Kerry, Kansas City, and the FBI filesIt's not clear to me that Kerry was privy to the discussions about a "Phoenix type" operation aimed at "political elimination" of the "governmental chain of command." It is clear, from an FBI file marked “urgent” and dated November 12, 1971, that
September 7th, 2004
By now you've probably heard that John F. Kerry attended a meeting of his Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) group in Kansas City in November 1971, where they considered a proposal to murder top governmental leaders....
Here is a fuller description of subsequent events from [an] FBI file dated November 18, 1971:VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR (VVAW)
STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
NOVEMBER 12, 13, 14, 1971
INTERNAL SECURITY – NEW LEFT
A confidential source, who was furnished reliable information in the past, advised as follows:
On November 12, 1971, a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW) was convened in Kansas City, Missouri. The meeting was attended by approximately sixty persons, not more than seventy, which included the Executive Committee, people from the National Office in New York, the Regional Coordinators from around the country and some other representatives from some regions....
The Friday meeting ended at approximately 11:00 p.m.. A party ensued at the home of [redacted], which was attended by many of the delegates.
At the party SCOTT CAMIL, VVAW Regional Coordinator for [redacted] and [redacted] from Gainesville, Florida, bragged that he had a training range in either Florida or Georgia but would not divulge the location. CAMIL proposed the establishment of "readiness groups" of the "Phoenix type"....
When asked if CAMIL meant "Phoenix type" in the same context as understood by military personnel, CAMIL answered in the affirmative and outlined a plan for "political elimination" of the "governmental chain of command". The "Phoenix type" is a military term given to groups with specific assassination assignments and the delegates knew that CAMIL meant political assassinations rather than political eliminations.
CAMIL said the activities would depend upon the men being devoted enough to carry out their assignments. CAMIL said that even talking and planning such activities was against the law and therefore the "Phoenix type" groups should carry out their assignments.
CAMIL said he had training ranges for rifle, pistol and mortar practice. He claimed he had rifles, pistols and rifle grenades, but no mortars. CAMIL's proposal for the “readiness squads" and the training was favorably received by many of the persons present and was thereafter quietly disseminated to those at the party. CAMIL indicated he was already conducting his own training program…
The general meeting on Saturday, November 13, 1971, started at 9:00 a.m. and was held in a church, the Institute for Human Studies, near 40th and Main Streets, Kansas City. The first day and part of the second day was spent establishing order. There were numerous interruptions and discussions and very little order during that period.
On Saturday morning MIKE OLIVER, a VVAW national leader from New York, acted as chairman and recognized persons wishing to speak from the floor.
JOHN KERRY, a VVAW national leader from Massachusetts, arrived and spoke to the committee. He resigned from the executive committee of VVAW for "personal reasons" but added he would still be active in VVAW and available to speak for the organization....
The Agenda Committee again held a meeting of approximately one hour and returned to the general meeting prior to noon. SCOTT CAMIL proposed to the Agenda Committee the discussion of the training ranges and "readiness squads". The Agenda Committee would not allow CAMIL to discuss his proposal at the general meeting, because of the time element and other matters to be discussed but placed CAMIL's proposal on the agenda for a vote at the spring meeting in February, 1972....
Many of the delegates to the meeting slept in the basement of [redacted] house. A one-pound chunk of marijuana was made available for those delegates wishing to indulge, and many smoked themselves to sleep.
Some of the delegates who were present were: [redacted] Kansas City, Missouri, who was responsible for most of the arrangements; MIKE OLIVER; JOHN KERRY; SCOTT CAMIL from Florida…
JOHN KERRY AND AL HUBBARD, MEMBERS OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, VVAW, WERE PLANNING TO TRAVEL TO PARIS, FRANCE, WEEK OF NOV. ONE FIVE - TWENTY NEXT FOR TALKS WITH NORTH VIETNAMESE PEACE DELEGATION.It seems that John Kerry was prepared to negotiate with the enemy, in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States. That's bad stuff, but probably not enough to kill Kerry's candidacy.
However, if other sources confirm that Kerry was privy to discussions of a "Phoenix type" operation, and if the story is picked up by the mainstream media, Kerry might as well resign his candidacy and the Democrats might as well save their campaign funds for 2008.
