Studying the abbreviated timeline posted in BMHP # 36, we can deconstruct the entire Bush story about the end of his service.
Bush’s story (it varies!) is that in the beginning of 1972, the Vietnam War was winding down, which meant many Vietnam Veteran pilots were going into the reserves crowding out all the weekend warriors. Because his plane, the F102a, was going RIF anyway (Reduction In Force, i.e obsolete,) his superiors felt they didn’t need him around so much and OKed him to go to Alabama for employment as Red Blount’s campaign manager. (Blount lost hugely, by the way)
Although everybody concerned with the 187th AL swears he wasn’t there, including the two people he was ordered to report to, and the unit’s records show it, Bush maintains he was there, doing “ backoffice paperwork.” because “they didn’t have my airplane there.” Although the records show he wasn’t there and the commander and the personnel officer say he wasn’t there, Bush’s ex girlfriend came forward and stated he had been there and that apparently resolved all the controversy in the media about his Alabama “service.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040211-121217-6595r.htm (The Washington Times, owned by Sun Myung Moon, was the one that broke that story)
Bush later claims to have returned to Ellington AFB, TX, to finish his MSO (Military Service Obligation) made up a bunch of days all at once, and, his plane still being obsolete, his superiors approved his “early out” to attend Harvard Business School. He was doing “backoffice” paperwork all this time but was paid and listed (in his own records, not in the 111th’s records) continuously as a pilot throughout this time, including flight pay.
As noted above, this story has varied widely, with even more outlandish touches than his exgirlfriend “confirming” his attendance, like: “he wanted his own doctor to do the physical” (Dan Bartlett) Bush knew as well as anyone that only an authorized Air Force doctor could conduct the physical—he’d already taken two with no trouble at all. Every ANG pilot knows this. I have been corresponding with a former ANG pilot who tells me that missing a physical was unheard of, as was getting suspended for missing one.
George W Bush and his “surrogates” have lied and lied and lied about his record all his political life. They have to because if the truth were known about his record he would never have been elected Texas dogcatcher. The truth is, as the timeline shows, that his paper trail took two divergent trails: his unit’s records’ go one way, not listing him at all and his records go another, keeping up the pretense that he is a pilot, “on fly” until his discharge (with a few notable exceptions) This huge discrepancy between his records that he has shown and his unit’s records his never been explained, actually never addressed.
After April 1972, there is no record of Bush in the 111th F.I.S., his unit of assignment at all. There’s never been a record of his attendance in Alabama, they deny to this day he was there. He could not have had pay authorized through that unit without at least signing in. Yet he is continuously listed—and paid—as a pilot, including flight pay for 14 months after his flight suspension until the day of his discharge. This discrepancy is proof of fraud and misrepresentation when added to the fact that he is ONLY listed as a pilot with no hint of alternate or :equivalent” service. What is equivalent to being a pilot? A busdriver? Bush didn’t even have the qualifications for that. His discharge says NONE in his qualificatios box—therefore whetever he was doing, he was unqualified to do it.
Although this anomaly is widely known, there has been no explanation ever offered, other than Bush “saying: “Theyre wrong.”
Example:
http://www.factcheck.org/article140.html “…President Bush defended his service in another nationally television interview, on NBC's "Meet the Press" Feb. 8: (2004)
Tim Russert: The Boston Globe and The Associated Press have gone through some of the records and said there’s no evidence that you reported to duty in Alabama during the summer and fall of 1972.
(This is a softball: Russert should have said : “the evidence shows you weren’t there.”)
Bush: Yeah, they’re — they're just wrong. There may be no evidence, but I did report; otherwise, I wouldn't have been honorably discharged. In other words, you don't just say "I did something" without there being verification. Military doesn't work that way. I got an honorable discharge, and I did show up in Alabama.”
GASP!!! He’s saying that the official word of his commander—and their records!!—is “JUST WRONG!!” It happened the way HE said it did!! And that’s IT!! And Russert doesn’t sit there openmouthed at this stupidity, only moves onto the next softball question. (I’ve lost all respect for Russert researching this story) So the military works with its records all wrong, George?? (There may be something in that, as you should know) And nobody ever followed up on this claim that his superiors and their records were completely wrong, especially and notably not the military.
Bush just called all their records and commanders liars but no one in the military looked it up to see. (Apparently!) HIS COMMANDERS SIGNED THEIR NAMES TO IT AND THE RECORDS SHOW IT!! But Bush just says they’re wrong and Bingo: Case Closed! . Bush is waving his :honorable discharge around to “prove” his honorable service when it clearly states: “…Officer has a 6 year commitment… and has finished… 5 years 4 months and 5 days…” And his discharge says he has NO medals at all, is completely unqualified to do ANYTHING in the military. Notice Bush didn’t SHOW Russert the discharge! Or make any effort to explain how he got PAID for Alabama service when he admits himself there is no evidence.
How ‘bout THAT, Veterans? Wouldn’t you have just loved it if the records and the word of your commanders contradicted your version of the story and all you had to do was say: “Theyre wrong” and have everything be wonderful again That’s exactly what happened right here. ? The media took Bush at his word against all the records and clear statements of his commanders—and Bush was lying all the time. How hard is that to believe? It certainly does defeat the whole purpose of a command structure and records-keeping, doesn’t it?
What’s REALLY notable here is to put this in real time perspective: right after Bush posted his papers came the Swiftboat onslaught and guess what? The people who put out the allegations of fraud that downed CBS were from the same gang that put out the Swiftboat lies:
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/1/pein-blog.asp “...One of the story’s top blogs, Rathergate.com, is registered to a firm run by Richard Viguerie, the legendary conservative fund-raiser. Some were fed by the conservative Media Research Center and by Creative Response Concepts, the same p.r. firm that promoted the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. CRC’s executives bragged to PR Week that they helped legitimize the documents-are-fake story by supplying quotes from document experts as early as the day after the report, September 9. The goal, said president Greg Mueller, was to create a buzz online while at the same time showing journalists “it isn’t just Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge who are raising questions.” …” (Creative Response Concepts!! What does THAT suggest to you? Their response to the CBS Memos was SUPREMELY creative!)
So understand this: when you maintain that the CBS Memos are false solely on fonts/spacing/formats issues, youre saying exactly what CRC, Bush’s hired lie spreaders, want you to. Mission Accomplished, CRC! Whatever Bush paid you to smear Kerry while masking Bush’s record was worth it. To him, if not the country, anyway. This is how the republicans stole the 2d election and no one knows it but them and us, Constant Readers.
I am convinced that the most important, and most smoked and mirrored, purpose of the Swiftboat lies was to distract attention from Bush’s fraudulent record and history bears me out. Bush’s record got an almost complete bye in ’04 while Kerry’s record (truly heroic) was gone through by the media endlessly with a shitrake and a shovel. Mission Accomplished for the Bush spinners, it was truly a notable performance. Kerry was handicapped by his mistakes, some of them engineered by the CRC type of people.
As you can see by looking at the timeline, Bush CAN’T have an official investigation of the CBS Memos or it will reveal all the falsifications and missing documents in Bush’s record.
Can you believe how hugely Bush completely contradicts himself in the same paragraph above? From: “…There may be no evidence…” all the way to “…You don’t just say “I did something without there being verification…” But he’s doing it right there—saying “I was there” when the Alabama unit NEVER verified his attendance, ever! But Bush says “…otherwise I wouldn’t have been honorably discharged…” he’s lying again—he knows he got his discharge because his superiors colluded to defraud the government. He knows he “ghosted” his last 18 months and that he signed paychecks for work he didn’t do.
Bush has never been confronted by a journalist who knew what he was talking abot vis-à-vis Bush’s paperwork, Bush and his surrogate have always blown it all off.
Russert: You did — were allowed to leave eight months before your term expired. Was there a reason?
Bush: Right. Well, I was going to Harvard Business School and worked it out with the military.
Bush is right about this at least chronologically: he decided to go to HBS, moved there and stated attending classes—and THEN worked it out with the military as the paper trail shows. And all he had to do was apply for it! No problema Georgie, not even the fact that the records of the unit you were supposed to be don’t show you there.
And Russert just smiles and nods and shuffles papers and then its on to Riverdance on Kerry’s military record
More Deconstruction in the next installment of the BMHP
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(598 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
