>Subject: Re: How John Kerry Helped Hanoi Jane During JFK's Vietnam War!
>Kerry Call Viet Vets' "Baby killers" JFK - H
>From: "Doug Bovinet" dabovinet@worldnet.att.net
>Date: 1/21/2004 7:16 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id:
>
>
Somehow I'm not allowed to cross post on this rig, will some kind soul put a
tag on this and send it to Mr. Bovinet's group. This was just too much for an
old man to take.

In my long history of watching some of the most bizarre crap in the world come
through here I vote for this post as being the most fucked up understanding of
the Vietnam War that I have ever seen. This is the worst ever, in all my years
here. Anyone remember a better one?

Part of me cries out to correct this outlandish bullshit but a bigger part of
me knows that it will do no good. Oh shit, I can't help myself.

Mr. Bovinet, I'm going to take this real slow and point-by-point. If you fall
behind raise your hand and I'll slow down.

>I am writing only to correct your inaccurate history. JFK did not start
>the Vietnam War.

Well, yes he did. We'll get to that later.

>The French sided with the South vietnamese fighting against North >Vietnam for
seven years before realizing the mistake they had
>made getting involved there.

The French fucked over the Vietnamese for 90 years or so, sometimes even
starving them to death. The French never sided with a Vietnamese and no
self-respecting Vietnamese would have ever sided with the sorry French (French
Fried Vietnamese being the exception).

> After the French pulled out,

The French didn't pull out, they got their ass ran out by the Vietnamese. See
any account of the battle of Dien Bien Phu

>President Eisenhower sent 3,000 military advisors to South vietnam to
>help them build an army.

The number of military advisors in South Vietnam at the end of Ike's term was
400 and they were serving in a strictly advisory status. Please furnish any
reference you have to a number of 3,000. I don't think you will find one.

>To help the South vietnamese keep the northern
>Communist invaders from taking over their country, JFK sent additional
>troops to South vietnam.

During JFK's time the communist in South Vietnam were not so much invaders but
mostly southern born insurgents with some infiltrators from the north. As they
became stronger and more importance was place on fighting communism in Vietnam
JFK increased the number of advisors from the 400 of Ike's to 16,000 or so at
the time of his assassination. More importantly these "advisors" had taken on
a combat role in the air and on the ground and were now supplied with
helicopters and other equipment. That began the war. When you engage in
combat you usually start a war.

>However, the real build-up came under Lyndon
>Johnson. He expanded our forces over there from about 10,000 to
>around 250,000.
>

As infiltration from the north increased and instability increased in the south
resulting from the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, Johnson increased our
advisors from the 16,000 (not 10,000) that JFK left him to about 27,000 I
believe. As intact regiments of communist began invading South Vietnam to
fight as individual units the situation in the south became critical, forcing
Johnson to commit regular ground troops.

I know this won't help you Mr. Bovinet but damn if I don't feel better.

Bill Clarke