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Vietnamese Jailer Endorses McCain For President

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The Associated Press

Published: June 28, 2008

HAIPHONG, Vietnam - HAIPHONG, Vietnam - John McCain has an unusual endorsement - from the Vietnamese jailer who says he held him captive for about five years as a POW and now considers him a friend.

"If I were an American voter, I would vote for Mr. John McCain," Tran Trong Duyet said Friday, sitting in his living room in the northern city of Haiphong, surrounded by black-and-white photos of a much younger version of himself and former Vietnam War prisoners.

At the same time, he denies prisoners of war were tortured. Despite physical trauma and detailed POW accounts, Duyet claims the Republican presidential nominee made up beatings and solitary confinement in an attempt to win votes.

His statements seem to echo the communist leadership's overall line on America: It insists the torture claims are fabricated, but that Vietnam now considers the United States a friend and wants to lay the past to rest. Duyet said one of the reasons he likes McCain for president is the candidate's willingness to forgive and look to the future.

Duyet, 75, grew testy during the interview when repeatedly questioned about torture and why so many other former POWs say they too were mistreated. He preferred to talk about McCain as a buddy.

His photo collection does not include one of him with POW McCain, and he said they have not met on any of McCain's postwar visits to Vietnam.

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