Bush Guard Memos Scrutinized (Kerry's lying pals at CBS begin a slow back-peddle)

CBS supposed "News" ^ | Friday, September 10, 2004

[JohnHuang2]

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Bush Guard Memos Under Microscope
NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2004


Questions were raised Thursday about the authenticity of newly unearthed memos purporting to have been written by one of President Bush's National Guard commanders in 1972 and 1973.

The memos, which were publicized on CBS News' 60 Minutes, say Mr. Bush ignored a direct order from a superior officer and lost his status as a Guard pilot because he failed to meet military performance standards and undergo a required physical exam.

The network defended the memos, saying its experts who examined the memos concluded they were authentic documents produced by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian.

But Killian's son, one of Killian's fellow officers and an independent document examiner questioned the memos.

Gary Killian, who served in the Guard with his father and retired as a captain in 1991, said he doubted his father would have written an unsigned memo which said there was pressure to "sugar coat" Mr. Bush's performance review.

"It just wouldn't happen," he said. "No officer in his right mind would write a memo like that."

The personnel chief in Killian's unit at the time also said he believes the documents are fake.

"They looked to me like forgeries," said Rufus Martin. "I don't think Killian would do that, and I knew him for 17 years." Killian died in 1984.

Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software. Lines, a document expert and fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, pointed to a superscript — a smaller, raised "th" in "111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron" — as evidence indicating forgery.

Microsoft Word automatically inserts superscripts in the same style as the two on the memos obtained by CBS, she said.

"I'm virtually certain these were computer generated," Lines said after reviewing copies of the documents at her office in Paradise Valley, Ariz. She produced a nearly identical document using her computer's Microsoft Word software.

In the Wednesday broadcast, 60 Minutes said the purported memos were "documents we are told were taken from Col. Killian's personal file. The program says it consulted a handwriting analyst and document expert who believes the material is authentic.

"As is standard practice at CBS News, the documents in the 60 Minutes report were thoroughly examined and their authenticity vouched for by independent experts," CBS News said in a statement. "As importantly, 60 Minutes also interviewed close associates of Colonel Jerry Killian. They confirm that the documents reflect his opinions and actions at the time."

The White House distributed the four memos from 1972 and 1973 after obtaining them from CBS News. The White House did not question their accuracy.

Robert Strong was a friend and colleague of Killian who ran the Texas Air National Guard administrative office in the Vietnam era. Strong, now a college professor, also believes the documents are genuine.

"They are compatible with the way business was done at the time. They are compatible with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being," says Strong. "I don't see anything in the documents that is discordant with what were the times, what was the situation and what were the people involved."

The documents were described in a 60 Minutes that featured a retired Texas politician's claim that he pulled strings to get young Mr. Bush, then a college graduate at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968, into the Guard — a posting that made service overseas unlikely.

Former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes — then the 29-year-old speaker of the Texas House — told CBS News Anchor Dan Rather that he used influence on Mr. Bush's behalf at the request of a Houston businessman friendly with the Bush family, oilman Sid Adger.

Mr. Bush has denied he received special treatment. The White House ascribed Barnes' remarks to political motives. Barnes is an adviser to Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry.

The president's service record emerged as an issue during the 2000 race and again this winter. The Killian documents revived the issue of Mr. Bush's time in uniform after weeks in which Kerry, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, has faced questions over his record as a Navy officer and an anti-war protester.

In May 1968, Mr. Bush signed a six-year commitment to fly for the Air Guard. Mr. Bush was honorably discharged from the Guard in October 1973 and left the Air Force Reserves in May 1974.

Early in his military career, Mr. Bush received glowing evaluations from Killian, who called Lt. Bush "an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot" who "performed in an outstanding manner."

Documents released this week show Mr. Bush with scores of 88 on an airmanship test, 98 on aviation physiology and 100 on navigational abilities.

The questions about Mr. Bush's service center on how Mr. Bush got into the Guard and whether he fulfilled his duties during a period from mid-1972 to mid-1973.

After taking his last flight in April 1972, Mr. Bush went for six months without showing up for any training drills.

That May, Mr. Bush skipped a required yearly medical examination. In response, his commanders grounded him on Aug. 1, 1972.

In September 1972 he received permission to transfer to the Alabama unit so he could work on a political campaign there.

What the Killian memos purported to show is that Mr. Bush defied a direct order to appear for the physical, that his performance as an officer was lacking in other ways and that Mr. Bush used family connections to try to quash any inquiry into his lapses.

In a separate revelation, the Boston Globe this week reported that Mr. Bush promised to sign up with a Boston-area unit when he left his Texas unit in 1973 to attend Harvard Business School. Mr. Bush never signed up with a Boston unit.

Bartlett claimed in 1999 that Mr. Bush had joined a Boston unit. Bartlett told the Globe this week that he "misspoke."



©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Grampa Dave]

I went to Dish four years ago this spring to get FoxNews.

Many of the new developments in N. California aren't putting in Cable. They just have outlets in the house. Then Dish or Direct Tv can be installed for free and a better deal $ wise for the new home owners.

[serpentineshel]

The Dish is what they ended up getting...we have "discussions" every other day or so about current events. I keep him updated about what's happening on the net, printing the most pertinent articles, funny things I think he'd like...mail them out every 2nd day or so. He's the most staunch Bush supporter. I've never met a man so devoted to this country.

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL! Good work, crushelits .....

[AFPhys]

I wrote a fair share of personnel-file fodder in '81 and '82.

I never even took a scrap of it out of the office - not even when I cleaned out my desk.

(I was squadron exec officer)
/

[AFPhys]

There is NO doubt ::: these ARE FORGERIES generated by Microsoft Word.

I would love to see to whom the copier belongs to that "aged" them, and whose fingerprints are on these.
/

[suzyq5558]

This is not just a journalistic mistake. It was an out and out plot to undermine the Commander in Chief and oust our current leadership at a time of war. And it relied on forged military documents, a further sacrilege. The news is still full of the forgery. Talk about attempting an illegitimate election!

Now I wonder if this where some of these lunatic libs are coming up with this nonsense about impeaching the President after he's re-elected??

[D-fendr]

Ben Barnes is also lobbyist for American Airlines (in addition to being National Vice Chair of Kerry Campaign and Kerry's third highest fundraiser.)

[weegee]

Better check the Chicago and Florida voter rolls for Jerry Killian, registered as Democrat. Dead men tell no tales but they certainly vote Democrat!

[El Paul]

Well -- I wish I could say for sure that I think it's a fraud.

If you go to Findlaw, you can get a copy of the memo or memos for yourself -- either .pdf for .gif files.

Get the one for 04May72, and blow it up to about 200% on your screen. See if you think a computer printer made that document. I don't believe it did -- it is too imperfect to have been done on a puter. It looks exactly like what an impact printer whacks into paper. I mean, every single character on it would have to have been a custom-drawn graphic to make it on a puter.

Beside that, the admin doesn't seem to be doing anything to refute the memos. Which is kinda hard to understand; they could kill multiple enemies with one blow by quickly demonstrating that they are fraudulent. CBS presumably has the originals -- a forensics lab could easily tell how old they are, if the ink was modern, etc.

Like they say, any time you spend defending, you are losing -- they need to quash this quickly.

[JustAnotherSavage]

There are two polls on the subject on CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/

Should Dan Rather and CBS News reveal the sources of the Bush memos?

Yes 35% 282 votes

No 65% 519 votes

Total: 801 votes

AND
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/wolf.blitzer.reports/

Do you think the recently released memos on President Bush's National Guard service are authentic?

Yes 52% 65829 votes

No 48% 61920 votes

Total: 127749 votes

If you are so inclined, CNN needs a little FR power!

[The Raven]

>>Strong, now a college professor

Whoops....that means he's a Dem

[ntnychik]

You're awesome!
In the 1970's, I used IBM executive type electric typewriter with variable type. The elements I am aware of were prestige elite (serifs), courier (sans serif), and italics. I had to roll the platen manually to make superscript numbers for footnotes. It was very difficult to make two superscripts next to each other. I was only aware of 12 and 10 point fonts. 14 or 16 point fonts would have been necessary to make small superscripts as I've seen in pics of the bogus documents. I am not aware of the availability of those size fonts.

Keep up the great sleuthing!

[mvpel]

I remember in typing class the steps involved in centering text on the page. First you'd count up the letters on the line, divide by two, tab to the center of the page, then backspace that number of letters and begin typing.

Now, try to imagine doing this when each letter takes up a different amount of space, and have it all come out perfectly.

A fellow Freeper said he'd rather poke his eyes out with sticks than try to do manual centering on a proportional-spacing typewriter, and I tend to agree with that sentiment.

It's amazing what we take for granted thanks to Bill Gates.

[Buckhead]

The IBM Executive has been conclusively ruled out in other threads. 1. The font here wasn't available on typewriters back then, incl. the Executive. 2. The fonts here are kerned - not possible then. 3. There is proportional line spacing here, also not possible then. 4. The overlays ...

The story is now wheeling from whether they are forgeries to whodunit.