Kerry Anti-War Ally Recants 1971 Claims of War Crimes

[Sporadicus]

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A former soldier who accused American troops of committing war crimes in Vietnam has recently come forward to recant those charges. Steven J. Pitkin appeared at the "Winter Soldier Investigation" conducted in Detroit in 1971 by former Navy Lieutenant John Kerry and his group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, but now says that his statements were coerced.

In a sworn affidavit on August 31, 2004, Pitkin said that he rode in a van with John Kerry, a national leader of the VVAW, Scott Camil, and others from Washington, DC to attend the conference. The event was intended to publicize alleged American war crimes in Vietnam, but Pitkin maintains that he did not intend to speak at the inquiry since he had no knowledge of such war crimes.

Pitkin now claims that Kerry and other anti-war leaders pressured him to testify about American war crimes, despite his protestations that he could not honestly do so. He says that one of the event leaders threatened to leave him stranded in Detroit if he refused to participate.

more...

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/september/0908_kerry_ally_recants.shtml

Considering that this story was published on Sept. 8, I'm surprised that more hasn't been made of this in the corporate media. A freeper-type on a mixed board to which I post said Pitkin was on Faux News recounting this story.

I'll be researching this story in order to debunk it. My personal suspicion: Rove & Co. found some dirt on Pitkin and are blackmailing him.

Edited for typo.

[ET Awful]

1. Talon News. . . . 'nuff said.

It's bullshit.

There are more than 100 soldiers involved in Winter Soldier, and I have a feeling that if this were too actually be picked up by any real media (instead of the worthless Talon News), there would be plenty of others coming forward too say how full of shit this guy is.

[Sporadicus]

2. I Agree With the BS Part

I just want to stomp this story into the ground. I haven't found anything in the way of disputation yet, but I'm still looking. Perhaps I'm worrying too much about the story, since it seems the only broadcast thus far has been on Faux.

[Cleopatra2a]

4. Saw him on C-Span

He was at the vet anti-Kerry rally on Sunday. He looked kind of shifty to me. He was reading off of cards and never really looked at the people.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Faux (of course) had this guy on Brit Hume's show yesterday.

They have to get the focus off of Shrub and make up more sh#$ about Kerry.

[asjr]

5. The Republican war chest must have no limits. Maybe that is why

they campaigned so much--to have money to spread around.