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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sig who wrote (78383)	10/17/2004 1:26:18 PM
From: Captain Jack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793838

From The Christian Science Monitor – "his work with fellow Sen. John McCain of Arizona to normalize relations with Vietnam and to dispel conspiracy theories about left-behind POWs." From The San Jose Mercury News – ""Kerry and McCain led a special Senate committee in the early 1990s to investigate the fate of Americans still missing in action and rumors that prisoners of war were still alive and being held captive. Their 1993 report finally concluded there was no evidence to support those claims." When you see mis-statement like those above, contact the reporter and give him the facts, as stated in the Report of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. The following comes directly from the committee's report: "In 1976, the Montgomery Committee concluded that because there was no evidence that missing Americans had survived, they must be dead. In 1977, a Defense Department official said that the distinction between Americans still listed as "POW" and those listed as "missing" had become "academic". Nixon, Ford and Carter Administration officials all dismissed the possibility that American POWs had survived in Southeast Asia after Operation Homecoming." "This Committee has uncovered evidence that precludes it from taking the same view. We acknowledge that there is no proof that U.S. POWs survived, but neither is there proof that all of those who did not return had died. There is evidence, moreover, that indicates the possibility of survival, at least for a small number, after Operation Homecoming: First, there are the Americans known or thought possibly to have been alive in captivity who did not come back; we cannot dismiss the chance that some of these known prisoners remained captive past Operation Homecoming. Second, leaders of the Pathet Lao claimed throughout the war that they were holding American prisoners in Laos. Those claims were believed--and, up to a point, validated--at the time; they cannot be dismissed summarily today. Third, U.S. defense and intelligence officials hoped that forty or forty-one prisoners captured in Laos would be released at Operation Homecoming, instead of the twelve who were actually repatriated. These reports were taken seriously enough at the time to prompt recommendations by some officials for military action aimed at gaining the release of the additional prisoners thought to be held. Fourth, information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies during the last 19 years, in the form of live-sighting, hearsay, and other intelligence reports, raises questions about the possibility that a small number of unidentified U.S. POWs who did not return may have survived in captivity. Finally, even after Operation Homecoming and returnee debriefs, more than 70 Americans were officially listed as POWs based on information gathered prior to the signing of the peace agreement; while the remains of many of these Americans have been repatriated, the fates of some continue unknown to this day." The committee did not conclude " there was no evidence to support those claims" of POWs left behind. Nor, did it "dispel conspiracy theories about left-behind POWs." Instead, it confirmed a belief, long held by many, that POWs were most probably left behind at the end of the Vietnam War. The media needs to know the truth. Spread the word!