Cross-posted at michellemalkin.com…
Grab the popcorn. We’ve got another joint YAF/Hot Air TV production for you, just in time for the anti-war confab known as “Winter Soldier II” that kicks off in Washington, D.C. tomorrow and runs through Sunday. YAF’s Jason Mattera, our intrepid special correspondent who cornered Jack Murtha in September, is back in the halls of Congress. And showing no mercy.
This week, Jason caught up with the original Winter Soldier, Sen. John Kerry, and confronted him about his unsubstantiated, troop-smearing testimony. Jason also tried to get him to autograph this picture. Watch:
Also on YouTube.
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Here’s the transcript:
Opening slate: On January 31, 1971, John Kerry organized the Winter Soldier Investigations, a media event that falsely accused American soldiers of routinely raping, torturing, and murdering innocent Vietnamese civilians.
Second slate: From March 13-16, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War has coordinated a second Winter Soldier Investigations in an effort to assail the U.S. Military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Third slate: On March 11, 2008, Jason Mattera of Young America’s Foundation confronted Senator Kerry (D-MA) about Winter Soldier II and the Senator’s shady past.
MATTERA: Hey, Sen. Kerry! Jason Mattera with Young America’s Foundation. How are you?
KERRY: Jason. How are you?
MATTERA: I was wondering: Do you have any advice for the new group of activists who are organizing Winter Soldier II?
KERRY: I haven’t [unintelligble] what they’re doing or where they’re at. I just don’t…
MATTERA: Do you think this crop of anti-war activists, do you there’ll be any frauds like Al Hubbard?
KERRY: I have no idea. I hope not.
MATTERA: Do you think that they will make slanderous accusations–accusing the troops of raping women, pillaging villaging, just like you did to the Fulbright committee?
KERRY: Uh, I didn’t make those.
MATTERA: You didn’t?
Audio clip, John Kerry, 4/22/71: [They told the stories at times] they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
Kerry claims Winter Soldier Investigations were substantiated by further investigation.
MATTERA: Did you ever verify those
KERRY (crosstalk): I’ve been misquoted about that hundreds of times.
MATTERA: So you never substantiated those charges before you–
KERRY: I proposed–I gave them to the committee because I felt that they ought to be investigated and that’s exactly what I said. These are the–many of those charges, incidentally, were subsequently verified by different entities.
Slate: No criminal charges were filed as a result of any of the [Army’s Criminal Investigative Division] investigations into Winter Soldier.
FrontPageMag.com, February 25, 2008
Slate: Much of the testimony that will be heard during the three days could not be corroborated by the Free Press in the ten days it had to run down each account.
Detroit Free Press, January 31, 1971
MATTERA: Could you sign the picture of the dedication the North Vietnamese created in helping–claiming you helped them win the war?
KERRY: No. No.
MATTERA: Do you have any thoughts?
KERRY (puts hand on Jason’s shoulder): Who do you represent?
MATTERA: Young America’s Foundation.
KERRY: Ohhh.
MATTERA: Does it bother you that the North Vietnamese created a memorial dedicated to you?
KERRY: It’s not dedicated to me.
Slate: At the Communists War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, John Kerry’s picture hangs in a section dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War.
End slate:
Reputations ruined.
Lives torn apart.
Servicemen maligned.
We can’t let lies like Kerry’s go unchallenged again.
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The Winter Soldier II hearings kick off tonight. They will be broadcast here.
The schedule:
Winter Soldier Schedule
All times below are Eastern Time. Schedule subject to change.
Thursday, March 13 Streaming video only
7:00PM-9:00PM Winter Soldier and the legacy of GI ResistanceFriday, March 14 Satellite TV, internet video, internet audio, radio
9:00AM – 10:45AM Rules of Engagement: Part One
11:00AM – 12:30PM The Crisis in Veterans’ Heathcare
2:00PM – 3:30PM Corporate Pillaging and Military Contractors
4:00PM – 6:00PM Rules of Engagement: Part Two
7:00PM – 8:30PM Aims of the Global War on Terror: the Political, Legal, and Economic Context of Iraq and AfghanistanSaturday, March 15 Satellite TV, internet video, internet audio, radio
9:00AM – 10:30AM Divide To Conquer: Gender and Sexuality in the Military
11:00AM – 1:00PM Racism and War: the Dehumanization of the Enemy: Part One
2:00PM – 3:30PM Racism and War: the Dehumanization of the Enemy: Part Two
4:00PM – 6PM Civilian Testimony: The Cost of War in Iraq and Afghanistan
7:00PM – 8:30PM The Cost of the War at HomeSunday, March 16 Internet video, internet audio, radio
10:00AM – 1:00PM The Breakdown of the Military
2:00PM – 3:15PM The Future of GI Resistance
The invaluable Reporter’s Guide to WSII from Denis Keohane is here. More on the WSII/IVAW hype and advertising here.
Many pro-military bloggers will be attending and will be liveblogging. Track back if you’re one of them–and thank you for your service past, present, and future.
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