Before 2004, being a Vietnam vet (see http://www.dailykos.com/... ) I had followed Bush's military service story occasionally but there wasn't much out there about it. Thanks especially to Paul Lukasiak for his outstanding website and analysis, AWOLBush.com, Marty Heldt who originally FOIA'd Bush's military papers and Geralt Lechliter with his brilliant analysis of various aspects of the fraud and falsifcaions http://www.nytimes.com/... (and you too, bob fertik and others!)
I'm only continuing a story they gave up on too soon.
But on Feb 10, 2004,a friday afternoon, when McClellan walked in to the WH press room and dumped Bush's records in a box, all jumbled up, I knew they were trying to hide something. Thats not how you treat a record you say youre proud of, its what Bushco does when theyre trying to hide something,well, duh.
Despite this clear indication they were dishing out the ol' phonus balonus, that there was something to look at there, the media just nodded their heads, stenographed the WH talking points as usual and went home for the weekend--all according to plan. No one in the media has ever questioned why Bushco did that to a record they said they were proud of. They tried to play it off as Bushco's contempt for the media that they would even question his service, Bush just acted all humble/offended. Mission acomplished, Bushco spinners, you are the best liars in the world, as this story proves.
When I knew that they were trying to hide something, I wanted to find out what they were hiding. (I'm a very curious person with a lot of energy.) SO I printed out all his papers, put them in Chronological order and started looking at them-- and then the story popped out. Paul Lukasiak has done this all for us at: http://www.glcq.com/... both chronologically and alphabeticaly, which is a BIG boon to Bush researchers. Thanks Paul! Skip the USA today website, this is the one you want to study, especially the years 1972--74. Thats where the noticeable crimes are. Its not hard to figure out when you start from the basis that there's fraud and falsification there...and forgeries. sound familiar? Bushco accuses others of what they themselves do.
the first thing I encountered was his discharge and its eyepopping: http://users.cis.net/... This is the best example of hiding chickenshit by putting it in the middle of the table and calling it chickensalad in history!
Do you realize that it says Bush was completely unquaified to hold the only job he is listed as having? thats a HUGE contradiction right there. Do you know when discharged, he was competely unqualified to do ANYTHING?? Thats what having NONE in capital letters in your qualifications box means. Do you know, according to his discharge, Bush was awarded NO medals at all? NOne! Zip! Nada! Not even the NDSM! There's a statement on it saying "...officer has a 6 year military service sommitment...and has completed 5 years 4 moths and 5 days..." Thats statement says he didn't even finish his commitment. And then there's the question of why he didn't even show up to sign his discharge--an important irregularity right there. (hey fellow vets---any of you not show up to sign your discharge? Whats the story behind that?)
Ive analyzed this discharge at greater length here: http://www.dailykos.com/... So why wasn't this investigated further, when the discrepancies are so apparent?
Thats what segues into the next part of the story--at the same time Bush's papers came out, what was also just starting? If you said the Swiftboating of John Kerry, youre more observant than most. Its impossible not to believe these two issues weren't coordinated, with the most important purpose being the covering of Bush's record by smearing Kerry, because the same people were involved at the same time in both, like Dan Bartlett and Karl Rove.
They had to do this because Bush's military record has always been his greatest vulnerability--there's enough important crimes in this story to put Bush and his superiors away; crimes that go way beond AWOL, like Defrauding the government, embezzlement, (see: http://www.dailykos.com/... ) falsification of military documents, obtaining and effecting a false discharge. Its as serious a a Heart attack for Bush and always has been because some of these crimes, like obtaining a false discharge, have no statute of limitations. (penalty: up to 5 years imprisonment, dishonorable discharge: a delightful thought, and one that keeps me motivated)
The story of Bush's papers is the story of the media being stampeded, lead around by the nose, told what to print. In this, Bushco has many willing stooges planted in the media, paid and unpaid. We have seen how the media and Congress was stampeded in the run--up to the iraq war. This is more of the same and in the same stenographic era (still going)
Its easier to analyze the plan after the event because you can see what was done. I believe that the main purpose of the Swiftboating of Kerry was to distract attention from Bush's record because thats what happened (there's other connections, too)
Kerry's record got hundreds and hundreds of stories. everybody went through it with a shovel and a shitrake while Bush's got a mere couple of dozen--and none of them took a serious look. Kerry's record was analayzed to death, they even had "experts" debating how long it took him to get the Swifboat turned around--and nobody anywhere, EVER asked why Bush didn't get ANY medals at all, why his discharge says he wasn't qualified to hold the only job he's listed as having, why it says he only finished "5 years 4 months and 5 days" of a 6 year commitment.. and why he didn't even show up to sign it. How can a man wave a document around as "proof" of his "honorable service" that he wasn't even there to sign? He does it!
Bush's story was softballed to death esp by people like Russert. Russert interviewed Bush, supposedly to ask questions about his service. in this interview, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/... conducted two days BEFORE they released his papers, Bush acknowleges himself that there is no evidence that he served In Alabama and Texas (after 4/16/72) "...There may be no evidence, but I did report; otherwise, I wouldn't have been honorably discharged. In other words, you don't just say "I did something" without there being verification. Military doesn't work that way. ..."
He's dead right about that--there IS no evidence that he reported to either the 187th ALANG or the 111th TXANG after Apr 16, 1972. He's also right about the military not working that way---for everybody except for him. But can you see the contradiction in the first two sentences? what ol Slowpitch Russert should have asked him is why then, if there's no apparent verification, which you admit, should America believe your story. Its his word against The Official record...and he wins!! Notice how Bush never answers the questions, tries to pretend his opponents are attacking the TXANG, instead of dmeaning answers to suspicioud circumstances.
Russert never mentions Bush's suspension from flying and what he did afterwards. What did bush DO after he had been suspended from flying to earn the pilot's pay--with flight pay---that he continued to get for a year (52 paid days) after he'd been suspended from flying? America needs to know that. It wasn't backoffice paperwork...according to the unit's records.
Bush also in so many words, calls his unit's records false:
"...Russert: The Boston Globe and the Associated Press have gone through some of the records and said there’s no evidence that you reported to duty in Alabama during the summer and fall of 1972.
President Bush: Yeah, they’re — they're just wrong...."
See that? Both of the ONLY two units he could have been in's records have NO record of Bush attending after 4/16/72--and all Bush had to do was say: "They're just wrong" and it all went away. Do you think that either or both of those units held an investigation to seee why their records are so wrong or made any attempt to correct them?
Not freaking hardly!!
Those records are still maintained exactly as they werere--showing Bush didn't attend either unit. And all Bush had to do was say theyre wrong and it all went away, like there was o contradiction. Didn't go away so easy for Kerry did it? Think that was part of the plan?
But the dropdead chutzpah part was Bush and Bushco waving his discharge around to prove his honorable service, but never showing or explaingin it--and no one ever pointed out that it says he has no medals at all, no qualifications at all, unqualified to hold the job he's listed as having, a statement saying he didn't finish his service commitment and the fact that he didn't even show up to sign it. To Bushco, finishing "5 years 4 months and 5 days" is the same as finishing a 6 year commitment.
Never before has the Emperor worn fewer clothes.
No one ever pointed out that its a Kiss of Death discharge--what the Congressman's son got when he ghosted (goldbricked) his way out of the service without completeing, as it says, his commitment. No medals, completely unqualifled to do ANYTHING, not even signed: they did not mean for Bush ever to show this proudly and he delayyed it as long as he could. And then threw down a scrambled up record.
"...Russert: You did — were allowed to leave eight months before your term expired. Was there a reason?
President Bush: Right. Well, I was going to Harvard Business School and worked it out with the military...."
Russert never asks what exactly that deal was he worked out with the military or why it left him with the worlds most dishonorable looking "honorable discharge." Its because the interview preceded the release of documents---gotcha Timmy!
Slick, Bushco, very slick--and it worked like a charm.
And this interview is just the tip of the iceberg on the softballing Bush had gotten on his record. And now its a dead issue, its "old news" (another well known Bushco spin response) even though all the obvious questions never got asked....or answered.
Questions like: Why are there NO medals on Bush's discharge and where the heck do his supporters get off ripping up a man's Silver Star and Purple Hearts when Bush couldn't even put and keep a lousy NDSM on his record (for 6 months active duty)
Questions like: What did George bush do to earn the pilots pay, with flight pay, they paid him for 52 days after he was suspended (i.e.removed) from flight status.
Or: Where is bush's REAL suspension order--the one Killian DID write and DID read to Bush on august 1st, 1972 according to two confirmation documents, that Marian Knox said she DID type up and that Killian signed, the one that is supposed to be in Bush's records by regulation. What did IT say? Bush, of course, knows this-he was there talking to Killian that day (and had to get a copy of it).....according to his posted documents like: http://users.cis.net/...
Or: Why did CBS "investigate," (with no legal powers or basis at all) papers to establish their suthenticity which had letterhead of a TXANG unit, purported to be official orders concerning TXANG officers and had the full signature of a TXXANG commander on one...and the TXANG never did? Why are these supposedly forged federal documennts allowed to remain unresolved? Why has the TXXANG never been held to account for this?
Or: why has the man most libeled by the CBS memos, never displayed ANY conceern or curiosity abut them. Did I say this man controls EVERY federal investigative agency, including the TXANG, whose papers they purport to be?
There's a lot more questions like this to answer and I'm still a very curious person. And there's a lot more questios to ask.
those questions haven't been asked at all--and Bush is still getting away with his pseudo tough guy act. (A cheerleader in college!!Hardehar) This story is about the military's and media's evasion of duty and honor as much as it is Bush's story of evasion of duty and honor. As long as he's still getting away with it, I'll be out here asking these questions and others and trying to answer them. Call it consciousness raising. Or just simple curiosity. And I feel I'm doing it for every Democrat veteran who ever got a medal--or showd up to sign his discharge.
And no, for those who keep asking, I don't have anything better to do.
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