Tuesday, August 17, 2004
War Crimes
Newsflash! John Kerry committed war-crimes in Vietnam!
OK, not really a newsflash -- it's from 1971. John Kerry actually accused himself of committing acts "contrary to the laws of warfare" on Meet the Press in 1971:
“There are all kinds of atrocities,” Kerry says on the tape, “and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free-fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search-and-destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare.”Recently Kerry explained to Tim Russert that they weren't really atrocities exactly, you see, that wasn't really the right word to use -- he was angry at the time.
OK, then, good enough for the me. That's enough of that story.
But wait a minute, didn't he say his actions were "contrary to the laws of warfare"? Wake up, Russert! It doesn't matter if Kerry describes his actions as "atrocities" or not. What matters is whether they were illegal -- and he admits they were. And just following orders, if that's what he was doing, is not an excuse. Soldiers are obliged to disobey illegal orders.
Maybe there is a simple explanation for all of this. Maybe not. Perhaps one of the zillion "reporters" following Kerry around the country might bother to ask him?
