Aug 23, 2004
Douglas Brinkley and Kerry's War Diaries
According to the Wash Post, the Kerry campaign claims that it can't release his diaries from Vietnam pursuant to an agreement with historian Douglas Brinkley.
If this is true, shouldn't Brinkley allow the Kerry campaign to release them? At this point their release could hardly damage Brinkley's attempts to sell his book. The book has been out for months. And keeping the records secret limits public debate on a vital issue as it feeds public suspicions tha either Brinkley or Kerry has something to hide.
Historians have bemoaned Allen Weinstein's decision to limit access to the Russian archives he and a colleague uncovered in the 1990s. Shouldn't they also be pressing for the release of these papers?
If this is true, shouldn't Brinkley allow the Kerry campaign to release them? At this point their release could hardly damage Brinkley's attempts to sell his book. The book has been out for months. And keeping the records secret limits public debate on a vital issue as it feeds public suspicions tha either Brinkley or Kerry has something to hide.
Historians have bemoaned Allen Weinstein's decision to limit access to the Russian archives he and a colleague uncovered in the 1990s. Shouldn't they also be pressing for the release of these papers?