Well, the headline may be a bit of an exaggeration.
But this BBC-report brings some stunning allegations against the Republican (presumtive) nominee.
‘When John McCain was my captive’
Tran Trong Duyet – a sprightly retiree and amateur ballroom dancer – must rank as one of John McCain’s more unlikely supporters.
Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison – the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war.
Well, this will be interesting – what does McCaoin’s old jailor have to say?
“McCain is my friend,” said 75-year-old Mr Duyet as he feeds the caged birds he now keeps in his garden in this coastal city.
“If I was American, I would vote for him.”
How about that, the old jailor is now a staunch McCain-supporter!
But his support comes with a caveat; and I guess his claim is not too surprising – who wants to admit to torturing someone else?
“I don’t know how he’d react if he met me again,” said Mr Duyet, flicking through old black and white photographs of himself and his American prisoners at Hoa Lo.
“But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners.”
[…]
So is Mr Duyet implying that that Senator McCain lied about his treatment at the Hanoi Hilton?
“He did not tell the truth,” he says.
“But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election.”
BBC goes on to state that the story cannot be confirmed, so since it does not claim to be fact it does not quite reach the Swiftboat-level. But this will be interesting – the corporate media must pick up on this.
Get some popcorn and sit back!
for another view of John McCain’s POW years, published on this side of the pond, go here
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Hanoi (dpa) – Former Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp officials denied claims made by Senator John McCain, and supported by US government research, that Cuban interrogators tortured American POWs in Hanoi during the Vietnam War.
Campaigning last month, Republican presidential candidate and former Vietnam POW McCain said fellow POWs had been tortured by “a couple of Cubans.”
Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced McCain for making the claim, calling it “a strange legend.”
Vietnamese officials and former POW camp administrators supported Castro.
“I don’t think there was any Cuban involvement in any camp for US POWs,” said Tran Trong Duyet, who was director of Hoa Lo prison, known by the Americans as the “Hanoi Hilton,” from 1970 to 1973.
…
In testimony to Congress in 1999, the US Department of Defence said it had researched what it called the “Cuban Programme” from 1973 on, and had tentatively identified “Fidel” as a Cuban Interior Ministry official who had lived in the US in the 1950s.
…
Duyet said he had met McCain many times during the five years he spent as a POW. “He was very extreme, conservative and warlike,” Duyet said.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."I give most Vietnam POW and their families a little leeway on the consipiracy theories. That community certainly has its share of conspiracies.
I remember one involving the Russians or Chinese. That the NV took POWs North to China or Russia and used the POWs to help train Russian or Chinese spies. They would have them live in fake U.S. villages so the spies could learn how to interact with Americans.
But I don’t want my president believing in conspiracies unless they’re true.
Did you ever see “The Manchurian Candidate”?
Fake villages, drugs, brainwashing,….
I have seen it. Good movie.
I first heard the above theory when a friend of the family told me. He was very active in POW/MIA political affairs and even chained himself to the White House gate when Ronnie Reagan was there. His brother was shot down over Vietnam, like McCain, and he had some evidence that his brother was alive. So he has been on trips to Vietnam to find him and also was involved with Ross Perot’s group. Ross Perot probably has an interesting take on this. I wonder what he thinks of McCain.
Anyway, my family friend gave me a book to read about the above theory. Don’t remember much about it (I remember the other book he gave me about the JFK assasination much more–my younger self become very interested in the subject after that).
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DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) January 19, 2008 – “I don’t know what the comments were, but I’m sure they were laudatory,” Mr. McCain quipped when asked about the comments Mr. Perot made to Newsweek magazine.
In the article, Mr. Perot called Mr. McCain “the classic opportunist” who is always “reaching for attention and glory.” Mr. Perot also said Mr. McCain ignored evidence that live POWs were left behind in Vietnam.
(Mail Online) June 8, 2008 – Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.
‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."I’m mostly curious to see if the media will give this story play considering the many non-stories on Obama and spouse that have been thoroughly covered.
Not much, I guess.
If tonight’s news coverage is any indication, my guess is no. Not one mention of that 12-point lead Obama has over McCain, but plenty about McCain’s straight talk about hoping for another terrorist attack between now and November, and the supposed shabby treatment muslims are getting from Obama.
Time to continue my newstrike. 😉
I remember reading somewhere a couple of years ago that more prisoners have died in U.S. captivity in the war on terror than American POWs died in North Vietnamese captivity.
I tried to verify this via a google search once and wasn’t able to find out for sure.
Here is the link to the video version of the story (h/t Wayward Wind who posted this @ kos – he (WW) is in the video, btw).
McCain’s Vietnam captor speaks