I saw the beginnings of this story but didn't have a way to verify the veracity of the documents. I thought I'd let it percolate and see what developed.
Hanoi Approved of Role Played By Anti-War Vets
The communist regime in Hanoi monitored closely and looked favorably upon the activities of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War during the period Senator Kerry served most actively as the group's spokesman and a member of its executive committee, two captured Viet Cong documents suggest.The documents - one dubbed a "circular" and the other a "directive" - were captured in 1971 and are part of a trove of material from the war currently stored at the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University at Lubbock. Originally organized by Douglas Pike, a major scholar who is now deceased, the archive contains more than 20 million documents. Many are available online at the Virtual Vietnam Archive and, as the election has heated up, have been the focus of a scramble for insights into Mr. Kerry's anti-war activities. The Circular and the Directive are listed as items numbered 2150901039b and 2150901041 respectively [Here are links to the documents: 2150901039b 2150901041 -ED.]. Their authenticity was confirmed by Stephen Maxner, archivist at the Vietnam Archive.
Well, it's been percolating over at In The Bullpen where Chad Evans has been digging into the archives himself. Keep an eye on his post; he's been updating it regularly and promises more to come. It's a very nice example of pajama journalism.
Update: Chad e-mailed to say:
Just to make something perfectly clear, I am not personally looking at actual documents or archives. I live in Dallas, about five hours from Lubbock where Texas Tech University is. I do however have "insiders" checking things out for me.
This is clear in Chad's post but I didn't point it out because I don't expect journalists to do all of their own footwork; they just need to be sure of their sources. This devotion to presenting strictly the facts is a hallmark of good pajama journalism.
Chad also mentions:
I have a follow up post on this issue as well where I discuss whether or not the intelligence is accurate or not.http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/2004/10/26/credibility-of-the-intelligence/
