Kerry Remembers
Reported by Eleanor - August 24, 2004 -
Studio B with Shep Smith (Aug. 24, 3:00 p.m.) spent ten minutes on the smear boat story - only ten minutes again. Do I detect a pattern? The time spent on this story is now half or even a third of what it has been. It seems that Kerry is remembering the tactics he used in Viet Nam and putting them to good use.
Remember William B. Rood, commander of one of the swift boats on the day Kerry got his Silver Star? He described the day like this: Ambushes were a virtual certainty, and that day was no exception. (Just like 2004 politics.)
Instructions from Kerry (Continuing with Rood's story from the Chicago Tribune, Aug. 22)
The difference was that Kerry, who had tactical command of that particular operation, had talked to Droz and me beforehand about not responding the way the boats usually did to an ambush. (2004 usual response - let the talk wars alone if they're lies and nothing but lies, people will see the truth, and they'll die on their own, because they're lies told by liars.)
Rood: We agreed that if we were not crippled by the initial volley and had a clear fix on the location of the ambush, we would turn directly into it, focusing the boats' twin .50-caliber machine guns on the attackers and beaching the boats. We told our crews about the plan. (2004 - This finally happened this week.)
Rood: The Viet Cong in the area had come to expect that the heavily loaded boats would lumber on past an ambush, firing at the entrenched attackers, beaching upstream and putting troops ashore to sweep back down on the ambush site. Often, they were long gone by the time the troops got there. (2004 - Fire volleys of lies using ads, interviews, books, newspapers, and run for cover before the victim can fight back effectively.)
Rood: The first time we took fire-the usual rockets and automatic weapons-Kerry ordered a "turn 90" and the three boats roared in on the ambush. It worked. We routed the ambush, killing three of the attackers. The troops, led by an Army adviser, jumped off the boats and began a sweep, which killed another half dozen VC, wounded or captured others and found weapons, blast masks and other supplies used to stage ambushes. (2004 - this time it was the second or third time, not the first, but better late than never. Kerry is now "roaring into the ambush," and it's working. Half to two-thirds of the smear talk has been "killed." Now, Kerry and his big guns - Clark, Dean and other allies - are doing a clean sweep to get the liars off the media; blasting their leader for what he is: dishonest and using tactics of "fear' and "smear;" breaking the law, not truthful, one is foolish to believe him; Americans are smarter than that; coordination violates federal election laws; Bush is using smears to dodge issues of health care, the economy, and world diplomacy.
Deja vue, all over again, but this time the enemy is everywhere, and can't be routed with just one 90 degree turn directly into the line of fire. Keep it up.
Read William Rood's story here: (You'll need to register with the Chicago Tribune. (I think) It's free.) This is What I Saw That Day
