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Bush 'Desertion' Charge Debunked
NewsMax ^
| 1/24/04
| Limbacher
Posted on 01/24/2004 12:31:13 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Did President Bush "desert" the military, as radical filmmaker Michael Moore insists he did? Presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark suggested during New Hampshire's presidential debate Thursday night that the facts of whether Bush ran out on his National Guard unit in 1972 and 1973 are in dispute.
But in the months before the 2000 presidential election, the New York Times pretty much demolished this Democratic Party urban legend, a myth that first surfaced in its sister paper, the Boston Globe.
"For a full year, there is no record that Bush showed up for the periodic drills required of part-time guardsmen," the Globe insisted in May 2000, in a report Mr. Moore currently cites on his web site to rebut ABC newsman Peter Jennings' debate challenge to Clark that the story is "unsupported by the facts."
"I don't know whether [Moore's desertion charge] is supported by the facts or not," Clark replied "I've never looked at it."
The Times did, however, look at it, and found that Bush had indeed served during the part of the time the Globe had him AWOL - and later made up whatever time he missed after requesting permission for the postponement.
In July 2000 the Times noted that Bush's chief accuser in the Globe report, retired Gen. William Turnipseed, had begun to back way from his story that Bush never appeared for service during the time in question.
"In a recent interview," said the Times, "[Turnipseed] took a tiny step back, saying, 'I don't think he did, but I wouldn't stake my life on it." In fact, military records obtained by the Times showed that Turnipseed was wrong and that the Globe had flubbed the story.
"A review by The Times showed that after a seven-month gap, he appeared for duty in late November 1972 at least through July 1973," the paper noted on Nov. 3, 2000.
The Times explained:
"On Sept. 5, 1972, Mr. Bush asked his Texas Air National Guard superiors for assignment to the 187th Tactical Recon Group in Montgomery [Alabama] 'for the months of September, October and November,'" so Bush could manage the Senate campaign of Republican Winton Blount.
"Capt. Kenneth K. Lott, chief of the personnel branch of the 187th Tactical Recon Group, told the Texas commanders that training in September had already occurred but that more training was scheduled for Oct. 7 and 8 and Nov. 4 and 5."
After the Bush AWOL story had percolated for months, Col. Turnipseed finally remembered another glitch in his story: the fact that National Guard regulations allowed Guard members to miss duty as long as it was made up within the same quarter.
And, in fact - according to the Times - that's what Bush did.
"A document in Mr. Bush's military records," the paper said, "showed credit for four days of duty ending Nov. 29 and for eight days ending Dec. 14, 1972, and, after he moved back to Houston, on dates in January, April and May."
The paper found corroboration for the document, noting, "The May dates correlated with orders sent to Mr. Bush at his Houston apartment on April 23, 1973, in which Sgt. Billy B. Lamar told Mr. Bush to report for active duty on May 1-3 and May 8-10."
Yet another document obtained by the Times blew the Bush AWOL story out of the water.
It showed that Mr. Bush served at various times from May 29, 1973, through July 30, 1973 - "a period of time questioned by The Globe," the Times sheepishly admitted.
TOPICS: Front Page News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; awol; bds; bush; clark; desertion; desetion; nh
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To: Tumbleweed_Connection
2
posted on
01/24/2004 12:36:42 PM PST
by
backhoe
(--30--)
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Saved for election time; it will need to be debunked AGAIN.
3
posted on
01/24/2004 12:36:57 PM PST
by
Peach
(The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Weasley Clark is CERTIFIABLE...just like his idol, Michael Moore.
4
posted on
01/24/2004 12:37:43 PM PST
by
Ann Archy
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
5
posted on
01/24/2004 12:38:47 PM PST
by
WinOne4TheGipper
(The Democrats: an innovative bunch. Every time you think they've hit bottom, they find new lows.)
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
I knew the day I heard this AWOL stuff that it had to be BS. There's no way a media that hates GWB would keep silent the way it did.
And indeed the Times, one of the most blatently liberal, if not THE most blatently liberal publication around, debunks the myth.
Michael Moore is once again revealed for the Big Fat liar he is.
6
posted on
01/24/2004 12:40:23 PM PST
by
Cubs Fan
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Bookmarked for future reference.
7
posted on
01/24/2004 12:40:23 PM PST
by
Sloth
("I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" -- Jacobim Mugatu, 'Zoolander')
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
I like how morons jump up and down and scream "There's no record of it". 1971 through 1973 are the worst years to search for military records because the high number of returning troops from Vietnam overloaded the admin system. Plenty of paper got lost then.
8
posted on
01/24/2004 12:43:55 PM PST
by
Hillarys Gate Cult
(Proud member of the right wing extremist Neanderthals.)
Comment #9 Removed by Moderator
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
It's called "SUTA" - Substitute Unit Training Assembly. National guardsmen SUTA drills *all the time*. It's a mechanism that was put into place because the Guard understands that being a civilian and a soldier at the same time sometimes produces conflicts.
I can't think of a single guardsman I know who hasn't SUTAed a drill before - including myself.
10
posted on
01/24/2004 12:45:33 PM PST
by
bolobaby
To: Tumbleweed_Connection
Funny how the story debunking this myth is not as well traveled as the urban myth that crats keep citing as fact.
11
posted on
01/24/2004 12:46:09 PM PST
by
Montfort
To: walkman
Kerry came home and trashed his brothers in arms.
12
posted on
01/24/2004 12:46:45 PM PST
by
MEG33
To: Hillarys Gate Cult
Yep, my husband's papers got lost in that time frame.
The Army Reserve had no idea where he was for about three years. I confess to my shame that I am the one who called the regional HQ and noted that we hadn't heard from them for some time . . . so they sent him off to summer camp tout suite! << blush >>
13
posted on
01/24/2004 12:47:22 PM PST
by
AnAmericanMother
(. . . sed, ut scis, quis homines huiusmodi intellegere potest?. . .)
Comment #14 Removed by Moderator
To: walkman
Kerry's record also includes testimony before Congress tht our soldiers in the field were little Calley's...killing, raping, taking no prisoners.
The only bright spot on his record was his heroism during combat.
After that, he besmirched what honor he had with lies and pejorative falsehoods, which practice continues unto this day.
He's Jane Fonda in britches.
15
posted on
01/24/2004 12:50:16 PM PST
by
jwfiv
To: Cubs Fan
Michael Moore a liar?!
Oh, my word ~ to tell a lie you have to have a mind.
Michael Moore is a mindless twit and cannot lie.
16
posted on
01/24/2004 12:50:36 PM PST
by
muawiyah
To: Ann Archy
The General has key endorsements:
Madonna
Michael Moore
To: backhoe
This is interesting. The story, as told by Bush's critics, strongly resembles the story of Bill Clinton reneging on his promise to join ROTC.
The true story of course bears only superficial resenblance, if any at all. That's why Micheal Moore and his ilk had to embellish it.
Such repulsive tactics are why I would consent to have a kidney removed by a drunken surgeon with a pocket knife before I would vote for another Democrat.
18
posted on
01/24/2004 12:52:18 PM PST
by
murdoog
(i just changed my tag line)
To: walkman
I have an idea there may be a number of vets that spread the word.You are correct that most voters won't know and the dem voters don't care.
19
posted on
01/24/2004 12:52:24 PM PST
by
MEG33
To: walkman
All this does is highlight Kerry's record (like him or not, he has wounds to prove it).That may be, but in order for an incumbent president to lose there has to be dissatisfaction. Whatever Kerry's "record" it cannot stand up to Bush's PROVEN record dealing with terrorism.
The economy is good, jobs will probably follow within the next few months.
There is no reason for the public to want to fire George Bush. Therefore, unless something major happens to change the situation, he will win handily.
20
posted on
01/24/2004 12:52:39 PM PST
by
Cubs Fan
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