MaxSpeak on John Kerry's debate with "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" mouthpiece John O'Neil - circa 1971: More important is how O'Neill's defense of the Vietnam war looks with the benefit of hindsight, and with respect to Iraq. It's all there: the progress reports based on bogus numbers, the commitment to replace U.S. troops with those of South Vietnam. The defense by O'Neill of acts that could be classified as war crimes. Interesting was that, then as now, O'Neill demands that Kerry name names. In other words, when Kerry says the U.S. is violating international law, and that he himself was a party to such violations, O'Neill demands that Kerry and associates file depositions that can be used as evidence in criminal prosecutions of other veterans. Then as now, the jingoists would shift the blame from those in command to those on the ground. Support the troops, indeed. It's hard to see how any veteran could come away from this debate with animus towards Kerry. Disagreement, of course. But not personal dislike. By the way, I recall nothing from this debate from O'Neill -- I didn't catch all of it -- contesting Kerry's medals. Given how hard he comes after Kerry for his beliefs, it's hard to believe he would have foregone this line of attack if there had been anything to it at the time. Nor can I imagine the Nixon Administration failing to investigate any dubious award of a medal to such a nettlesome critic.