[at-l] OT War & Hazardous Duty Pay - WAAY off topic

[ellen at clinic.net (ellen)]

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 5 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) rushed to John F. Kerry's defense Thursday, condemning a new ad claiming the Democratic presidential nominee lied about his military record and betrayed his Vietnam comrades by protesting the war. 

McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, called on President Bush to condemn the ad, which was financed in part by a major Republican Party donor in Texas. 

On Thursday, McCain addressed the tussle over a new 60-second ad produced by a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group includes dozens of Vietnam veterans and claims Kerry exaggerated his wounds to win war medals and betrayed soldiers with his antiwar protesting after he returned from Vietnam. The group is organized as a Section 527 organization, which allows it to raise and spend unlimited "soft" money that federal candidates are prohibited from using. 

A GOP firm based in Alexandria -- Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm -- produced the spot, which began airing Thursday in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The ad is part of a broader effort to discredit Kerry's war service that includes a new book, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry." While the book will not be released until later this month, it was ranked first in sales Thursday on Amazon.com. 

The general counsel for the Kerry campaign and the Democratic National Committee sent television stations a letter asking them not to run the ad because it is "an inflammatory, outrageous lie" by people purporting to have served with Kerry. 

In an interview with the Associated Press, McCain called the ad "dishonest and dishonorable." Asked if the White House was behind it, McCain said: "I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad." 

Weary

> ------------Original Message------------
> From: "J Bryan Kramer" <jbryankramer@msn.com>
> To: "'Rami'" <rbenhameda@comcast.net>
> Cc: "'AT-L'" <at-l@backcountry.net>
> Date: Thu, Aug-5-2004 8:26 PM
> Subject: RE: [at-l] OT War & Hazardous Duty Pay - WAAY off  topic
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 1.     an actual veteran who showed up for duty.
> 
> 3 purple hearts in 4 months not one of which required 1 minute of
> hospitalization. Gave himself a Bronze star for the scratch on his 
> butt.
> Gave himself a Silver Star for shooting a loin cloth clothed, wounded 
> vc
> teenager in the back. 200 of 227 living small boat vets have signed a 
> letter
> saying he is not fit for command including the doctors who treated his 
> self
> inflicted purple heart wounds and ALL of his commanding officiers.
> 
>             Not one of those plans has _ANY_ details. What has he done 
> in 20
> years as one of the one undred most powerful men in the country???????
> 
>  
> 
> BK
> 
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