Vince Avedon – 9/21/07

This page was last updated on October 6, 2007.

Don’t listen to the spin; Vince Avedon; Beaver County Times; September 21, 2007.

As you read this, remember Mr. Avedon once wrote that a high school student who showed interest in enlisting in the Marines as a “was probably brought up to be a two-faced traitor to his country.”

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“The Limbaugh, Hannity, and Spin and Hose shows are all upset that Gen. David Petraeus’ ‘stay the course’ report was challenged by the Democrats while they fail to mention the Republican criticism.”

[RWC] Not exactly, Mr. Avedon. What got people “all upset” was people accusing Gen. Petraeus of betrayal and lying. They made these accusations even before Gen. Petraeus submitted his report to Congress.

“They consider the criticism to be treason-like, yet in 2004 they failed to criticize the Swift Boaters in their vicious assault against a three-time Purple Heart veteran, John Kerry.”

[RWC] Hmm, let’s look at Mr. Kerry’s own words about those in the military. In 1971, Mr. Kerry said witnesses “testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. They told stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires with 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.”

In December 2005, Mr. Kerry said the following during on “Face the Nation.” “[T]here is no reason, Bob [Schieffer], that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the – of - the historical customs, religious customs.” As he did in 1971 and 1972, Mr. Kerry referred to our soldiers as predators.

In 2006, Mr. Kerry said “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

“The irony is they believe Americans don’t remember the Swift Boaters.”

[RWC] I remember the “Swift Boaters” (Swift Boat Veterans for Truth) and that Mr. Kerry never refuted their claims. As a reminder, many (most?) of the “Swift Boaters” actually served with or at the same time as Mr. Kerry. Also if you recall, Mr. Kerry corrected some of his previous claims.

I also remember Mr. Kerry attacking President Bush’s National Guard service, equating Mr. Bush to a draft dodger. At the same time Mr. Kerry belittled Mr. Bush’s service, Mr. Bush said, “I think his [Kerry’s] going to Vietnam was more heroic than my flying fighter jets. I mean he was in harm’s way. I wasn’t.”

It’s interesting what Mr. Avedon remembers and forgets.

“In his book ‘The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,’ Alan Greenspan says that from the very beginning, Iraq was all about the oil.”

[RWC] Surprise, Mr. Avedon “forgot” to mention Mr. Greenspan clarified the comment during an interview with Bob Woodward of The Washington Post. Mr. Greenspan said, “I was not saying that that’s the administration’s motive. I’m just saying that if somebody asked me, ‘Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?’ I would say it was essential. I have never heard them basically say, ‘We’ve got to protect the oil supplies of the world,’ but that would have been my motive.”

“Greenspan had the highest praise for President Clinton, who maintained ‘a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth.’ He also said Republican leaders in Congress made a grievous error in spending whatever it took to ensure a permanent Republican majority.

[RWC] The sentences in this paragraph were lifted nearly word for word from a New York Times piece. Since Mr. Avedon didn’t provide attribution, isn’t it plagiarism?

Anyway, let’s discuss the content. I’ve always maintained Mr. Clinton’s greatest achievement during his administration was pretty much staying out of the way when it came to the economy. One exception was when Mr. Clinton promised a tax cut during his 1992 campaign, but instead raised taxes in 1993.

Regarding the comment about Republicans, that’s true to a degree. That said, spending increased at a lower rate than it did during the Clinton administration.

“A recent independent poll of Iraqis indicates that 61 percent consider situations worse and 47 percent want us out. And now that Bush has made Iraq ripe for Iran’s influence, Osama bin Laden is still at large, threatening to invade our homeland, steal our goats and force us to convert to Islam.”

[RWC] “[W]orse” than what? Regarding the alleged 47% that “want us out,” I would expect it to be 100%. Who wants to be in a situation in which you need someone else to help defend your country?

“On June 20, 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney proclaimed the insurgency was in its ‘last throes.’ If these people were to tell me the sun comes up in the east, I’ll wait for tomorrow to confirm it.”

[RWC] If we’re going to quote VP Cheney, let’s look at the entire quote. Mr. Cheney said, “The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.”