"We had virtually to straight-jacket him (Kerry)..."

Posted By Blackfive

Jim sent me this article from the Taipei Times about John Kerry's bid for the White House. Among other interesting tidbits is this part about how the Navy brass felt about John Kerry's heroic efforts in Vietnam:

He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and conservatives, without reminding those audiences that he for long was a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war. Indeed, assiduous searchers, looking for his vulnerabilities, will find much of interest in that period of his life. For example, the fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations (CNO), Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me -- 30 years ago when he was still CNO -- that during his own command of US naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.

"We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control," the admiral said. "Bud" Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions -- but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.

Now, keep in mind that is a recollection of a conversation 30 years ago, and I don't know the level of integrity of the Taipei Times or the author, Scott Thompson (professor from Tufts).

However, I will go so far as to say, again, that this is just the beginning of military backlash against Kerry. Now, you have Vietnam Special Forces Veterans against John Kerry.

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"We had virtually to straight-jacket him (Kerry)..."

Jim sent me this article from the Taipei Times about John Kerry's bid for the White House. Among other interesting tidbits is this part about how the Navy brass felt about John Kerry's heroic efforts in Vietnam:

He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and conservatives, without reminding those audiences that he for long was a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war. Indeed, assiduous searchers, looking for his vulnerabilities, will find much of interest in that period of his life. For example, the fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations (CNO), Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me -- 30 years ago when he was still CNO -- that during his own command of US naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.

"We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control," the admiral said. "Bud" Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions -- but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage.

Now, keep in mind that is a recollection of a conversation 30 years ago, and I don't know the level of integrity of the Taipei Times or the author, Scott Thompson (professor from Tufts).

However, I will go so far as to say, again, that this is just the beginning of military backlash against Kerry. Now, you have Vietnam Special Forces Veterans against John Kerry.

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» Take no prisoners! from Dog Snot Diaries
The Taipei Times had an interesting article yesterday. Now that Kerry has turned up as the front runner, stones are being unturned daily. He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and... [Read More]