Truth goes overboard in anti-Kerry attack

The News Tribune

The partisan attacks on U.S. Sen. John Kerry's bravery under fire during the Vietnam War shows once again that truth is the first casualty of war.

A television ad funded by a Republican donor is plainly an attempt to smear the reputation of the decorated veteran who commanded a Swift Boat during the war. The ad by "The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" features veterans who cast unfounded aspersions on Kerry's courage.

Some supporters of President Bush obviously endorse this hardball approach. But not U.S. Sen. John McCain. The Arizona Republican and former Vietnam War POW is appalled. McCain denounced the ad as "dishonest and dishonorable." Bush should do the same.

McCain is right. The ad is an example of bottom-feeding attack politics in which innuendo and character assassination replace facts. Worse, the focus on Kerry's military record is a political sideshow. The same goes for Democratic criticism of President Bush's service in the Air National Guard.

Dissecting everything the candidates did as young men more than three decades ago has little relevance to either candidate's ability to take on the major challenges facing the nation. It takes attention away from the essential debate on the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism, the nation's economy, the federal deficit, the environment and other issues that loom large in this presidential contest.

The anti-Kerry ad is obviously aimed at poorly informed voters who won't take the time to examine Kerry's military record or are willing to ignore the glowing testimony of the crew-men that Kerry led into battle. The guiding belief behind the ad appears to be that if enough mud is thrown, some of it will stick.

Some of the mud may instead be sticking to Kerry's attackers. The ad features two Swift Boat veterans who claimed to have served "with John Kerry." The only problem is that they didn't serve on Kerry's boat.

One of Kerry's main critics, Larry Thurlow, also commanded a Swift Boat during the engagement in which he and Kerry earned Bronze Stars. Thurlow, a registered Republican and a leader of The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, claimed that there was no hostile fire aimed at any of the craft during the operation on the Bay Hap River in 1969. Yet Thurlow's own citation specifically refers to "enemy bullets flying about him" and enemy fire directed at all of the boats.

The Swift Boat veterans aren't happy with Kerry's highly publicized antiwar activities after he left the Navy. They're entitled to criticize that, but not to resort to smears.

The Vietnam War continues to divide many Americans of that generation. But that's no reason for the group to demean Kerry's heroic action on a river in Vietnam 35 years ago.