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.

[JohnHuang2]

#30 -- Methinks you're on to something.

[P-Marlowe]

I would be willing to bet the McAuliffe's fingerprints are LITERALLY all over those documents. LITERALLY.

Send in the fingerprint experts!

[TheCrusader]

"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."

"Close associates"? You know they're lying through their teeth; they somehow skipped right over Killian's personnel director Rufus Martin, his wife and his son during their search for 'close associates' of Killian.

[JohnHuang2]

;-)

[Jet Jaguar]

I agree and second your statement.

[TheCrusader]

"First, the Texas Lt. Governor who said he got Bush into the TANG was not the Lt. Governor at the time Bush joined the TANG."

Yikes! Do you know what position he held at the time?

[Flyer]

The White House distributed the four memos

Isn't it cruel to hand a rope to someone that wants to hang themselves?

[CFC__VRWC]

"More than a couple people heard about the papers," says the DNC staffer. "I've heard that they ended up with the Kerry campaign, for them to decide to how to proceed, and presumably they were handed over to 60 Minutes, which used them the other night. But I know this much. When there was discussion here, there were doubts raised about their authenticity."

This is how Kerry and the DNC repay their friends in the media, whose tireless efforts on behalf of Kerry are the only thing that are keeping this race from being a 15-to-20-point George Bush blowout - they throw them to the wolves.

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.democrats.org/news/200409090001.html

Sep 8, 2004
McAuliffe Statement on Breaking News About Bush's Military Record

Washington, D.C. - Responding to breaking news regarding George W. Bush's military record, Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe issued this statement:

"George W. Bush's cover story on his National Guard service is rapidly unraveling.

"Tonight's CBS New report made clear that President Bush has misrepresented the nature of his National Guard service for decades to the American people. And now that questions are being raised, only Bush can settle this once and for all by answering the unanswered questions about his Guard service.

"CBS News exclusively obtained documents that flatly contradict two of Bush's often repeated claims about his time in the National Guard - that he received no special treatment and that he fulfilled his duty.

"According to these new military documents, political pressure was applied and strings were pulled for President Bush at every step of the process: to get in the Guard, to stay in the Guard, and to exit the Guard.

"These are serious charges. They have not been leveled by his opponent. Or by a political party. Or by an outside group. They are based on documents from the personal files of Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's squadron commander.

"George W. Bush needs to answer why he regularly misled the American people about his time in the Guard and who applied political pressure on his behalf to have his performance reviews 'sugarcoated'?"

[NavyCanDo]

My letter to CBS

This 60 Minutes II hit piece on Bush using documents that have not been authenticated, and are now being called likely forged papers just reinforces my families decision to continue to block CBS from our Direct TV line up. When I turn on the news I want to hear just that, the news of the day. I want to get caught up on what has been happening while I have been at work. I don't want to see a half hour of political propaganda, News with an agenda, which this week included Dan Rather parading an anti-war mom wearing a t-shirt saying Bush killed my son, I don't want to see stories blaming Bush for the suffering of the people in Florida, and I don't want to see CBS waving forged documents saying Bush failed to perform to National Guard standards.

[estpeter]

Oh yea....this has the stench of the Clinton mafia all over it.

[RedEyeJack]

That is the new spin... They came from the Kerry campaign and were given to Rather to undermine Bush... If that story takes hold and it should, Rather and company will have to come clean on the true source of the documents and we can get to the bottom of this...

Recommend that an enterprising member of the Press ask McCain's office what the Senator thinks of this story... Should give the inquiry a booster if McCain throws out a reasonable doubt...

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.democrats.org/news/index.html

Sep 9, 2004
Questions George Bush Must Answer About His Service

Washington, D.C. - In response to new revelations regarding George W. Bush's military record the Democratic National Committee released a series of questions the President is obligated to answer.

Q: Why did George Bush say "I did my duty" when he missed months of duty in 1972, 73 and 74?

Q: How did George Bush avoid getting called into active service for missing months of duty in 1972, 73, 74?

Q: Why did George Bush disobey a direct order to take his physical?

Q: What standard did George Bush fail to meet when he was grounded for failing to perform at US Air Force/Texas Air National Guard Standards?

Q: Why did George Bush go above his commander's head to ensure a favorable evaluation he had not earned?

Q: Why did George Bush say he received "no special treatment" when Ben Barnes says he pulled strings to secure a Guard slot for him?

Q: Who asked Bush family friend Sidney Adger to get Bush a slot in the Guard immediately after Bush graduated and at the height of the Vietnam War?

Q: When will George Bush produce any credible witness who can attest to his service in the Alabama Air National Guard?

[VRWC_minion]

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

This is what they relied on. In a way, it looks like Rove may be guilty.

[IamConservative]

""These are serious charges. They have not been leveled by his opponent. Or by a political party. Or by an outside group. They are based on documents from the personal files of Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's squadron commander."

Do military officers keep personal files with would be official military documantation in them that does not become part of the official record?

[truthkeeper]

Aren't you the busy little bee already this morning? Good for you! Many thanks for your efforts.

[OXENinFLA]

DNCSep 7, 2004

Found: Urgent Memo from Halliburton to Cheney

This is Another Fake Memo in a DNC Ploy to Make a Point

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That's NOT my line, it's straight off the DNC site!!!

[Graymatter]

Besides, no innocent person looks that sanctimonious while committing the fraud.

[RedEyeJack]

Is that for real?

[OXENinFLA]

Click the link.