Bill Burkett fights back

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From Salon.com:


If CBS CEO Leslie Moonves had hoped the investigation by an independent panel into the network's botched "60 Minutes Wednesday" feature regarding President Bush's National Guard duty would be enough to put the controversy behind the media giant, recent days have brought him unsettling developments. Five weeks after the panel issued its 224-page report, those it singled out for wrongdoing are fighting back -- taking issue with the investigation as well as the Viacom-owned network. The new rumblings suggest that the sour taste of CBS's National Guard story may linger for months to come. And it will almost certainly remain beyond the network's planned farewell next month for longtime anchor Dan Rather, who was the on-camera reporter for the story.

Earlier this month, Bill Burkett, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Texas National Guard and the man who provided CBS producers with the controversial documents at the heart of the "60 Minutes Wednesday" segment, fired off his response to the panel's investigation. In a 2,600-word letter, obtained by Salon, Burkett charged that the report, through inaccuracies and "selective recall" among the key players, "exacerbated the defamation of character that CBS obviously committed when they laid the blame for the collapse of this story at my feet."

The center of Burkett's claim is that in giving CBS the documents, he expected the network to authenticate them and, in fact, had made a "contingent" agreement with the network to do so. Burkett says he assumed the documents he gave CBS were real, but that he could not and would not vouch for their genuineness. At the same time, Burkett has told inconsistent stories about how the memos fell into his hands. But he insists CBS is ultimately to blame for failing to authenticate the documents.


In his letter Burkett clearly hints at future legal action against the network. "We are actively reviewing each finding of the report and detailing its inaccuracies in anticipation of future events," Burkett wrote on behalf of himself and his wife, Jessie. Michael Missal, an attorney who represents the independent panel, confirmed having received Burkett's letter, saying "the panel will respond as appropriate."


http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/22/burkett_letter/index.html

[Karenina]

1. Bill Burkett...

I was a pawn then caught in a struggle for right and wrong, but also caught within a political struggle between a man who would do anything to be 'king' of America and an institution of laws that we knew as America.

For five years, I have fought my battles around two fronts; the personal retaliation that was waged against me and the individual organizational unlawful acts and practices waged against our institutions.

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Yes, we are on the edge. But there is no one who says that we have to help push this nation over the cliff. Instead, we must redouble our efforts. Being ever mindful of law and the tactics being employed, we must focus ourselves to what has been successful and keep it successful, while moving aggressively forward. We must withdraw the anger and be able to 'turn the other cheek,' for there will be many opportunities to do so. Our battles must be waged with resolve, not emotion.

We must be vigilant. We must be credible. We must be respectful of those who are entrapped within this immoral act. And we must be the best educators that have ever stepped forward on this earth. We must be teachers in the image of Peter, John and Mark; the disciples of Christ, or their equivalents within Judaism, or the Muslim Faith, or the great philosophers. We must grow a new generation of those who believe that war is the last resort, not the first. And we must call them patriots, for their battle is not protected by flack vests, armor plating, or armor piercing rounds.

The only thing that can be said this morning is that though we feel that our world is ended and that there will be many who will die within the coming days—die without reason or cause—we must dedicate ourselves to stop this action at a future point, so the carnage will not become even greater. As I have taught many young soldiers, at the end of the first battle you will be either elated and filled with yourself, or sickened to the point of vomiting. But in either case, you will have only completed a single battle. The war is yet to be won.

Lt. Col. Bill Burkett completed 28 years of decorated service and was medically retired from the US Army National Guard in 1998 after suffering meningoencephalitis on return from an assignment in Panama. From 1995 until his illness, Burkett served as State Plans Officer for the Texas Army National Guard and Governor George W. Bush. After refusing to follow direct orders involving falsifying readiness reports, Burkett sought "whistleblower" status for reports involving anti-Semitic activity; personnel fraud; readiness fraud and the alteration of the personal military file of Governor George W. Bush. Lt. Col. Burkett is currently the plaintiff in his appeal to the US Supreme Court in the case of Burkett v. Goodwin, Taliaferro, Meador, et al, in regard to the retaliation against him following breaking the Bush records issue. Lt. Col Burkett served as a War Plans Officer during Operation Desert Storm and functioned as a senior trainer in conducting simulations exercises for deploying troops.

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/what_do_you_say_032203.htm