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View Full Version : Vietnamese dispute McCain's claim of being tortured as PoW


DroppinScience
10-27-2008, 04:06 PM
Don't know what to make of the disputed claims, but now you have the perspective of McCain's PoW days from the Vietnamese side.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/25-1

Published on Saturday, October 25, 2008 by The Times/UK
‘John McCain Was Never Tortured in My Jail’, says Tran Trong Duyet

by Leo Lewis in Hanoi

On one bank of the Truc Bach lake a small electricity sub-station is plastered with flyers touting a local plumber. Along the road is an aerobics studio where youngsters lazily sip coffee and browse the papers. Thirty yards out across the water - rancid and bobbing with dead fish - is moored a handful of pedal boats shaped like swans.

For even if the cold, barely conscious US Navy officer did not know it at the time, says Le Van Lua and the other Vietnamese whose lives entwined with Mr McCain's that day, this little spot of Hanoi is undoubtedly where pilot turned politician. If fury had prevailed, it is a transformation that might never have happened, says Mr Lua, 61, a factory worker who was the first on the scene after the crash and swam out to retrieve the battered, politically valuable prize.

He mimes clutching Mr McCain's hair in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other: "I didn't care about the politics, I just saw a man who had killed so many Vietnamese that I longed to kill him. He was injured badly and at the time I was desperate to finish him off. We only stopped because we were told he was more valuable alive. Now I'm glad I did stop: that day was truly the turning point in his life."

Mr Lua's account of that day - along with Vietnamese accounts of the five and a half years that Mr McCain spent as a prisoner of war - differ significantly from the presidential candidate's own record. Mr Lua speaks of quickly getting Mr McCain to the safety of a police station (now the aerobics studio) before any harm was done. Mr McCain writes of mob attacks on his shoulder, ankle and groin with rifle-butt and bayonet.

Where the accounts differ most starkly is in the period of Mr McCain's long incarceration as a PoW - first at the prison known as the Hanoi Hilton, then at The Plantation.

Tran Trong Duyet, the former prison director who now surrounds himself with caged birds in a house in Hai Phong, first met Mr McCain a year after he had been shot down. He recalls a defiant rule-breaker, the patriotic son of an admiral and a fervent believer in the war. What he does not recall, however, is a victim of torture or violence.

"I never tortured or mistreated the PoWs and nor did my staff," says Mr Duyet in contradiction of Mr McCain's account and those of other prisoners. "The Americans were dropping bombs on military and civilian targets - so it's not as if they had important information we needed to extract." Mr Duyet says that he sympathizes with Mr McCain and other PoWs for claiming that they were tortured. "It's up to the Americans to decide whether or not he counts as a hero. He was very brave, very manly, he dared to argue with me and he was very intelligent. But all the talk of being tortured is for the sake of votes."

The McCain campaign refused to comment on the claims yesterday. Mr McCain did eventually sign a confession to his supposed crimes against the Vietnamese people and holds that it was only extracted after weeks of pain inflicted by his tormentors. In a more recent interview Mr McCain explained the signing of the confession as his failure.

Nguyen Tien Tran, another of the directors at the prison, confirms his colleague's story: "We had a clear code of taking care of the injured. We did our best to patch McCain up and he was treated by a good doctor. Why would he say that he was tortured?"

Mr Tran recalls Mr McCain's persistent rule-breaking and even remembers an angry threat to deny him medication if the defiance continued. He also denies that there was any ill treatment of the prisoners, and even remembers sleeping next door to Mr McCain in the hospital to protect him from anyone trying to kill the "crown prince".

Even with differing accounts, those that played a role in his crash, rescue and imprisonment all draw direct lines between themselves and Mr McCain's political ambition.

Back in 1967, what is now the small electricity sub-station by the lake was a sprawling plant that supplied power to much of the North Vietnamese capital.

For the Americans it was a hugely desirable target and what Mr McCain had been ordered to destroy that morning - his 24th bombing mission since the war began.

Flying across the city in a wide sweep, Mr McCain's A4 bomber turned for its final run but was hit by a missile launched 12 miles away. Now a ball of fire, the plane was screaming towards earth as its pilot ejected, broke his arms and knee, and plummeted into the Truc Bach lake.

In a sleepy village two hours outside the capital and surrounded by statues and portraits of Ho Chi Minh, Major Nguyen Lan, 78, traces the day's events on a dog-eared map of wartime Hanoi. "It seems that because of what happened that day I am an important part of his political career," he says quietly.

Mr Lan points to the spot where his Russian-built surface-to-air missile unit was hidden and describes the joy of carefully second-guessing Mr McCain's flight path, giving the launch order at precisely the right moment, and then cheering with delight as the blip disappeared from the radar screen. "I was so angry with America then but time has passed. Shooting down McCain is a happy memory from a terrible war."

Like many Vietnamese, Mr Lan believes Mr McCain has ultimately been a force for good in improving postwar relations between Hanoi and Washington, and holds out hope that, as president, he would continue to strengthen political and economic ties.

"If he does become president it would be good to see him again," says Mr Lan with a chuckle. "We both know that there was a time - that day 41 years ago - when I was more powerful than him."

He offers Mr McCain best wishes for the election but is puzzled at the idea that the candidate could possibly describe himself as a "war hero".

To demonstrate this Mr Lan pulls out an old tin box stuffed with medals he won during a lifetime of military service. Several bear images of burning B52 bombers. The collection includes one of the highest military honors, awarded by "Uncle Ho" himself.

"In Vietnam we are taught to honor the whole unit, rather than the individual but I know it is different in America. Even so, I really don't think that McCain qualifies as a hero. The truth of that day is that he failed and I succeeded. He failed to destroy what he was supposed to bomb and just killed some fish. That is not a hero."

Nguyen Thi Thanh, now a chirpy 81-year-old who is following the US election closely, also briefly had power of life and death over the brash young pilot. As the nurse who first attended to him after he was dragged from the lake, Ms Thanh describes the agonizing choice of whether or not simply to kill him in revenge for the destruction that his bombs had rained on her city.

"As a nurse I had to help him. As a Vietnamese I just wanted to kill him. Everyone around me wanted him dead too but we had to follow the Ho Chi Minh ideology. As I walked home from the nurse station, people were furious - screaming at me for saving his life."

She wonders aloud about what sort of president he would make. "In the end I think that he must have known that what he did was wrong. If he does become president of the US, he must do good things. But everyone has secrets hiding in their minds. I'm sure he's still extremely angry."

As the months of captivity in the Hanoi Hilton and Plantation rolled on, Mr Duyet wanted to examine those attitudes for himself. He describes a growing fascination with Mr McCain and a series of regular discussions the two had.

"I wanted to deal with him. I wanted to talk about the war and to discuss who was right and who was wrong. In the end I don't think either of our opinions changed. Maybe after the war, or as he was leaving, he saw the destruction that had been done and saw he was wrong."

He is clear that he played a role in turning Mr McCain from a pilot into a politician. "If he says it was the war that changed him it must be true, because he spent most of the war with me. I was there to do two jobs in that prison - one was practical, the other political - and I believe I succeeded in both."

Of all the Vietnamese who knew Mr McCain, Nguyen Tien Tran, the director at The Plantation between 1965 and the release of the PoWs in 1973, believes that he has the deepest insights into the man's character.

"He's not [morally] good enough, not enough to call himself a ‘good man' after everything he did, with the bombing and the destruction and the thousands he killed. He has done good things for Vietnam-US relations but none of it is enough for him to call himself a good man. If he makes it as president I want him to come back here and admit that the war was wrong."

Critically, Mr Tran believes that it was during one of their regular conversations that Mr McCain first mooted the idea of becoming a politician.

"I once asked him, ‘What are you going to do when you get home?' I asked him because of his injuries - I could see that he wasn't going to remain a pilot for much longer. He paused, and thought about it, and told me he would become a politician.

"Now he stands on the brink of becoming the world's most powerful man, I want to tell him that I'm like his father. I was the one who gave him a second birth.

"He's come back here ten times but he's never met the people who saved his life. So I can't believe he's a good person."

Life on the inside

"I was hauled into an empty room and kept there for four days. At intervals, the guards returned to administer beatings. One held me while the others pounded away. They cracked several of my ribs and broke a couple of teeth. Weakened by beatings and dysentery, with my right leg again almost useless, I found it impossible to stand.

"On the third night I lay in my blood and waste, so tired and hurt that I could not move. Three guards lifted me to my feet and gave me the worst beating yet. They left me on the floor moaning from the pain in my arm. Despairing of any relief from pain and further torture, I tried to take my life."

Adapted and extracted from Faith of My Fathers, by John McCain (Gibson Square)

RobMoney$
10-27-2008, 05:15 PM
Dude, Are you serious? Are you really questioning the man's P.O.W. credentials?

WTF?

QueenAdrock
10-27-2008, 05:59 PM
Apparently the accounts don't match up. I don't see what's wrong with questioning someone's credentials; attacking them and saying "This is absolutely right, McCain's a liar and was never tortured!" is something completely different (but no one's doing that). If the Vietnamese dude is discredited (much like the Swift Boaters in '04), then so be it.

It'd be like if one decided to question the Holocaust. That in itself isn't a wrong thing to do; if the person actually does the research, they'll come to find the amount of overwhelming historical evidence and accounts say that it did in fact happen. Questioning is never the problem. Clinging to one answer as being "absolute truth" without looking at other evidence or using any critical analysis is the problem.

kaiser soze
10-27-2008, 06:09 PM
Dude, Are you serious? Are you really questioning the man's P.O.W. credentials?

WTF?

Let me guess....you were right there with him?

After seeing mccain lie and lie again I wouldn't be surprised if there was skepticism about his POW stories.

RobMoney$
10-27-2008, 06:59 PM
How low are you guys willing to go to disparage McCain?


I hope the admins delete this crap.

kaiser soze
10-27-2008, 07:02 PM
:rolleyes:

overreacting much?

Documad
10-27-2008, 07:16 PM
That is pissing me off. That sort of thing could really turn voters off and it has absolutely nothing to do with Obama. We need to sweep that shit under the carpet.

Are Stockdale and all the other POWs who were tortured also lying? Did they fake their injuries? I've seen dozens of them interviewed over the years and they tell a consistent story. I don't know that I've even heard McCain's story from his own mouth--I've heard his fellow POWs talking about it.

If we don't like swiftboating then we shouldn't swiftboat.

Documad
10-27-2008, 07:20 PM
I hope that people read common dreams with a critical eye. I'm a big freakin liberal and that site is too slanted for me.

Bob
10-27-2008, 07:20 PM
i guess he's lost the VC vote

kaiser soze
10-27-2008, 07:25 PM
Don't worry he has Al Qaeda's vote :eek:

kaiser soze
10-27-2008, 07:38 PM
That is pissing me off. That sort of thing could really turn voters off and it has absolutely nothing to do with Obama. We need to sweep that shit under the carpet.

Are Stockdale and all the other POWs who were tortured also lying? Did they fake their injuries? I've seen dozens of them interviewed over the years and they tell a consistent story. I don't know that I've even heard McCain's story from his own mouth--I've heard his fellow POWs talking about it.

If we don't like swiftboating then we shouldn't swiftboat.

Actually I don't care about swiftboating him and have no intention nor influence to do so. But I must say this man didn't defend John Kerry as a Vietnam Vet and he doesn't give a shit about our soldiers and vets now. He has no honor in the eyes of many (including his fellow vietnam veterans)

He can suck it up, if this is true I wouldn't be surprised. Should we or his followers throw blind faith into everything he says?

Documad
10-27-2008, 07:53 PM
I lost my respect for him as a politician long ago, but he spent many years in a prison camp solely because he was serving his country. Many other servicemen experienced the same thing. There's a decent documentary via American Experience if you're interested in hearing from some of those guys.

I thought it was horrible for him to sell his soul to Bush for the chance to be his party's nominee. What he failed to do for Kerry is nothing compared to his failure to stand up for his fellow vets re medical care and other g.i. benefits. That doesn't mean that we should present a self-serving interview 30+ years after the fact as truth.

But my objections come from a different place. This sort of nonsense this close to election day will make people offended and will make people feel sorry for McCain. We're in good shape so it's just plain stupid for common dreams to do this sort of thing now. But that site has long been stupid (in my opinion). :rolleyes: The looney left wing of the party cannot help itself. It will be a fucking miracle if they don't screw up another election.

DroppinScience
10-27-2008, 07:57 PM
I hope that people read common dreams with a critical eye. I'm a big freakin liberal and that site is too slanted for me.

*ahem* Common Dreams didn't write the article. As I've said before, Common Dreams doesn't write the majority of what they post (they do have some original content). They assemble writings (which includes commentary and news articles, this one is a news article) from sources ranging from AP, Agence-France Presse, The Nation, The Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. I'm going to wager that you respect and find any of the above reputable sources.

This article in question written by The Times, a UK newspaper. So go to the original source: THE TIMES UK.

If a paper like that was out to swiftboat McCain, I'd be disappointed since The Times is known as being reputable.

I've been someone who has largely believed the stories McCain has told about his PoW experiences. But you know what, if there's another side to this story (and a Vietnamese perspective is always welcome, too), I'm willing to hear it. It's entirely possible that the Vietnamese have entirely different standards on what is torture (kind of like Bush or Gonzales) or may wish to downplay what they've done out of some sense of guilt. Who knows, really? But I think people are grown up enough to read up on it and decide whether what McCain says is credible or what the Vietnamese prison guards says. Because the two have different stories.

QueenAdrock
10-27-2008, 08:14 PM
How low are you guys willing to go to disparage McCain?


I hope the admins delete this crap.

Censorship? That's a great way to get fix the issue you disagree with, just delete it. Spoken like a true Republican. (y)

I'm not saying I agree with this guy either, but just to say "No, there's no way that's true" and turning a blind eye on it is pretty naive (ironic, considering that's the buzzword you use for me). Like I said, thinking critically and coming up with evidence for your side is MUCH better than saying "Nope, no way that's true, alright, let's bury our head in the sand. Nothing to see here."

For all I know, the guy's full of shit. I'm not prone to believing what VC say. But for someone who posts up stuff saying, "Oh, I'm not sure how much I believe this, but here's an important talking point," you'd think that you'd be more tolerant to controversial subjects from the OTHER side.

RobMoney$
10-27-2008, 09:36 PM
Here's the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtgpS2Jjc&feature=related) of him being returned to US officials from Vietnam.

Was he faking that limp in order to invoke sympathy for a future presidential campaign?


WTF man.

Dorothy Wood
10-27-2008, 10:14 PM
he broke his knee when he jumped out of the plane, of course he's gonna limp.

and I'm not saying that because I believe that article. I personally don't think anyone would lie about being tortured. I think people would be more prone to lie about torturing someone.

war is hell and john mccain was a brave man.

QueenAdrock
10-27-2008, 11:22 PM
I know what's wrong with this thread. There's no question mark at the end.

Maybe if we change the title to "McCain's claims of being tortured false?" people wouldn't get so upset, because that's more of a question and less of a statement.

Documad
10-27-2008, 11:47 PM
It's pretty clear that it means that there are some people from vietnam who dispute McCain's long-standing story. That's an accurate title.

My problem is that common dreams is printing that kind of crap right now. I don't care where they copy their stuff from. They're supposed to be a "progressive" site and if they give a shit about their agenda they would think twice before causing trouble one week before the election. It's like those idiots at move-on.org. Jeez, let's not mess it up for once.

RobMoney$
10-28-2008, 12:51 AM
he broke his knee when he jumped out of the plane, of course he's gonna limp.

and I'm not saying that because I believe that article. I personally don't think anyone would lie about being tortured. I think people would be more prone to lie about torturing someone.

war is hell and john mccain was a brave man.

You also realize that McCain cannot lift his arms above his head to this day as a result of being suspended in the air for days at a time by having his hands tied behind his back and being hung up by his wrists.

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TrpTXqVS0o&feature=related) the illustrates some of what was done to him.

Dorothy Wood
10-28-2008, 01:05 AM
that was a weird video. wouldn't your hands just fall off if you were suspended like that for days?

again, not saying he wasn't tortured and not saying he wasn't brave. just a question.

DroppinScience
10-28-2008, 01:32 AM
It's pretty clear that it means that there are some people from vietnam who dispute McCain's long-standing story. That's an accurate title.

My problem is that common dreams is printing that kind of crap right now. I don't care where they copy their stuff from. They're supposed to be a "progressive" site and if they give a shit about their agenda they would think twice before causing trouble one week before the election. It's like those idiots at move-on.org. Jeez, let's not mess it up for once.

You can hate Common Dreams all you like (I can't imagine why, they are a very good resource), you can hate the people at The Times who wrote the article and quoted those Vietnamese prison guards, but making the claim that they're going to "lose" the election for Obama is absurdity and alarmist. Frankly, is Common Dreams even well-known outside the realm of vegan lesbian feminists and granola eating Nader voters? I mean... seriously.

Dorothy Wood
10-28-2008, 01:53 AM
You can hate Common Dreams all you like (I can't imagine why, they are a very good resource), you can hate the people at The Times who wrote the article and quoted those Vietnamese prison guards, but making the claim that they're going to "lose" the election for Obama is absurdity and alarmist. Frankly, is Common Dreams even well-known outside the realm of vegan lesbian feminists and granola eating Nader voters? I mean... seriously.


so, wait, are you the lesbian or the hippie?

pah-pow! zing!

sorry

saz
10-28-2008, 06:27 AM
My problem is that common dreams is printing that kind of crap right now. I don't care where they copy their stuff from. They're supposed to be a "progressive" site and if they give a shit about their agenda they would think twice before causing trouble one week before the election. It's like those idiots at move-on.org. Jeez, let's not mess it up for once.

you also believed that amy goodman deliberately got herself arrested and attempted to stage some sort of publicity stunt, just because you know some cops.

who gives a flying fuck. i mean, look at what obama's been through with the media, the republican party, and the democratic primaries in the last year or so: he's had to sit there and take it while he's been crucified. he's been accused of being a muslim (and wtf is wrong with being a muslim?), being close friends with terrorists, he's had his patriotism and love of his country questioned, accused of being a socialist (wtf is wrong with being a socialist?), jeremiah wright, not being black enough, and on and on. oh yeah, but meanwhile, the mainstream media will do all they can to ignore the crazy nut job pastors mccain has courted, his blatant flip-flopping, his close ties to g. gordon liddy, his deep ties with lobbyists, his stupid asinine warmongering rhetoric, and of course his complete refusal to repudiate the outright racism eminating from this party, his supporters and the cries of "kill him!" and "terrorist!" during this campaign. oh, but how dare anyone merely question or put mccain's background under a microscope, and how dare groups like move-on stand up and fight back against the republican slime machine.

checkyourprez
10-28-2008, 09:43 AM
Dude, Are you serious? Are you really questioning the man's P.O.W. credentials?

WTF?


Were you crying like a wittle wittle baby when the GOP was attacking Kerrys service record four years ago? He actually went to Nam, unlike our current president who just threw on an airforce uniform and stood in front of a plane.

Its politics. You have no problem posting that garbage about Obama all the time, and someone posts some garbage about McCain and your panties get in an uproar. Hypocrite much.

Documad
10-28-2008, 09:55 AM
I never said that about Amy.

I did discuss what was happening on the streets in general with protesters, criminals, cops, and the press. My impressions were from what I observed with my own eyes on the streets at other times, what I heard and read on local news, and it was certainly influenced by the fact that I know both non-violent protesters and cops who were involved re the overall convention. It turns out that I probably knew an even number of protesters and cops. (I've learned more since because as you can imagine it's still an issue in St. Paul.)

I'm really sorry about the rest of the comments re common dreams etc. I'll let the rest of it go. I know I'm the cranky old lady. I react more strongly to what some of you say because I used to say those things and rely on those sorts of sources when I was in school. I want to yell at the me who used to subscribe to all those magazines (you youngsters are lucky that it's all available for free on the internet now--it cost me a fortune to read all the liberal news when I was in school--back when dinosaurs walked the earth). I'll stop. :o

RobMoney$
10-28-2008, 10:00 AM
Were you crying like a wittle wittle baby when the GOP was attacking Kerrys service record four years ago? He actually went to Nam, unlike our current president who just threw on an airforce uniform and stood in front of a plane.



Its politics. You have no problem posting that garbage about Obama all the time, and someone posts some garbage about McCain and your panties get in an uproar. Hypocrite much.



Umm, I voted for Kerry and thought the swift boat campaign was disgusting considering Bush dodged the war completely, I've posted that fact several times too, so I don't know what your point is?

I also usually get crucified when I post stuff about Obama's associations with Ayres and Rev.Wright for having nothing to do with the issues.
Lambert is usually the one leading the rally on that too, so who's the hypocrite?


and I mean NO SHIT THE VIETNAMESE DISPUTE THAT THEY TORTURED ANYONE. DUH.

Knuckles
10-28-2008, 11:34 AM
and I mean NO SHIT THE VIETNAMESE DISPUTE THAT THEY TORTURED ANYONE. DUH.

Just what I was thinking.

This is such a dumb topic. I hope my post here is the last.

saz
10-28-2008, 11:52 AM
fuck that. again, if obama's life is going to be put under a microscope, than so should mccain's. of course the nva tortured american pow's. and i too am interested in this story. i believe that mccain was tortured, but if there is another credible side to this story, i'd like to know it. if crap like rev. wright and bill ayers are going to be continually brought up, than topics such as this one might as well be mentioned too.

DroppinScience
10-28-2008, 11:57 AM
fuck that. again, if obama's life is going to be put under a microscope, than so should mccain's. of course the nva tortured american pow's. and i too am interested in this story. i believe that mccain was tortured, but if there is another credible side to this story, i'd like to know it. if crap like rev. wright and bill ayers are going to be continually brought up, than topics such as this one might as well be mentioned too.

That simple. If you can't handle all points of view in a story and learn to critically examine them, then you've got have a tougher skin.

Oh, and Dorothy, to answer your question: I'm the vegan lesbian. :P

RobMoney$
10-28-2008, 01:56 PM
of course the nva tortured american pow's. and i too am interested in this story. i believe that mccain was tortured, but if there is another credible side to this story, i'd like to know it. if crap like rev. wright and bill ayers are going to be continually brought up, than topics such as this one might as well be mentioned too.


Did you really just compare Ayres and Wright to the NVA?

Bob
10-28-2008, 07:55 PM
Did you really just compare Ayres and Wright to the NVA?

only in the same way that you compared high taxes to the holocaust

RobMoney$
10-28-2008, 08:06 PM
not even close actually.

Bob
10-28-2008, 08:10 PM
no, i guess not, his was more on point, if i read everything correctly:

he's saying that if bullshit stories like reverend wright and bill ayres are going to be used to slime obama, it's fair to use bullshit stories like this thing to slime mccain (i don't agree, for the record, i think mud is mud and it's low to sling it even if it's being slung at you, but i think that's his point)

you were saying that high taxes are dangerous because, not unlike the holocaust, you never know whose number is going to be pulled next

they're both kind of silly i think but his was less dramatic

saz
10-28-2008, 08:39 PM
you almost got it there bob. like i said before, if obama's entire life is going to be under a microscope, than so should mccain's. regarding mccain's pow experience, i believe he was tortured. however, i am interested in this story and if there is something credible to this, i'm all ears. i really don't know if this is story has any validity to it, or is bullshit. for instance, this story isn't a democratic talking point, whereas ayers, wright etc are talking points for mccain and the republicans.

Documad
10-28-2008, 08:50 PM
What I like about Obama's campaign is that he's consistently taken the high road. He is pulling in gigantic crowds and he is encouraging them with positive words instead of hatred. Whenever people even boo McCain he stops them and tells them to just vote instead. The man has not set a foot wrong in the past few months. It's the most perfect campaign I've ever seen.


You can't compare anything to the holocaust except for another incidence of genocide. We shouldn't trivialize the holocaust ever. That should go without saying by now.