WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will not pull television ads attacking John Kerry's service despite President Bush's wishes, sources said Monday.
Sources close to the Swift Boat Veterans said the issue of Kerry's military service is too important to drop.
"It is not a Republican or Democratic issue. If John Kerry was a Republican, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth would still run this ad."
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, composed of Navy veterans who served in a patrol boat unit with Kerry in Vietnam, contend Kerry lied about his combat service, does not deserve the medals he was awarded and is not fit to be president. In an ad that ran in three states earlier this month, vets appeared saying that. In an ad appearing beginning Tuesday, former prisoners of war join the swift boat vets in attacking Kerry for his subsequent anti-war activities.
Bush Monday said all advertisements by so-called 527s -- non-profit advocacy organizations not part of a campaign organization -- should be pulled from the air, including that of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
