Inouye condemns
Swift Boat attack ads

The isle senator notes that
President Bush never saw combat

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U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, one of nine Senate Democrats who signed a letter to President Bush protesting ads that challenge John Kerry's Vietnam service, calls criticism of the Democratic presidential nominee's military record "ridiculous" and "outrageous."

"For the opposition to come out and say, 'He doesn't deserve the Purple Heart because that was a minor wound' -- how ridiculous," the Hawaii Democrat said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who later protested the war and accused some soldiers of committing atrocities, has come under criticism from conservative groups. One, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, has run ads featuring veterans who served with Kerry and question his wartime record.

"The question should be asked: 'What happened to the president? Did he go in? He's the same generation -- where was he?' " Inouye said in an interview earlier this month.

Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Bush, while saying that Kerry served admirably and should be proud of his record, has said only that all independent groups should stop such activities. He stopped short of demanding that the anti-Kerry group stop running the ads.

In their letter to Bush, the nine Democrats said, "This administration must not tacitly comply with unfounded accusations which have suddenly appeared 35 years after the fact, and serve to denigrate the service of a true American patriot."

Former Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple amputee who fought in Vietnam, tried to deliver the letter to Bush at his Texas ranch yesterday, but neither a Secret Service official nor a state trooper would take it. Jerry Patterson, a Vietnam veteran and Bush supporter, offered to take the letter on behalf of the president, but Cleland refused to give it to him.

The anti-Kerry group has not produced any official Navy documents supporting its claim, and Kerry has denounced the assertions as lies being spread as part of a Republican smear campaign.

Kerry was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for his service. He later came to oppose the Vietnam War and was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

Inouye, who lost his right arm in World War II, is a decorated veteran himself, having been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor. He called it "outrageous" for critics to suggest that Kerry is undeserving of his honors.

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