Hmmmm, looks more and more like a figment of the bush haters' imagination: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/02/13/doubts_raised_on_bush_accuser/ -- Doubts raised on Bush accuser Key witness disputes charge by Guard retiree that files were purged By Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff, 2/13/2004 For at least six years, a retired Texas National Guard officer has maintained that President Bush's record as a member of the Guard was purged of potentially embarrassing material at the behest of high-ranking Bush aides laying the groundwork for Bush's 2000 run for the presidency. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, who has been pressing his charges in the national news media this week, says he even heard one high-ranking officer issue a 1997 order to sanitize the Bush file, and later saw another officer poring over the records and discovered that some had been discarded. But a key witness to some of the events described by Burkett has told the Globe that the central elements of his story are false. George O. Conn, a former chief warrant officer with the Guard and a friend of Burkett's, is the person whom Burkett says led him to the room where the Bush records were being vetted. But Conn says he never saw anyone combing through the Bush file or discarding records. "I have no recall of that," Conn said. "I have no recall of that whatsoever. None. Zip. Nada." Conn's recollection also undercuts another of Burkett's central allegations: that he overheard Bush's onetime chief of staff, Joe M. Allbaugh, telling a Texas Guard general to make sure there were no embarrassments in the Bush record. Burkett says he told Conn, over dinner that same night, what he had overheard. But Conn says that, although Burkett told him he worried that the Bush record would be sanitized, he never mentioned overhearing the conversation between Allbaugh and General Daniel James III. Burkett's allegations about the Bush records come as the White House is attempting to answer mounting questions about whether Bush fulfilled his obligations as a member of the Texas Air Guard during the early 1970s. Burkett's allegations also will be a major focus of a book on Bush to be published next month. But the book's author, James Moore, a former Houston TV news correspondent, concedes he never interviewed some of the key players who could have verified Burkett's charges, including Conn and retired National Guard Colonel John Scribner -- the officer Burkett says he saw removing items from the Bush file. Moore, told yesterday that Conn contradicts Burkett's story, said he believes Burkett's allegations are true. "I think we're into a classic he-said, she-said," Moore said. Earlier this week, Burkett told the Globe that, in the telephone conversation between Allbaugh and James, Allbaugh said the Bush file had to be sanitized because two of Bush's aides were planning to review the records in preparation for Bush's 1999 autobiography, "A Charge to Keep." Burkett said that he overheard the conversation, conducted over James's speaker phone, while standing outside the open door of James's office, and that he was so troubled he told Conn about it that evening. But Conn, now a civilian government employee working with the US Army in Germany, said Burkett never told him of the conversation. And Allbaugh, a Washington consultant and lobbyist, said, "I would never be so stupid as do something like that." Allbaugh said he discussed Bush's file with Guard officials but only because Bush wanted to review it, and had never seen it. Burkett, in his Globe interview and in Moore's book, titled "Bush's War for Re-election," said that a week to 10 days after he overheard the conversation between Allbaugh and James, Conn brought him to an office at the Camp Mabry military history museum, where Conn introduced Burkett to Scribner. Burkett says that at the moment they met Scribner, the officer was busy scrubbing the Bush file. According to Burke, Conn asked Scribner what he was doing and Scribner replied that he was looking through Bush's records. Burkett said Conn and Scribner then briefly left him alone, and that he saw some pages of Bush's military records in a trash can near Scribner's desk. Conn contradicts most of Burkett's rendition. He said that he remembers introducing Burkett to Scribner at the museum but that Scribner never said he was going over the Bush file. "If he had said he was going through George W. Bush's records I would have dropped my teeth. Wow," Conn said. "I would definitely have remembered that. I don't recall that at all." Burkett also says that, before the encounter with Scribner, he was standing with a group of Guard officers, and heard a ranking officer order Scribner to review the Bush file and remove any documents that might be embarrassing to the then-governor. But Scribner told the Globe yesterday that no such thing occurred. "It didn't happen. I wasn't even there," Scribner said. Burkett has, in the past, raised his allegations about the Bush records as part of his personal struggle with the Guard over medical benefits. For instance, in a 1998 letter to Texas state Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, Burkett complained that he had not received adequate medical care when he became seriously ill after returning from a mission to Panama. He also said Guard officials had retaliated against him because he had conducted a management study critical of the Guard.
I never thought the "overheard" was very substantial. But what about this? Overall, again, who cares what Bush did or didn't do to save his life during the Vietnam War? It'd old news, and plenty of people did similar things. If there wasn't, yet again, a bizarre attempt to obscure and hide data by this administration, there would be NO story here. Even then, it just looks like business as usual for them, so there's zero story either way for me.
The purging of the files may be nothing, but the issue doesn't need that to a factor. Even without any files purged, we have somebody who quite possibly didn't fulfill their national guard duty as they were supposed to. But even if that issue isn't a big one, it is another brick in the giant monument to Bush's dishonesty and lack of integrity that's being built.
how, if the whole thing was made up? The interesting thing here is that this is coming from a multitude of sources. Lots of people from that unit have been asked, and no one remembers seeing him, from people who would have been in his squadron, to his commanding officer, etc. Even his own records only show he served 9 days during that period. How much is a reservist supposed to serve in a year? I was under the impression it was closer to the equivalent of about 30 days. This is one of those Whitewater-like things in the respect that there's seems to be something sketchy going on, but nothing real clear either way ... lots of questions, very few answers. Except that at least this time, the investigating is being done by the private sector instead of a government prosecutor.
I think it comes down to what you mean by 'whole thing'. The only thing that might be made up is the purging of the files by Bush's team to cover up. The fact that Bush didn't fulfill his duty or show up for to squad in Alabama is not made up. The fact that Bush had his flight privileges revoked is not made up. The fact that there is not one single witness who served with Bush in Alabama who can remember him is not made up. The only part that is possibly made up has nothing to do with Bush being AWOL or not, but with Bush's team trying to get rid of records that would make Bush look bad.
i can't believe i'm going to center everything around this....but i'll tell you right now, if we find out any more conclusively that bush never did serve...he's completely lost my vote. not because he didn't serve, but because he so willfully lied about it, if these allegations are correct.
MadMax - did you receive my email? I sent one through this board, but I don't know if you have an accurate email address listed here. No need to respond - just wanted to make sure you got it!
except that none of these are "facts," they're all speculation, with the exception of his pilots priveleges being revoked, and there's even an explanation for that, which i posted in another thread. it is a "fact" that there's rampant "speculation." interesting that big media is all over this story, yet totally ignoring the kerry/intern "speculation." kind of smacks of a double standard, wouldn't you say?
kind of smacks of a double standard, wouldn't you say? No. Do you think every sort of speculation deserves the same attention? If I randomly speculate that Bush and Osama are friends, should the media focus on that? What evidence is there for the Kerry thing? If something solid comes up, the media will start digging. Until then, there's no reason to do it. The Bush thing has lots of legs - several people who were there saying he wasn't, including his commanding officer, etc. Are you just trying to be argumentative? I *know* you see the difference between the two situations.
The flight priveleges as you say is a fact. The lack of witnesses of anyone who was in the unit that Bush was supposed to report to is also a fact. Not one person from that unit remembers Bush being there. Scott MacClellen even admitted that they looked for people. It's also a fact that the commanding officers say that at no point did they believe Bush was there. It's also a fact that despite So despite looking for witnesses to vouch for Bush, none exist. The Kerry rumor and this are two different beasts. I'll try and explain the reasons for it, the best I can. 1. There are no witnesses to Kerry's supposed infidelity. There are plenty of people who say they would've remembered if Bush showed up and that he did not show up. 2. There is no evidence for the Kerry infidelity story. There are gaps in records for G.W. Bush, there is a record from an officer in the guard that was asked to verify Bush's service, and the officer wrote that he was not observed in the unit during the time period in question. 3. No major news source has reported on the Kerry intern affair. This dispite many of them supposedly doing investigations. Almost every major news source has done investigations and has reported on the Bush/Ntl. Guard fiasco 4. The only person who claims anything about the Kerry/intern affair is Drudge. He's been proven wrong many times before, and he offers up no proof of his assertions. I did make sure to put in that thread that at this time there is no reason to give the story any creedence. If other major news organizations come out with actual proof and not just Drudges word then I'll start considering the allogations with some seriousness. Meanwhile there is a wide variety of sources and people who all vouch for the same thing in the Bush national guard affair. They range from multiple commanding officers, military records, and fellow national guardsmen.
RM Tex, I request that you not post such a disrespectful image of our commander in chief. The suggestion that he would backwash bourbon into the bottle is extremely offensive and inaccurate.
Yeah, I'm a bad boy, but I have just one question about this thread.... Why does the National Guard hate America so much???
i guess the more relevant question would be why does RMT hate america so? http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/7940655.htm C-A-S-E C-L-O-S-O-E-D -- Ex-Guardsman Says Bush Served in Ala. ALLEN G. BREED Associated Press A retired Alabama Air National Guard officer said Friday that he remembers George W. Bush showing up for duty in Alabama in 1972, reading safety magazines and flight manuals in an office as he performed his weekend obligations. "I saw him each drill period," retired Lt. Col. John "Bill" Calhoun said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Daytona Beach, Fla., where he is preparing to watch this weekend's big NASCAR race. "He was very aggressive about doing his duty there. He never complained about it. ... He was very dedicated to what he was doing in the Guard. He showed up on time and he left at the end of the day." Calhoun, whose name was supplied to the AP by a Republican close to Bush, is the first member of the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group to recall Bush distinctly at the Alabama base in the period of 1972-1973. He was the unit's flight safety officer. The 69-year-old president of an Atlanta insulation company said Bush showed up for work at Dannelly Air National Guard Base for drills on at least six occasions. Bush and Calhoun had both been trained as fighter pilots, and Calhoun said the two would swap "war stories" and even eat lunch together on base. Calhoun is named in 187th unit rosters obtained by the AP as serving under the deputy commander of operations plans. Bush was in Alabama on non-flying status. "He sat in my office most of the time - he would read," Calhoun said. "He had your training manuals from your aircraft he was flying. He'd study those some. He'd read safety magazines, which is a common thing for pilots." Democrats have asked for proof that Bush, then a 1st lieutenant with the Texas Air National Guard, turned up for duty in Alabama, where Bush had asked to be assigned while he worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of family friend Winton "Red" Blount. Pay and medical records released by the White House this week failed to quash allegations that Bush shirked his Guard responsibilities. The 187th's former commander, retired Brig. Gen. William Turnipseed, has said he doesn't remember Bush ever turning up on base, and more than a dozen members of the 800-person unit, including its commander, told The Associated Press this week they have no recollection of Bush. Critics have made much of the fact that the White House has failed to produce anyone who could remember seeing Bush there. Calhoun said he contacted Texas GOP leaders with his story in 2000 when the issue was raised just before the November general election. "I got on the phone and got information and called Austin, Texas, and talked to the Republican campaign. They said I was talking to the campaign manager," he said. "I told him my story and said I would be glad to provide information to that effect. At that time they said ... The story is not true. And we don't think it's got enough weight to stay out as a story.' And they said, 'But if it does we'll call you back.' And I never heard from them again." Last week as the issue raged again, Calhoun sent an e-mail to the White House offering to tell his story. "I got a response back, one of those automatic responses," he said. It wasn't until his wife contacted Georgia GOP officials that Calhoun's name surfaced. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Friday that the White House was not making any effort to try to locate people who might have served with Bush. He also accused reporters of trying to raise new lines of questioning, beyond whether Bush served in Alabama. Critics have suggested that Bush used his family connections to get the safe Guard assignment ahead of thousands of others. But Calhoun said Bush never mentioned his congressman father while they sat together at Dannelly. "I knew he was working in the senatorial campaign, and I asked him if he was going to be a politician," said Calhoun, who is a staunch Republican. "And he said, `I don't know. Probably.'" Calhoun has not made any donations to Bush this election season or during the 2000 season, according to campaign finance records.
In any case, no matter what side of an issue I take, I often think to myself that it might just be possible that (brace yourself) someone might have ulterior motives for lying to the press.
