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20081020
John McCain - Barack Obama - Military - Politics - 2008 Election - AZ - Nevada - VA - TX - US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Vietnam - History
"McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group." ... "Yesterday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-AZ [Republican-Arizona]) held a telephone town hall meeting, in which “thousands” of Nevadans — according to the McCain campaign — called to listen in. Among some of the hostile, pointed, and critical questions came one from a veteran, who challenged McCain on his voting record regarding funding for the Veterans Administration and veterans’ priorities:"

"Q: I know you voted for lesser increases, and sometimes they were so much less, and our VA desperately needs the money. Can you tell me why you would vote for less money for the VA when there’s a war going on?"

"M: Well of course I have not and I’m afraid I’ve been endorsed by the VFW in every election that I’ve been in. I have been — received the honors, the highest honor and awards from all our veterans organizations for my consistent support of them. I don’t know what you’re looking at, but the DAV, the VFW, the American Legion, all of them have given me their highest awards for my consistent support of them."

"As ThinkProgress has repeatedly [-] documented, McCain is either willfully lying or he is delusional about his record — and the meaning of “highest awards.” In fact, McCain has recently stood on the opposite side of all three of the groups he mentioned:"

"– Disabled American Veterans (DAV): In a list of 36 “key votes,” shows McCain “Voted Against Us” 16 times. ([2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama “Voted With Us” 17 times, and against only once.)"

"– Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): Endorsed [Virginia Democratic Senator] Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA [Democratic-Virginia]) GI Bill that McCain vigorously opposed; called McCain’s alternative GI Bill “very partisan” and said they “didn’t have much input” in its crafting."

"– American Legion: Endorsed Webb’s GI Bill and criticized McCain’s concern about how it would affect retention, saying the bill “would encourage young men and women to join the military.”"

"Just last week, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. (Obama got a B.) The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) have noted that in its “Key Votes,” McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. (Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.)" ... "Earlier this month, [Texas Democratic Representative] Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX [Democratic-Texas]), a leading veterans advocate, excoriated McCain in an interview with ThinkProgress: “If you look at John McCain’s record on veterans issues, it’s a failed one.” It’s a sentiment IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff agrees with. Noting McCain’s dismal voting record on VA funding, Rieckhoff told ThinkProgress, “If he says the VA’s not working, it’s in part because he hasn’t funded it properly.”"

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"Update In an interview with Richmond's [Virginia's capital] WTVR on Friday, McCain repeated his favorite lie: "I've been a friend of the veterans for a long time and I've received every award from every major veterans organization." He added, "I'm proud of my support for the veterans."" -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org

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20080902
John McCain - Military - Politics - Ads - US - Vietnam - History - 2008 Election
Watch - "Former POW says McCain is "not cut out to be President"." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain has been exploiting his prisoner of war experience every chance he gets. He has used this story to justify everything from not knowing how many homes he has to his healthcare plan to his marital infidelities to his taste in music. The McCain campaign is even using his POW story in paid ads. But now a veteran who was a prisoner with McCain in Vietnam is explaining loud and clear that being a POW does not qualify McCain to lead our country." ... "We are sure this video will draw an onslaught of right-wing attacks, but we bring it to you because it is our job to continue to convey the truth together and give these issues national attention. As Dr. Butler has said, McCain does not have the temperament to have his finger near the red button. Get this video to everyone you know—friends, family members, coworkers, and especially those who don't share your political views. The video is designed to reach them. Get it on your social networking sites like Digg. And get it to every blog, newspaper, and TV station that has ever overplayed McCain's POW story. It is time to fight back with truth!" ... "The mainstream press has already begun to call out McCain for overusing his POW story. And it's cut across all political persuasions. * "Whether he's deflecting criticism over his health-care plan or mocking a tribute to the Woodstock music festival, Senator John McCain has a trump card: the Hanoi Hilton. — Edwin Chen, Bloomberg * "Noun, Verb, POW" — Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic Monthly * "The McCain campaign's constant invocation of the candidate's POW past is weird bordering on irrational..." — Ana Marie Cox, TIME * "I think they are going to it way too many times." — Howard Fineman, Newsweek" ... "Remember how Joe Biden got the press to refer to Rudy Giuliani as "A noun, a verb, and 9/11"? Well, let's actually take Andrew Sullivan's lead here and get the media to boil McCain down to a similar phrase: "A noun, a verb, and POW." Considering how often the McCain campaign invokes his POW story, isn't that what they're already doing?" -BraveNewPac -BraveNewFilms.org

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20080820
John McCain - Family - US - Bangladesh - Vietnam - History - 2008 Election
"Watchdogs make it harder for politicians to stretch the truth: Cindy McCain's past is the latest to be questioned after errors were found." ... "The latest embellishments come from the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain camp. Cindy McCain has repeatedly referred to herself as an “only child.” This week came news that she actually has two half sisters, although apparently she had very little contact with them." ... "The McCain campaign had also put out the story that Mother Teresa “convinced” Cindy to bring home two orphans from Bangladesh in 1991." ... "Mrs. McCain, it turns out, never met Mother Teresa on that trip." ... "In another instance, McCain told the Chicago Tribune earlier this year that on one of her medical missions to Vietnam she was in “the very hospital – and in the very room – where her husband was brought after being shot down and then beaten by a mob during the war.”" ... "A 1992 Washington Times story recounts a different version: “Mrs. McCain asked to see the operating room and her husband’s cell, but was turned down. She took the rejection philosophically. ‘It’s 27 years later. Let’s go on,’ Mrs. McCain said.”" -By Alexandra Marks -CSMonitor

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20080630
John McCain - Bud Day - 2004 Election - Ads - Military - History - Vietnam - US - Arizona - Massachusetts - 2008 Election
"McCain Uses Swift Boat Vet Bud Day To Rebut Wesley Clark." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday launched the McCain "Truth Squad" - a group of political and Vietnam contemporaries who would counter attacks on the Senator's military record." ... "In hopes of nipping any criticism in the bud, the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that worked so hard to defame [2004 Election Presidential Candidate and Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. John Kerry's own Vietnam record." ... "On the conference call, Day - in addition to the other participants - decried comments made by [General] Gen. Wesley Clark over the weekend, in which he questioned whether McCain's war experience really qualified him to be commander-in-chief. Defending McCain's service, Day was quick to personalize his remarks, attacking Clark's military record in the process." ... "That Day would politicize Vietnam in his defense of McCain is not surprising. During the 2004 campaign, he said of Kerry: "My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971." And after appearing in a national advertisement for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, Day formed the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, an extension of the Swift Boat effort." ... "Not willing to let the irony go unnoticed, Kerry lashed out at McCain, on Monday, for using the same smear merchant he once decried." ... ""Colonel Day's comments today only further highlight the McCain campaign's disregard for a new kind of politics," said Kerry. "John McCain condemned these kinds of attacks in 2004 when he called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 'dishonest and dishonorable.' Senator McCain should condemn these remarks and cut ties with the Colonel and anyone else connected to SBVT. Day's comments only serve to disparage all those who served on swift boats in Vietnam."" -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

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John McCain - Bud Day - Politics - 2004 Election - Ads -Military - History - Vietnam - Belgium - US - Massachusetts - Texas -Missouri - 2008 Election
"Price of Power: McCain accepts ex-Swift Boaters' donations." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain, who four years ago condemned independent ads challenging Democrat[ic Senator from Massachusetts and 2004 Election Presidential Candidate] John Kerry's military record, has accepted nearly $70,000 for his presidential campaign from the top donors of the group behind the attack ads and their relatives, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "In 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later called SwiftVets and POWS for Truth) bankrolled ads charging that Kerry had lied about the incidents in Vietnam that led to his military decorations. The group included former members of the Navy who served in the same kind of river patrol boats as Kerry. McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, called the group's advertising "dishonest and dishonorable."" ... "Bob Perry, a Texas builder who gave nearly $4.5 million to Swift Boat Vets, and his wife, Doylene, each have given $4,400 to McCain's presidential campaign, some of which went to an account for legal and accounting expenses, records show." ... "Other donors include Sam Fox, a St. Louis [Missouri] businessman who was named [United States] U.S. ambassador to Belgium last year by President Bush." ... "On Monday, Kerry and national Democratic Party officials sharply criticized McCain for including retired Air Force colonel Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's military service. Day had appeared in Swift Boat ads." -By Fredreka Schouten -USATODAY

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20080109
• Declassified - US - Government - Vietnam - Military - Intelligence - Wireless - Radio - Electronic - Communications - "Declassified study puts Vietnam events in new light: US [United States] signals intelligence [SIGINT] during the war came up short in major turning points, according to an NSA [National Security Agency] history." ... "US signals intelligence – the much-vaunted ability of American military and spy units to eavesdrop on the radio calls and other electronic communications of an adversary – failed at crucial moments during the Vietnam War, according to a just-declassified National Security Agency history of the effort." ... "The 10,000 cryptographers and other signals personnel in Southeast Asia at the time did not predict the start of the Tet offensive on Jan. 31, 1968. Prior to that, signals intelligence may have actually misled [Democratic] President Johnson and other top policymakers about the nature of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which a supposed North Vietnamese attack on US forces triggered a major escalation in the war." ... "US eavesdroppers had many successes during the war, according to the lengthy document, particularly in picking up the tactical communications of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters in the field." ... "But when it comes to major events, signals intelligence is not magic, as the history makes clear. That is a point current policymakers would do well to remember as they struggle to interpret intelligence dealing with the complex modern problems of nuclear proliferation and Islamist extremism." ... "In both the Tet and Gulf of Tonkin cases, "critical information was mishandled, misinterpreted, lost, or ignored," writes NSA historian Robert Hanyok in the agency history. " -By Peter Grier -CSMonitor
• SEE: "Spartans in Darkness: American SIGINT and the Indochina War, 1945-1975." -Robert J. Hanyok 2002 NSA Document via FAS.org

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20070808
• US - Vietnam - France - Iraq - Military - Mitt Romney - Religion - Family - Ill - Quad City - Iowa - 2008 Election - "Romney speaks up for sons' decisions." ... "[2008 election] Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their support for the country by "helping me get elected."" ... "Romney, who did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work [in France] and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war activist after a speech in which he called for "a surge of support" for U.S. forces in Iraq." ... ""The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard."" ... "He added: "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."" ... "The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill [Illinois]., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq." ... ""Of course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get elected."" -By Glen Johnson -AP via -Yahoo 

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20070624
• US - Vietnam - Military - History - France - Academic - Mitt Romney - 2008 Election - Politician - Utah - "Mormon church obtained Vietnam draft deferrals for Romney, other missionaries." ... "As the Vietnam War raged in the 1960s, Mitt Romney received a deferment from the draft as a Mormon "minister of religion" for the duration of his missionary work in France, which lasted two and a half years." ... "Before and after his missionary deferment, Romney also received nearly three years of deferments for his academic studies. When his deferments ended and he became eligible for military service in 1970, he drew a high number in the annual lottery that determined which young men were drafted. His high number ensured he was not drafted into the military." ... "The exemption for Mormon missionaries created controversy at the time. Non-Mormons in Utah filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 1968. The suit was still in court two years later, at a time when "the church and the Selective Service System work hand-in-hand in deferring the missionaries," according to an article from the period published by The New York Times." ... "Richard Leedy, the lawyer who brought the suit, said in a telephone interview that he did so because "the substantial number of deferments to missionaries made the likelihood of us non-Mormons going to Vietnam a lot more likely."" -By Michael Kranish -Boston/Globe

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20060514
• US - Vietnam - US Immigration - Mother's-Day - People - Des-Moines - Iowa - "Mom gives up possessions so son can live, succeed: 'Because of her, I will have a bright future,' says Hung Bui of Des Moines [Iowa], a top speech and acting student." ... "Hung Bui weeps when he recalls the long road of self-sacrifice his mother paved for him to be successful." ... "In Vietnam, Bui's mother, Thuy Phung, sold her car and valuables to pay for hospital care he needed when he was 2 months old." ... "After the family immigrated to the United States in 1998, Phung tirelessly worked and cared for Bui, his three older brothers and their father." ... "On Mother's Day, Bui, now 17, honors the person who has endured extraordinary sacrifices to help him become the person he is today." ... ""All her life, she has been working and building a comfortable life for the people around her," Bui said of his mother. "But she doesn't think much of her life. All she wants is my love." ... ""I will dedicate everything to her. Because of her, I am; because of her, I am going to college. Because of her, I will have a bright future."" -DesMoinesRegister/News 

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20051221
• Vietnam - Drugs - "Bird flu victims die after drug resistance." ... "In a development health experts are calling alarming, two bird flu patients in Vietnam died after developing resistance to Tamiflu, the key drug that governments are stockpiling in case of a large-scale outbreak." ... "The experts said the deaths were disturbing because the two girls had received early and aggressive treatment with Tamiflu and had gotten the recommended doses." ... "The new report suggests that the doses doctors now consider ideal may be too little." -By Alicia Chang -AP via-Miami/Herald

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20051115
• US - Iraq - Vietnam - Military - Political - History - "Poll: American attitudes on Iraq similar to Vietnam era." ... "There are enormous differences between the war in Iraq and the one in Vietnam that defined a generation. The current conflict hasn't lasted as long, taken nearly as many American lives or sparked the sort of massive protests that became common in the '60s and '70s." ... "But when it comes to public opinion, Americans' attitudes toward Iraq and the proper course ahead are remarkably similar to public attitudes toward Vietnam in the summer of 1970, a pivotal year in that conflict and a time of enormous domestic unrest." ... "Some political scientists and Vietnam War historians predict the Iraq war, like the one in Southeast Asia a quarter-century ago, will shape American attitudes long after it's over." -By Susan Page with contributions by Andrea Stone -USATODAY

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20051006
• US - Vietnam - Arizona - South Carolina -Military - Intelligence - "Senate adds ban on torture to bill." ... "The Senate delivered a rebuke to the Bush administration last night, adding language banning U.S. torture of military prisoners to a $440 billion military-spending bill in defiance of a White House threat to veto the whole bill if the anti-torture language were attached." ... "[Arizona Senator John] McCain, who was tortured by his North Vietnamese captors during the Vietnam War, cited a letter written to him recently by Army Capt. Ian Fishback asking Congress to do justice to military personnel." ... ""Give them clear standards of conduct that reflect the ideals they risk their lives for," Fishback wrote the senator." ... "[South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey] Graham, a former judge advocate in the Air National Guard, said: "We take this moral high ground to make sure that if our people fall into enemy hands, we'll have the moral force to say, 'You have got to treat them right.' If you don't practice what you preach, nobody listens."" -By Joseph L. Galloway and James Kuhnhenn -Knight Ridder via -SeattleTimes.NWsource 

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20050821
• -  -  - Nebraska -  - "Hagel: Iraq war has destabilized Mideast, resembles Vietnam." ... "A leading Republican senator and decorated Vietnam War veteran said Sunday the Iraq war has destabilized the Mideast and is looking more like the Vietnam conflict a generation ago." ... "Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts and other military honors for his service in Vietnam, reiterated his position that the United States needs to develop a strategy to leave Iraq." ... "Hagel scoffed at the idea that U.S. troops could be in Iraq four years from now at levels above 100,000, a contingency for which the Pentagon is preparing." -AP via -CNN

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20050720
• -  -  -  -  -  - Animals - Food - "WHO Presses China Over Bird Flu Samples." ... "Chinese authorities have yet to release samples gathered in the western province of Qinghai, where at least 6,000 migratory birds have died, Wadia said." ... "Over the last two years, hundreds of millions of birds, including poultry and wild birds, have died or been slaughtered across Asia because of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which also has infected some humans, killing more than 55 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, which reported three new human deaths from bird flu Wednesday." ... "Health experts have warned that migratory geese and gulls in Qinghai could be poised to spread the virus to India, Australia, New Zealand and eventually Europe when they fly south this summer." -By Alexa Olesen -AP via -WashingtonPost

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20050622
• -  -  - "Vietnamese Leader in White House Visit, a First." ... "Prime Minister Phan Van Khai arrived here Tuesday as the first leader of a united Vietnam to visit the United States, a trip marked by protesters outside the White House and a decidedly muted reception inside." ... "It was a strikingly different occasion from the day when Bill Clinton made the first presidential trip to Vietnam five years ago, placing a coda on one of the most emotionally scarring wars in American history and opening a new start with the country. Then, tens of thousands of Vietnamese lined the streets to greet him." ... "The crowds outside the White House were far smaller and were made up in good part of Vietnamese-Americans, who focused on complaints about Vietnam's human rights record." -By David E. Sanger -NYTimes 

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20040211
• -  -  -  -  - ELECTION 2004 - "White House releases Bush's Guard records." ... "Moving to squelch an election year controversy, the White House yesterday made public records showing that President Bush attended some Air National Guard training between mid-1972 and mid-1973 and was paid for it, and said the records refute reports that Bush did not fulfill his military obligation during the Vietnam War." ... "But the same records also show that Bush may not have met the minimum-service requirement expected of most Guard members, according to National Guard officials. And after releasing the records, the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, could not explain why, if Bush appeared for duty on the days listed in the documents, Bush's superiors wrote on May 2, 1973, that he had not been seen at his Houston air base for the previous 12 months." -By Walter V. Robinson and Michael Rezendes -Boston/Globe

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20040205
• -  - "Bird flu 'not under control', says UN." ... "The bird flu outbreak in Asia is not under control, the UN and the World Health Authority said today after an emergency meeting in Rome, and called for targeted vaccination of poultry." ... "The virus, which has killed at least 13 people in Asia after jumping to humans in Thailand and Vietnam, will spread much further without emergency measures, according to the UN food and agriculture organisation (FAO), the WHO and the world animal health organisation (WAHO)." -Guardian.co.uk 

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20031020
• -  - "Vietnam atrocities revealed in report:  Elite unit said to kill hundreds of civilians." ... "An elite unit of American soldiers mutilated and killed hundreds of unarmed villagers over seven months in 1967 during the Vietnam War, and an Army investigation was closed with no charges filed, The Blade reported yesterday." ... "Soldiers of the Tiger Force unit of the Army's 101st Airborne Division dropped grenades into bunkers where villagers -- including women and children -- hid, and shot farmers without warning, the newspaper reported. Soldiers told The Blade that they severed ears from the dead and strung them on shoelaces to wear around their necks." ... "The Army's 4 1/2-year investigation, never before made public, was initiated by a soldier outraged at the killings. The probe substantiated 20 war crimes by 18 soldiers and reached the Pentagon and White House before it was closed in 1975, The Blade said." -AP via -Boston/Globe

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20030309
• -  -  -  - "'67 Study Discouraged Use of Nuclear Weapons in Vietnam War." ... "A secret 1967 government study on the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War that was declassified and released yesterday found that the political cost of using such devices far outweighed its military benefits." ... "The study was undertaken after nuclear scientists working on governmental scientific analyses as part of the so-called Jason Group heard informal remarks by senior military officers about possible use of tactical nuclear weapons." ... "The 36-year-old study also disclosed the United States was trying to develop a "research earth borer," an air-dropped nuclear bomb that could dig into the ground to a certain depth before exploding." -By Walter Pincus-WashingtonPost 

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20020916
• "U.S. [embassies] missions in Indonesia, Malaysia reopen." ... They were closed "because of terror warnings ahead of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said." ... "But the missions in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and the Vietnamese capital Hanoi remained closed until further notice, embassy officials said. The U.S. consulate in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City has reopened." -AP via -MercuryNews 

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20020829
• - "Australia pressures Vietnam over death sentence: The Australian government will push to have a death sentence commuted for a woman found guilty of drug trafficking in Vietnam." ... "Australia abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1985, with the last person to be executed, Ronald Ryan, hanged in 1967." -By Grant Holloway -CNN /Asia 

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20011230
• "Agent Orange hotspots located [in Vietnam]." -By Helen Sewell -BBC /News 

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