Having read John McCain's book on his tribulations as a P.O.W. in Vietnam when I was a teenager, the narrative is as compelling today as it was back then. There's no doubt in my mind that Sen. McCain suffered unspeakable acts of torture at the hands of sadistic animals, who should have been brought before a war crime tribunal after that conflict ended. That being said, and with no one questioning McCain's suffering, nor his service in the era of that past folly war, we must also examine some troubling issues that are still unresolved, before even considering McCain as a viable alternative to anyone for the position of President of the United States.
The issue of Vietnam, and McCain's torture during his five and one half years of captivity, has never been resolved in the minds of many other Vietnam veterans, with some of them actually suggesting that there is far more to this story than what comes out of the Senator himself. Not given any press whatsoever during this run for the Presidency, it is only fair that this issue be revisited, in order to make a more informed judgement.
The can be no 'untouchables' in the political arena, and therefore we must examine closely some very bizarre past behaviour that has all but been forgotten by most, save for those who are truly afraid of a McCain Presidency. Looking back in time to the days of the 1991 Senate Select Committee Hearings, one has to wonder why Sen. McCain so opposed the entering into the record of any mention of Soviet involvement in the interrogations of U.S. prisoners of war in Vietnam. He absolutely stunned the other Committee members with his outburst, declaring that the Soviets had no part whatsoever in any P.O.W. interrogations. This was during the testimony of Tracy Usry, the former chief investigator of the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who stated in no uncertain terms that not only were the Soviets involved, but so were the Chinese and the Cubans.
But to go further, on this same day, at this same hearing, Col. Bui Tin, a former Senior Colonel in the North Vietnamese Army, that not only did the Soviets interrogate American P.O.W.'s but that they treated them very badly. Further into his testimony, he stated that, as a high ranking official in the Vietnamese Communist Party, he was privy to the files of all high profile detainees,and offered to make those files available to the Committee. It was at this point that a shocked Hearing room got to witness the extraordinary. Sen. John McCain fairly leapt off of the bench and warmly embraced his former captor, which pretty much ended all questions about P.O.W. files in the hands of the Russians or the Chinese. Such a warm, brotherly embrace for the one responsible for his own torture would not be the fate for Usry, who, along with all the others active in the field of P.O.W. research were summarily fired at the urging of none other than Sen. John McCain and other Republican Senators. And so the question must be begged. Did McCain actually collaborate? Referencing his own book can clear that up.
After being shot down, stabbed through the foot, and shoulder butted with a rifle, McCain was in "bad shape". After being periodically slapped around for "three or four days" by his captors who wanted military information from him, which McCain claims he refused to give, providing only his name, rank and serial number, he realized he was in critical shape and called for an officer. He told the officer, "O.K., I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."
Regardless of the reasons, the offer to give "military information" in exchange for better treatment was a violation of the military Code of Conduct and Collaboration No. l.The doctor, according to McCain, said about taking him to the hospital, "It's too late."At that point, McCain knew he was in big trouble. According to information obtained by the U.S. VETERAN, the flier in desperation invoked the name of his famous father, Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., the soon-to-be commander of all U.S. Forces in the Pacific.And that was a violation of the Code of Conduct and Collaboration No. 2.
How much further did McCain collaborate? We may never know.
Let's also bring up the Keating Five. Forgot that one did you? The Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal, of which McCain himself declared that would be the epithet on his tombstone. Try a Google search of that one, it's in a class all by itself.Here's a preview of what you'll find: ECONOMIST, Mar. 9, 1991--"Mr. McCain, despite his claims of innocence, was the only one of the five who benefited personally--family holidays in the Bahamas on Mr. Keating's tab."
NEW REPUBLIC, Dec. 31, 1990--"The only Republican of the bunch [the five Senators], John McCain of Arizona wins credit for finally drawing the line. After the second of the two April meetings [with Federal regulators] he told Mr. [Sen. Dennis] DeConcini [D-Ariz.] and Mr. Keating that he wouldn't lean on the regulators any more. Mr. Keating called him a wimp. But before the rupture, Mr. McCain and his family were regular guests of Mr. Keating's on trips to the Bahamas. Mr. McCain reimbursed the owner of Lincoln Savings and Loan for only a small fraction of the cost of these holidays. Yet, he never reported the vacations on Senate disclosure forms, or his income taxes. He said he thought his wife had paid Mr. Keating back. This is hard to believe."
NEW REPUBLIC, Sept. 9, 1991--Calling McCain part of the "Senatorial Lincoln Brigade," the NEW REPUBLIC reported that Keating, while bankrupting his Savings and Loan, had channeled $1.4 million to the campaigns or causes of the five Senators, who in turn pressured the Savings and Loan regulators to "back off our friend."Ultimately, the fall of Lincoln Savings and Loan will cost the U.S. taxpayers $2 billion. It lost $1 million dollars a day from the time Keating bought it in 1984 until its collapse in 1989, and yet he continued to pay off McCain as "one of his assets," REGARDIE'S magazine reported in its April-May 1992 issue.
And that's the tip of the iceberg. I could go on for pages about John McCain, his temper,(remember his telling another Senator to go F himself during a hearing on Internet obscenity?) his fraud, and the phony 'hero' label given to him by the Republican Party. No one wants to even contemplate the thought that a good American son could possibly have some major skeletons in his closet, but we had better get full disclosure from this candidate, because God help us all if the Russians or the Chinese have a nice little file on our 'crown prince' (the words of the Viet Cong) who would be king. Insist09
The issue of Vietnam, and McCain's torture during his five and one half years of captivity, has never been resolved in the minds of many other Vietnam veterans, with some of them actually suggesting that there is far more to this story than what comes out of the Senator himself. Not given any press whatsoever during this run for the Presidency, it is only fair that this issue be revisited, in order to make a more informed judgement.
The can be no 'untouchables' in the political arena, and therefore we must examine closely some very bizarre past behaviour that has all but been forgotten by most, save for those who are truly afraid of a McCain Presidency. Looking back in time to the days of the 1991 Senate Select Committee Hearings, one has to wonder why Sen. McCain so opposed the entering into the record of any mention of Soviet involvement in the interrogations of U.S. prisoners of war in Vietnam. He absolutely stunned the other Committee members with his outburst, declaring that the Soviets had no part whatsoever in any P.O.W. interrogations. This was during the testimony of Tracy Usry, the former chief investigator of the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who stated in no uncertain terms that not only were the Soviets involved, but so were the Chinese and the Cubans.
But to go further, on this same day, at this same hearing, Col. Bui Tin, a former Senior Colonel in the North Vietnamese Army, that not only did the Soviets interrogate American P.O.W.'s but that they treated them very badly. Further into his testimony, he stated that, as a high ranking official in the Vietnamese Communist Party, he was privy to the files of all high profile detainees,and offered to make those files available to the Committee. It was at this point that a shocked Hearing room got to witness the extraordinary. Sen. John McCain fairly leapt off of the bench and warmly embraced his former captor, which pretty much ended all questions about P.O.W. files in the hands of the Russians or the Chinese. Such a warm, brotherly embrace for the one responsible for his own torture would not be the fate for Usry, who, along with all the others active in the field of P.O.W. research were summarily fired at the urging of none other than Sen. John McCain and other Republican Senators. And so the question must be begged. Did McCain actually collaborate? Referencing his own book can clear that up.
After being shot down, stabbed through the foot, and shoulder butted with a rifle, McCain was in "bad shape". After being periodically slapped around for "three or four days" by his captors who wanted military information from him, which McCain claims he refused to give, providing only his name, rank and serial number, he realized he was in critical shape and called for an officer. He told the officer, "O.K., I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."
Regardless of the reasons, the offer to give "military information" in exchange for better treatment was a violation of the military Code of Conduct and Collaboration No. l.The doctor, according to McCain, said about taking him to the hospital, "It's too late."At that point, McCain knew he was in big trouble. According to information obtained by the U.S. VETERAN, the flier in desperation invoked the name of his famous father, Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., the soon-to-be commander of all U.S. Forces in the Pacific.And that was a violation of the Code of Conduct and Collaboration No. 2.
How much further did McCain collaborate? We may never know.
Let's also bring up the Keating Five. Forgot that one did you? The Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal, of which McCain himself declared that would be the epithet on his tombstone. Try a Google search of that one, it's in a class all by itself.Here's a preview of what you'll find: ECONOMIST, Mar. 9, 1991--"Mr. McCain, despite his claims of innocence, was the only one of the five who benefited personally--family holidays in the Bahamas on Mr. Keating's tab."
NEW REPUBLIC, Dec. 31, 1990--"The only Republican of the bunch [the five Senators], John McCain of Arizona wins credit for finally drawing the line. After the second of the two April meetings [with Federal regulators] he told Mr. [Sen. Dennis] DeConcini [D-Ariz.] and Mr. Keating that he wouldn't lean on the regulators any more. Mr. Keating called him a wimp. But before the rupture, Mr. McCain and his family were regular guests of Mr. Keating's on trips to the Bahamas. Mr. McCain reimbursed the owner of Lincoln Savings and Loan for only a small fraction of the cost of these holidays. Yet, he never reported the vacations on Senate disclosure forms, or his income taxes. He said he thought his wife had paid Mr. Keating back. This is hard to believe."
NEW REPUBLIC, Sept. 9, 1991--Calling McCain part of the "Senatorial Lincoln Brigade," the NEW REPUBLIC reported that Keating, while bankrupting his Savings and Loan, had channeled $1.4 million to the campaigns or causes of the five Senators, who in turn pressured the Savings and Loan regulators to "back off our friend."Ultimately, the fall of Lincoln Savings and Loan will cost the U.S. taxpayers $2 billion. It lost $1 million dollars a day from the time Keating bought it in 1984 until its collapse in 1989, and yet he continued to pay off McCain as "one of his assets," REGARDIE'S magazine reported in its April-May 1992 issue.
And that's the tip of the iceberg. I could go on for pages about John McCain, his temper,(remember his telling another Senator to go F himself during a hearing on Internet obscenity?) his fraud, and the phony 'hero' label given to him by the Republican Party. No one wants to even contemplate the thought that a good American son could possibly have some major skeletons in his closet, but we had better get full disclosure from this candidate, because God help us all if the Russians or the Chinese have a nice little file on our 'crown prince' (the words of the Viet Cong) who would be king. Insist09
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