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Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

Revision as of 00:20, 9 January 2005 by 65.11.103.86

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) is an advocacy organization formed in 2004 by opponents, some of whom [1] did not agree to participate in the project, of John Kerry's U.S. presidential campaign. Their primary projects have been: their website, the book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry (released by the conservative Regnery Publishing), and a series of television advertisements challenging John Kerry's military record and activism against the Vietnam War.

The group's credibility has been challenged due to misleading, false or inconsistent statements. [2] A detailed review of the claims in their book is also available. [3] The group's name refers to the class of boat on which Kerry and some of the organization's members served in the Vietnam War.

Senator John Kerry has made his 4-month combat tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of his bid for the Presidency. His campaign jets a handful of veterans around the country, and trots them out at public appearances to sing his praises. John Kerry wants us to believe that these men represent all those he calls his "band of brothers."


But most combat veterans who served with John Kerry in Vietnam see him in a very different light. .


Touch the photo to see which Swift officers support John Kerry, or click it to read more

The purpose of this photo is to correct the misleading use of our images -- against our will -- to further John Kerry's campaign. . Swift Vets and POWs for Truth has been formed to counter the false "war crimes" charges John Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans who served in our units and elsewhere, and to accurately portray Kerry's brief tour in Vietnam as a junior grade Lieutenant. We speak from personal experience -- our group includes men who served beside Kerry in combat as well as his commanders. Though we come from different backgrounds and hold varying political opinions, we agree on one thing: John Kerry misrepresented his record and ours in Vietnam and therefore exhibits serious flaws in character and lacks the potential to lead.

We regret the need to do this. Most Swift boat veterans would like nothing better than to support one of our own for America's highest office, regardless of whether he was running as a Democrat or a Republican. However, Kerry's phony war crimes charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam, and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of Swift boat operations compels us to step forward.

For more than thirty years, most Vietnam veterans kept silent as we were maligned as misfits, drug addicts, and baby killers. Now that a key creator of that poisonous image is seeking the Presidency we have resolved to end our silence.


The time has come to set the record straight. see [4] for more information



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Banana Republicans, the latest book by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, lays bare how the “right-wing conspiracy,” as represented by the national GOP and its functionaries in the media, think tanks and lobbying establishment, is undermining dissent and squelching pluralistic politics in America. An excerpt is available. It can be ordered online. All royalties from book sales go to the Center for Media and Democracy, which publishes SourceWatch.

Note: Portions of this article were taken from an article about Swift Boat Veterans in the Wikipedia.

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