"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message hlink.net...

"I committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of others in that I
shot in free fire zones, used harassment and interdiction fire, joined in
search and destroy missions, and burned villages. All of these acts were
established policies from the top down, and the men who ordered this are war
criminals."

John Kerry, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 1971

A bit more research has turned up that this was from _Meet the Press_
on April 18, 1971, not sworn testimony in front of a committee a few
days later. When Kerry was on MtP again on April 18th, 2004, Russert
showed him a clip of that. (Transcript of that episode:
http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/4772030/)

Relevant section below:

"MR. RUSSERT: Before we take a break, I want to talk about Vietnam.
You are a decorated war hero of Vietnam, prominently used in your
advertising. You first appeared on MEET THE PRESS back in 1971, your
first appearance. I want to roll what you told the country then and
come back and talk about it:
(Videotape, MEET THE PRESS, April 18, 1971):

MR. KERRY (Vietnam Veterans Against the War): There are all kinds of
atrocities and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the
same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed
in that I took part in shootings in free-fire zones. I conducted
harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50-caliber machine guns
which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon
against people. I took part in search-and-destroy missions, in the
burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare.
All of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this
ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of
the United States from the top down. And I believe that the men who
designed these, the men who designed the free-fire zone, the men who
ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think
these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that
tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: You committed atrocities.

SEN. KERRY: Where did all that dark hair go, Tim? That's a big
question for me. You know, I thought a lot, for a long time, about
that period of time, the things we said, and I think the word is a bad
word. I think it's an inappropriate word. I mean, if you wanted to
ask me have you ever made mistakes in your life, sure. I think some
of the language that I used was a language that reflected an anger.
It was honest, but it was in anger, it was a little bit excessive.

MR. RUSSERT: You used the word "war criminals."

SEN. KERRY: Well, let me just finish. Let me must finish. It was, I
think, a reflection of the kind of times we found ourselves in and I
don't like it when I hear it today. I don't like it, but I want you
to notice that at the end, I wasn't talking about the soldiers and the
soldiers' blame, and my great regret is, I hope no soldier--I mean, I
think some soldiers were angry at me for that, and I understand that
and I regret that, because I love them. But the words were honest but
on the other hand, they were a little bit over the top. And I think
that there were breaches of the Geneva Conventions. There were
policies in place that were not acceptable according to the laws of
warfare, and everybody knows that. I mean, books have chronicled
that, so I'm not going to walk away from that. But I wish I had found
a way to say it in a less abrasive way.

MR. RUSSERT: But, Senator, when you testified before the Senate, you
talked about some of the hearings you had observed at the winter
soldiers meeting and you said that people had personally raped, cut
off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human
genitals and on and on. A lot of those stories have been discredited,
and in hindsight was your testimony...

SEN. KERRY: Actually, a lot of them have been documented.

MR. RUSSERT: So you stand by that?

SEN. KERRY: A lot of those stories have been documented. Have some
been discredited? Sure, they have, Tim. The problem is that's not
where the focus should have been. And, you know, when you're angry
about something and you're young, you know, you're perfectly capable
of not--I mean, if I had the kind of experience and time behind me
that I have today, I'd have framed some of that differently. Needless
to say, I'm proud that I stood up. I don't want anybody to think
twice about it. I'm proud that I took the position that I took to
oppose it. I think we saved lives, and I'm proud that I stood up at a
time when it was important to stand up, but I'm not going to quibble,
you know, 35 years later that I might not have phrased things more
artfully at times."

Chris Manteuffel