Organisers of the Democratic National
Convention have said sorry for using an image of Soviet-era Russian
warships as a backdrop for a tribute to veterans at last week's party
gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina.The
vessels were shown on a large screen behind 50 veterans who stood on
the stage on September 6th during a presentation by retired Admiral John
Nathman.'Due to vendor
error, incorrect images appeared briefly on screen behind fifty-one
veterans during the convention and the DNCC apologizes for this
mistake,' a Democratic National Convention Committee spokeswoman said in
a statement to the Navy Times.'This error should not distract from
the words of Admiral Nathman and others who spoke to President Obama's
strong record on issues that impact those who have served our nation.'But
the DNC took the opportunity to knock at Mitt Romney's speech at last
month's Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.'We're
proud of the service and sacrifice of our veterans and military
families,' the statement said. 'And while they were an important and
active part our of convention, Mitt Romney failed to even mention them
in his speech in Tampa.'The rogue warships, believed to be
part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, were first noticed by Rob Barker, a
former naval electronics warfare technician, who contacted the Navy
Times.Naval historians
spoken to by the Navy Times confirmed the background showed four ships
'with radar designs not used' by American warships.'The
ships are definitely Russian,' Norman Polmar, a naval author told the
Navy Times after reviewing photos from the event. 'There's no question
of that in my mind.