Paul Galanti
Paul Edward Galanti was an American Prisoner of War (1966-1973) during the Vietnam war and member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. He spoke out against John Kerry in a 2004 ad aimed at derailing the Kerry Presidential campaign. In the 2004 ad, Galanti was critical of subjects Kerry brought to light during his 1971 address to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations regarding the fact that American Soldiers "had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country." Of which Kerry himself later said He fabricated and actually never witnessed. [1] *** Note- this preceding phrase is an edited entry and references a conservative political website The National Review (www.nationalreview.com) that reflects conservative ideology and rhetoric.
Galanti states in the ad that the testimony Kerry gave regarding these events was disheartening to himself and fellow POW's while captive. Galanti states he and fellow prisoners 'took torture' to avoid admitting these events were perpetrated by American soldiers. It is unknown whether Galanti and fellow Swift Boat Veterans were aware of the numerous documented cases of American misconduct and the underlying causes for those events, but the perceived aim of the advertisement was to discredit John Kerry during the presidential race. The advertisement in which Galanti and his Fellow Swift Boat Veterans appeared gave rise to the term, "Swift Boating"; an attempt to undermine by setting the record straight. ** note edit- previously read 'a political opponent through propaganda' prior to the edits here and above that cite the conservative news site 'The National Review'.
References
- ^ National Review Online http://www.nationalreview.com/document/kerry200404231047.asp