the full knowledge that it's going to wreak terrible pain on the enemy, the civilian populations involved, and our own troops. That doesn't make the service of those who served honorably any less honorable. But anyone who denies that some American soldiers committed atrocities in Vietnam is kidding themselves. You can quibble over the exact words Kerry used and whether he should have said them when he did, but in broad terms he spoke the truth.
The purpose of the attacks against Kerry, however, isn't to get at the truth. It's a media campaign, with TV ads intended to create a vague, negative impression where none existed. The people behind the ads know that by any realistic assessment of the facts, Kerry has a major advantage over Bush when it comes to their respective military records. They want to muddy the waters to reduce Kerry's advantage. It's amazing that such bald-faced tactics can gain any traction with voters.
NO EQUIVALENCY. The critics know that if they can just manufacture the appearance of controversy, most reporters -- in the name of "balancing" their stories -- will play along. Attacks on Bush, such as an ad funded by the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org that questioned Bush's military record, have been given equal weight with the vets' attack ads in some stories.
More of this great read:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2004/nf20040823_6115_db045.htm