Beldar Throws Down the Swiftvet Gauntlet

William Dyer, a/k/a Beldar of BeldarBlog voiced yesterday the same thing that has been bothering me. The MSM keeps dismissing the Swiftvet claims as being discredited.

As I see it their claims have been disputed but not discredited and it seems that the Swiftvets have a preponderance of the evidence in relation to the first Purple Heart and the Silver Star. Documents and eyewitnesses in both of these back the Swiftvets.

Many take the Navy's investigation as closing the door. The short investigation just said that those involved were authorize to award the Medals not that Kerry didn't game the system. Almost without a doubt Kerry gamed the system. If I had volunteered for Swift Boat duty, which I understood as coastal patrols, then enroute I find that their mission had been changed to patrolling rivers and engaging the enemy, I might have gamed the system too.

If I sailed with the real JFK when I was young and just wanted some home movies and a political career, I would have gamed the system too.

It is probable that the one officer that served the shortest as a Swift Boat skipper and never spent a night in sick bay most likely gamed the system. This I'm sure was done by others too, but not with the precision in which Kerry pulled it off.

If Kerry hadn't given aid and comfort to the enemy after his return, If he had been more accurate and humble in his biography, if he hadn't made his service his prime mover in his campaign then maybe those who served with him might have remained silent.

Beldar has thrown down the gauntlet in a post on his site titled "A challenge to those who claim that the SwiftVets' allegations have been "debunked" or are "unsubstantiated""

I am sure that Beldar can defend this challenge as well as any in the Blogosphere. As a Navy veteran of 22 years I for one applaud him in making this challenge. There are over 100 Honorable veterans that served with Kerry that are putting their honor on the line to enlighten this country of the man who would be president's questionable character.