After 10 days the washingtonpost seems to finally be reporting

[dude1394]

wapo

WaPo digs in on Kerry's Bronze Star and third Purple Heart

I've only skimmed it, and I'm too tired right now after just writing at great length about Mr. Rood's memoir in the Chicago Tribune regarding Kerry's Silver Star to give anything else the close look it deserves. But on the basis of a quick pass-through, my hat's off to WaPo reporter Michael Dobbs for what I believe to be the first reasonably comprehensive examination by any mainstream media source of the Bay Hap River action as the result of which Kerry received his Bronze Star, and the rice-pile action earlier that day on the basis of which Kerry may have received his third Purple Heart.

This article shows genuine attempts to interview witnesses, turn up new oral and documentary evidence, and examine the strengths and weaknesses of both sides' claims. It's a vast improvement over Mr. Dobbs' first foray into the controversy, about which I blogged when it first appeared.

And hey — don't miss the exciting graphic from WaPo! I can't wait for the movie!

Mr. Dobbs notes the conflicts in the oral recollections. And while he charges both sides with failing to cooperate to make available all of the relevant documentary evidence, note his summary of what's missing (and who's responsible):

Some of the mystery surrounding exactly what happened on the Bay Hap River in March 1969 could be resolved by the full release of all relevant records and personal diaries. Much information is available from the Web sites of the Kerry campaign and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and the Navy archives. But both the Kerry and anti-Kerry camps continue to deny or ignore requests for other relevant documents, including Kerry's personal reminiscences (shared only with biographer Brinkley), the boat log of PCF-94 compiled by Medeiros (shared only with Brinkley) and the Chenoweth diary.

Whatcha bet that if Sen. Kerry opens up fully, Mr. Chenoweth will turn over his diary (which is the only thing any of the SwiftVets are accused of

[fin4life]

definetly not the right place for this article... put this in the political arena

[dude1394]

oops...sorry, mods please move it right along. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Fidel]

I thought it was kind of funny to see this in the general mavs forum.

Did move it anyways.

[Drbio]

I think dude was just shocked that the WaPo was actually trying to report a real news story. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[dude1394]

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]