Bush 'Desertion' Charge Debunked

NewsMax ^ | 1/24/04 | Limbacher

[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.

[backhoe]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906471/posts

The Truth About "George W. Bush's Resume"
Curt King

The Real Military Record of George W. Bush: Not Heroic, but Not AWOL, Either

[Peach]

Saved for election time; it will need to be debunked AGAIN.

[Ann Archy]

Weasley Clark is CERTIFIABLE...just like his idol, Michael Moore.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Related thread from Oct. 2000.

[Cubs Fan]

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.

[Sloth]

Bookmarked for future reference.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

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.

[bolobaby]

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.

[Montfort]

Funny how the story debunking this myth is not as well traveled as the urban myth that crats keep citing as fact.

[MEG33]

Kerry came home and trashed his brothers in arms.

[AnAmericanMother]

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 >>

[jwfiv]

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.

[muawiyah]

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.

[Dog Anchor]

The General has key endorsements:

Madonna

Michael Moore

[murdoog]

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.

[MEG33]

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.

[Cubs Fan]

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.