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When now-Secretary of State John Kerry sought the presidency a decade ago, a group of his fellow Vietnam veterans formed an organization that called his military conduct into question.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, as they were known, was roundly pilloried by leftists determined to protect the Massachusetts Democrat. In the years since, the same partisan activists have used the term ‘swift boat’ to describe any number of ostensibly disreputable political attacks.
According to MSNBC host Chuck Todd, the White House has now begun referring to accusations made against recently released U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl using the disparaging phrase.
A number of the prisoner of war’s fellow soldiers describe his actions leading up to his 2009 capture by the Taliban as desertion. They claim he made it clear he wanted to leave his platoon during a time of war and begin a new life, explaining he no longer supported the mission and was ashamed to be an American.
Furthermore, reports indicate several members of the military were killed or seriously injured in a subsequent mission to find Bergdahl.
Todd explained in a statement Wednesday that Obama administration insiders are disparaging those who corroborate that narrative, which flies in the face of the official story that Bergdahl was a distinguished soldier captured by America’s enemy in Afghanistan.
“I’ve had a few aides describe it to me as, ‘We didn’t know that they were going to swift boat Bergdahl,’” Todd noted, describing the contention as “some fighting words there.”
In an effort to determine whether the White House correspondent was being hyperbolic in his rhetoric, one Twitter user reached out to confirm the validity of his statement. Todd replied that his comment was intended to be taken literally.
Cuffé
@CuffyMeh
Hi @chucktodd, did the White House literally use the term "swift boat" to describe Bergdahl's platoon's reaction? Please confirm.
@CuffyMeh I didn't make it up
The growing backlash against Bergdahl is hardly limited to those who served with him in 2009. As Western Journalism reported this week, the Army is likely to investigate the circumstance surrounding his disappearance; and military experts conclude the punishment could potentially be a death sentence.
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