AP: New Bush Guard Papers Leave Questions (AP trotting out Bush guard story....again)

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=200973 ^

[Technical Editor]

WASHINGTON Oct 26, 2004 — Unearthed under legal pressure, three-decade-old documents portray President Bush as a capable and well-liked Air National Guard pilot who stopped flying and attending regular drills two-thirds of the way through his six-year commitment without consequence.

The files, many of them forced to light by Freedom of Information lawsuits by The Associated Press, conflict with some of the harshest attacks Democrats have levied on Bush's Vietnam-era service, such as suggestions that Bush was a deserter or absent without leave.

But gaps in the records leave unanswered questions about the final two years of his military service in 1972 and 1973. Chief among them: Why did Bush's commanders apparently tolerate his lapses in training and approve his honorable discharge?

Bush's commanders could have punished him or ordered him to two years of active duty for missing drills for six months in 1972 and skipping a required pilot's medical exam. Instead, they allowed him to make up some of his missed training and granted him an honorable discharge.

Bush, Kerry Trade National Security Barbs The Note: A Lifetime in Politics Noted Now: The Latest Breaking Political News "Obviously, the commander saw the lieutenant's interest in the guard was waning," said retired Maj. Gen. Paul A. Weaver Jr., a former head of the Air National Guard. "Had he been good before? Yeah. Does that mean he should nail him to the wall? No. The culture at the time was not to enforce that."

But the culture apparently did not apply to everyone. Although no records mention any punishment against Bush other than being grounded, the Texas unit's files show another airman was ordered to involuntary active duty in March 1972 as punishment.

[claudiustg]

---"HOW ABOUT NEVER ONCE ASKING THE QUESTION AS TO WHY ALL OF KERRY'S DOCUMENTS REMAIN SEALED??? ---

And why hasn't the media raised a stink about the almost total lack of access to the candidate? Interviews?

[PilloryHillary]

More shameless media BS! GRRRRRRR!!!

JOHN KERRY MUST RELEASE ALL OF HIS MILITARY RECORDS!

[JIM O]

This never meant anything to anyone that is in play and still does not. I hope the Dem's continue to spend a lot of time on it. Whether or not their silly charges were true, I would not want Bush to be President when he was 23. Once he matured and gained some experience is when he became my choice.

[FreeKeys]

http://freedomkeys.com/w-tangfacts.htm