White House denounces Democrats for questioning Bush military record

[Judi Lynn]

White House denounces Democrats for questioning Bush military record
Republicans call on Kerry to disavow criticism also heard during 2000 race

Associated Press
Originally published February 4, 2004



WASHINGTON - The White House and its Republican allies angrily denounced Democrats yesterday for suggesting that President Bush had shirked Vietnam-era military service. They called on the Democratic front-runner, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, to disavow the criticism.
The Democrats' comments represent "the worst of election-year politics," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "It is outrageous and baseless."

But the counterattacks gave fresh impetus to an issue Bush successfully fended off in the 2000 campaign, and they were unusual for a White House that tries to cast itself as being above the political fray.

Kerry and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, another Democratic contender, both received the Purple Heart for combat wounds and the Silver Star for gallantry in action. Democrats are trying to contrast those records with doubts about whether Bush showed up for all his National Guard obligations.

The Republican National Committee struck back yesterday by distributing excerpts of an interview in which Sen. John McCain, a Navy pilot held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 1/2 years, defended Bush.
(snip/...)

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.military04feb04,0,2913801.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

[0rganism]

1. How about we see the service records before we disavow the criticism?

Should be pretty easy for the Commander In Chief to get on the horn to the U.S. military archives and run off a copy of his drill attendence records. I gather a lot of folks have to wait years to get copies, but in W's case I'm almost positive they'd make an exception and hustle it through. We could have this cleared up in a matter of days, the president can just post scans of those forms right on the whitehouse.gov website for everyone to see.

It's That Easy.

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. This is why Kerry was smart for not commenting....

He shouldn't comment either way. The White House is trying to punk him into disavowing it and leveling the playing field with regards to military experience.

I think th ebest way for Kerry to counter this is to laugh it off Clinton style, and say "I don't know where Bush was, but I know where I was"....if he is pressed harder, say that he will release his records and that's all he can do, if he gets pressed again, just say it isn't important to him...

Basically he is handling this the right way right now...The White House is not going to win on this one...

[RapidCreek]

6. I think the best way to handle it is this

Kerry should have readily available a file folder containing his military records, at all times. When confronted by Bush's handlers or press minions he should simply hold them up and say......here's my records...where are the Presidents? I've got nothing to hide...does he?


RC

[gonefishing]

12. The where were you on this day contest!

Let's have a contest to find out what bar stool dubya was leaning over the day Kerry took a bullet and saved a mans life.

[izzie]

4. I still say the papers are gone. If they are bad news.

His father's service records have now made him a hero and I am willing to bet father made sure sons looked good.I am sure their is a quote from Poppy that his sons were going to out do the Kennedy's.And this was when they were young so I am sure he has been looking out for them for years. He cleans up the mess.The White House will use McCain now and McCain will let them but Bush did a job on McCain when he was running.

[papau]

33. no need to look for missing documents - Marty Heldt "s FOI proves AWOL

Marty Heldt is a farmer who”spent 17 years as a brakeman before moving back to the farm. That job had some long layovers that gave me a lot of time to read and to educate myself." He lives in Clinton, Iowa.. As he says “Nearly two hundred manila-wrapped pages of George Walker Bush's service records came to me like some sort of giant banana stuffed into my mailbox. I had been seeking more information about his military record to find out what he did during what I think of as his "missing year," when he failed to show up for duty as a member of the Air National Guard, as the Boston Globe first reported.”

contact Martin at [e-mail]

The following documents were obtained using the processes outlined in the Freedom Of Information Act

The Military records of George Walker Bush



These are the official military documents relating to his duty and base assignments. They show that despite his claims that he remembers serving in Alabama he never served in any unit other than the one at Ellington AFB.

doc. 10 is a page from his Officer Personnel record. It is very important since it goes with the officer on any assignment, permanent or temporary. So the claims by Bush and by his spokespersons have no authenticity according to his official records. It may be why in 2000 they refused to release his records.

It is also important for another reason. When it was closed out you will note that he was not given any credits for service in 1973. This is important because he claims that he performed such service and a "document" has been provided that supposedly shows credits for such service. But there is a dispute about the document. "George" magazine printed the document with Bush's name on it, but subsequently it was determined that either they or the person providing it to them added that name and the name was not on the source document. Here are two links to those documents:





hope you find this useful information. I do believe insufficient attention has been paid to the particular role of Bush as a reservists. If you run a search you find that reservists and national guardsmen today are being picked up for AWOL and desertion and being punished for it. These are just everyday folks filling for the most part routine slots.

Bush on the other hand had received a million dollars worth of flight training and was assigned as fighter pilot to an ANG unit assigned important responsibilities in the air defense of the continental United States. Just as today, there was a war going on then and the regular services were being deployed overseas. The ANG and AF Reserve units had key responsibilities for air defense. So failure to perform ones duty and complete ones military obligation is not something to be dismissed as missing a meeting and making it up later.

Bush can not complain about this being a political attack. After all it was his campaign that raised questions about Sen. McCain's mental stability and his conduct as a POW. In 2002 they ran ads questioning the patriotism of multiple amputee Max Cleland. Both were despicable acts.

snip

As an AF veteran and one that also served in the reserves I can assure you that I could not have just stopped showing up, and I could not have skipped meeting and made them up later. I would have been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice either as AWOL (failure to report for duty) or for Desertion (failure to report for duty over 30 days). Ask any veteran and they will tell you the same.

[moondust]

8. Right. This could have all been cleared up for good years ago.

Post the documents on the web and be done with it. Just like that. Not an issue, end of discussion. Case closed.

Why didn't they think of that? Most people would be proud to display those honorable records and shame their critics.

[4dsc]

24. My point exactly!!

Have AWOLBUSH show us his military records.. Democratic candidates should be stating this too..

What is AWOLBUSH hiding??

[Beaker]

25. and it's just as easy to falsify them

nt

[NNN0LHI]

43. But there is always the chance that someone has the real documents...

...and is just waiting for the WH to release some phonied up papers. Could cause some people to lose sleep at night wondering about that?

Don

[chromotone]

31. In the words of Rush, Spiritual Adviser to the GOP...

If he has nothing to hide, then why worry?

Just make the records public and that should clear everything up!

[JPace]

32. They can't copy it because it is still being created...

after an expensive and very secretive forgery
is completed and everyone bought off and silenced
it will likely appear.

Good forgeries are hard to come by...

[shanti]

53. do you actually think

that they have not scrubbed the records already??

*nothing to see here, move right along...*

[pinniped]

3. So because McCain defends him that's the end of it?

NOT!

[izzie]

7. Well Bush did go after McCain and his record but.....

I am willing to bet that Bush had people do it so his hands would not be dirty.And if you read Mc Cain's book you know he knows how to last in this life. He knows how to play the power play and other POW did not and we do not hear of them to day. Now I like McCain but he is a Republican and he always protects his own back.He seems to only be able to go so far, then backs up.

[BiggJawn]

21. After Karl threatened him, he throws his support to Shrub.

All that crap about his wife, and the real corker: "John, you stay in this, and I'm gonna leak to the Press how you became a gibbering nutcase in that tiger cage and had to see a shrink for years when you got back..."

And that's worse than a scotch-soaked cokehead HOW?

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

5. the best part is * will be forced to show us all this year

Eventually * will have to poduce his military record and his attendance record for his questionable last year of service.
You know they are right now trying to fabricate an authentic looking document...let's hope they do it and release a squeeky clean service record!!...and then maybe someone else will bring forth the real one...What a REAL liar this idiot is going to look like then !!!
ha ha
sending young people to their deaths?
An AWOL chickenhawk greedy bastard?
Not in MY country!!!
Not in OUR World !!

[R Hickey]

10. When they "find" Bush's record, I wonder if they find a medal or two

Yes, those early years of alcoholism wiped our compassionate leader's memory clean of those two 'Congressional Medals of Honor' he won, flying top-secret missions over the rice paddies of 'Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

Until now, we could not be told of our great leader's heroics, due to the importance of keeping his vital missions secret. Bush also won three bronze stars, four purple hearts, and a partridge in a pear tree. Anyone who says he didn't is despicable!

Despicable I tell you!

[Gman]

9. Another lie

The WORST of election year politics was what they did to Max Cleland who left 3 of 4 limbs on the battle field in Viet Nam.

[duhneece]

20. Amen!

Nothing more to add.

[saigon68]

22. SAXBY CHAMBLISS is a truly evil human being

Read this CRAP

U.S. Rep. Saxby Chambliss, the Republican in the contest, is airing a television ad in his contest against incumbent Sen. Max Cleland, the Democratic Party candidate, that features Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Chambliss' message: Cleland is soft on homeland defense and doesn't support President Bush.

At its best, the ad is misleading. At its worst, it's an irresponsible and repugnant attack on Cleland's character and sense of patriotism.



http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20021016/opinion/297860.html

[usrbs]

11. Good. We're drawing blood. Let's continue.

Terry McAuliffe and other non-candidates should constantly raise this issue. It doesn't matter how much proof there is. The Republicans have no problem in slinging mud and false accusations, and it's time they got back some. Let's keep the White House on the defensive. If it's false, let them prove it. Even if * wasn't AWOL, which I for one, don't believe, the story still isn't that flattering - a privileged son leapfrogs over many more qualified people because of his connections into a safe berth, wastes taxpayers' money on expensive pilot training he barely uses, and gets special and preferential treatment and cushy reassignments.

[gonefishing]

13. It's what you say the first time that counts.

"McCain, Bush's chief rival for the 2000 GOP presidential nomination, joked during the campaign that as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he slept more soundly knowing that Bush was defending the shores of Texas."

[Democat]

14. The White House is on the defensive - good job Democrats!

We need to keep them on the defensive all the way through the election!!!

[ConcernedCanuk]

15. The WH must be DESPERATE if they are asking Kerry to disavow

.
.

the criticism.

All Kerry has to do is repeat what he said earlier, that he "doesn't have the facts".

All the WH has to do is show up with believable attendance/service records.

It appears the WH doesn't have such records :shrug:

There's a skunk (or two) in the woodpile behind the WH methinks.

on second thought,

the skunks are in the WH.

[lazarus]

16. Have you noticed they don't deny it?

Not once. They simply don't deny the allegations, they just attack them as "inappropriate" or "partisan" or something.

But they never once deny it.

[LiberalFighter]

54. Just like limbaugh today...

stating that bush served in the guard.

He didn't say that bush served his time in the guard.

DOES THAT MEAN... that limbaugh knows the truth too?

[Roon]

17. Good!

Don't take the bait, Kerry!

Can you believe that there are Republicans over in Yahoo who are STILL using Clinton's "draft dodging" to defend Bush's military record?

[EstimatedProphet]

40. That's why they call it Yahoo...

All the yahoos...
Why don't we just clean the slates and GET Bush's record and Clinton's record. Even if Clinton was a draft dodger (which I don't believe BTW) he's not the president anymore, so who cares!

[July]

18. Aside from Terry M., who are these "Democrats"?

Every story about this seems to juxtapose candidates' names with the AWOL charge, even though none of them has made it. I know McAuliffe has now talked about it openly, but this was FIRST brought up by PETER JENNINGS, who was referring to MICHAEL MOORE. He baited Clark, Clark didn't bite. Now the MEDIA and the WHITE HOUSE is using the "say 9/11 and Saddam in the same sentence as many times as possible" tactic to try to make the Democratic candidates look bad (and defuse the strength of Kerry and Clark's military records?).

They ought to be called on this. Has anyone challenged this idea?

[RainDog]

19. this vet has the goods on Georgie's awol evasions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1083592

be sure to go to the first link to read the guys' entire letter.

[0007]

23. My God! check out all these verified links on this thread

and tell the White House they should be scared shitless.

Keep this Thread on top all day DUers.

Read this thread from GD:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1083153&mesg_id=1083877

[colonel odis]

26. Where were you in '72?

that's the e-mail i'm sending the white house this morning.

any possibilities as a slogan?

[WingNOT]

27. Link to thread in Activism - request Bush's (AWOL) records via FOI act...!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=106&topic_id=5328

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/2/4/14549/93708#1

The Daily Brew has a great way to annoy the GOP, the administration, and Bush - and it just may help the nation. There is a Word version at his website for your convenience in snail mailing the request.
http://www.thedailybrew.com

The Daily Brew
© February 4, 2004
Fun with FOIA

Do you want to have a little fun with the Freedom of Information Act,
and potentially have a major impact in the US Presidential election?
Send this letter to the Department of Defense, and see if anyone
notices. Be sure to insert your real name, address and phone number at
the beginning and end of the letter, and note you are on the hook for
$50 in copying fees. For your convenience, a copy of the letter in
Microsoft word format is available at http://www.thedailybrew.com.

(For more either go to the DailyKos link or the Daily Brew!)

[Drifter]

28. Democrats Denounce White House for being AWOL ...

I agree with a previous poster.

The burden of proof falls on AWOL. We can not prove he was not there (by using the absence of his records). Only AWOL can prove that he was not AWOL.

This does not even take into account the fact that he got special treatment getting into the Guard. Do you think he didn't get special treatment getting out.

Cheers
Drifter

[Beetwasher]

29. Haw Haw hahaha Bwhahahaha I LOVE IT!

Oh my sides are hurting from laughing too much...Oh this is rich!

[wryter2000]

30. Keep on denouncing, Scott

This just keeps putting Bush*'s AWOl status in front of the people.

[abelenkpe]

34. oh that's so sad

I guess we're all bad people for looking for facts and wanting the truth on this subject. If Bush has nothing to hide then why not produce evidence of his having served his full term? Bush hides the facts of his service for the same reason he hides the identities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, and for the same reason he hides the requested materials from the 911 investigation, because he has something to hide. Bush knows he did something wrong and is doing all he can to desperately hide the skeletons in his closet. Y'know, like his arrests, and youthful cocaine habit. Not to mention the pretty large lies his administration spun about WMD.

[Catherine Vincent]

35. This AWOL thing will probably fade away eventally.

But I sure hope that Bush* catches a lot of HELL for it, since Clinton caught hell from repukes on his supposedly draft dodging. Better late than never!

[underpants]

41. It will fade from the front pages

but not the bars, barbershops, VFW halls, book clubs,watercoolers, Gardening clubs, etc. Anywhere people will (and they will to some extent) discuss politics and the POTUS race.

It just has to stay out there. Technically I don't think he was AWOL or a deserter but in having to answer this W looks bad and there is no short 10 second answer to it, no matter how hard they try.

It also leads people to look this up for themselves and though not mentioned here the circumstances of his getting into the unit comes up too.

[NNN0LHI]

51. Every time another soldier dies in Iraq voters will think about this n/t

[Oreegone]

36. Bush a War Hero

Hear ye Hear ye Bush is a war hero says the great.....

oh look there there's a man behind the curtain. He is a fat ugly mean little man.....with glasses.....he is roving around back there.

[myomy]

37. Isn’t John McCain one of “them”?

..........

[maxsolomon]

38. white house on the defensive!

the more they address this, the worse they look.

once again, thank michael moore for sparking this. he's a lightning rod for RW hate, but he's effective at creating debate.

[bloom]

39. They are so out to lunch

The Republicans know all about chasing after "baseless" claims.... And maybe some of them really believe that this is - because they don't know better.

There are an awful lot of people out there who still believe Bush* has done nothing wrong in his life. It's about time it's in the news.

[alfredo]

42. here is my letter to the editor.

Much is being said about Bush's service record. Words like "Deserter", and "AWOL", are being batted around. Bush can stop this talk, and clear his name by releasing his complete Air National Guard (ANG) record.

As a citizen and a veteran, I feel it is important to know if the President served with honor, or if he deserted his unit in a time of war.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

45. Mine

Only one person can definitely settle the current controversy over the President's military service record, which has recently been characterized by some Democrats as "desertion" during wartime.

The President could simply release his records from the Air National Guard that show when and how he performed his service. If the President served honorably and completed his obligations, then he is owed an apology from his critics.

If the record shows that he did not complete his tour of duty, and that in fact he avoided even this limited service to his country while others were fighting and dying, he should have the decency to remove himself as a candidate for re-election.

On edit: I sent this to five newspapers via the Common Cause Action Center (http://www.progressivecincinnati.org/links.htm)

[nolabels]

44. It would not be an issue if he would have served his duty like he pledged

I don't care if Kerry, Clark, McCain or any other person decides to defend Bush. This should be an issue for anybody that has served or anybody else, for that matter. Pledging to serve in defense of your country then later on, not to, because it inconvenient shouldn't be an option and by many laws isn't.

People that shirked their duty and failed to fulfill their contract with the Armed Forces should never be in such a position to endanger others doing it.
This should never go on, such a person should never be sending anyone anywhere.
These people that are fulfilling their contract, defending the rest of us.
This is a honor, shouldn't the rest of us stand up to make sure it is an Honor and not let anyone subjugate any part of it.

I have found myself making a little light of this before, I realize it was wrong. I served and now realize this is matter not to be taken for granted by anyone

[rocktivity]

46. With friends like these...

The Republican National Committee...distribut(ed) excerpts of an interview in which Sen. John McCain...defended Bush.

"Everything that I've heard, every bit of information I've ever heard - I never got into it, because I wasn't that interested - is that he served honorably and well," the Arizona Republican told MSNBC.

This is a defense? "Everything I've heard"--from who? When? Where? Care to quote anyone, Senator?

You would think, at the very least, that someone who drilled with him would have come forward by now. The RNC is trying to intimidate us with nothing more than moral indigation. Well, we've got something more substantial than that--actual documents!


rocknation

[proud patriot]

47. wheeeeeeeeeeeeee !

more AWOL in the news today I see :bounce:

[young_at_heart]

48. How many other presidents have had their service questioned?

Once again we have shadowy and secretive issues about Bush's past. How many of these things will occur before people start to notice?

[Triana]

49. what a bunch of whining, friggin hypocrites!

They questioned the patriotism of many a Democratic war hero and just about the whole damn nation at one time or another.

They can dish it out - but they can't take their own medicine!

Just *imagine* what would happen if Kerry and the Democrats decided to take Dubya to task for *all* his failures and lies?

Now *that* would be a good drudging for the little weasel. Democrats have not only this issue, but an entire truckload of others they need to be drudging Little Lord Fauntleroy through the mud over. Bout time they got busy.

Repugs - let 'em whine. They can dish it but can't take it...poor babies.

[proud patriot]

50. Repugs are a bunch of whiners aren't they ?

awe is your guy getting questioned , poor put upon
bushie Boy ! :evilgrin:

[shanti]

52. you know what they say about a hit dog

it screams first! gotcha, chimpy!