John Kerry: War Criminal

John Kerry: War Criminal

(Should he resign candidacy? Kerry admittedly burned village of innocent Vietnamese civilians)

"Citing the conclusion of an independent panel that higher command was also responsible for abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, Sen. John Kerry Wednesday reiterated his call for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign. [Para.] "'It's not just the little person at the bottom who ought to pay the price of responsibility,'" the Democratic presidential candidate said in a town hall meeting of Steamfitters Local 420 at a Philadelphia union hall." ("Kerry Reiterates Call for Rumsfeld to Resign," CNN, August 25, 2004; <http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS.../kerry.rumsfeld <http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/25/kerry.rumsfeld>> )

If a Secretary of Defense should resign for the misbehavior of individual soldiers acting contrary to military protocol, then what should be the result as to the immediate offender himself (a formal naval officer who has since become a presidential candidate) - especially where the offense was not merely one of humiliating (similar to fraternity hazing) imprisoned terrorists, but admittedly one of committing actual war crimes against innocent civilians?

"Within the current best-selling book, Unfit for Command, is a passage that could explain the over-the-top response of the John Kerry campaign to the book. [Para.] Retired Navy captain and Vietnam swift boat veteran George Bates believes 'Kerry was a coward who overreacted with deadly force to protect himself when he felt threatened.' [Para.] Bates was on patrol with Kerry in the Song Bo De River in 1969 when they approached a small hamlet with three to four grass huts. [Para.] The villagers fled as the boats were beached. Bates said there was no threat and that the boats should have left. [Para.] Instead, the book alleges, Kerry ordered pigs and chickens to be slaughtered by heavy-caliber machine guns. 'Acting more like a pirate than a naval officer, Kerry disembarked and ran around with a Zippo lighter, burning up the entire hamlet.'" ("Kerry in Vietnam," by Jerry Scharf, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Sept. 16, 2004.)

This is not a mere accusation. Kerry has actually admitted it.

"I committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of others in that I shot in free fire zones, used harassment and interdiction fire, joined in search and destroy missions, and burned villages. All of these acts were established policies from the top down, and the men who ordered this are war criminals." (Kerry, May, 1971, on NBC's "Meet the Press", per "Q: Were John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War efforts unpatriotic?", Ted Sampley, Insight Magazine, May 17, 2004.)

Contrary to Kerry there was no order to burn villages of innocent civilians. Nevertheless, in the military those who carry out illegal orders are also held responsible.

It follows that by his own criteria (used on Rumsfeld), Kerry must resign his candidacy for the office of President.

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