Bush 'Desertion' Charge Debunked
Did President Bush "desert" the military, as radical filmmaker
Michael Moore insists he did?
Presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark suggested during New Hampshire's
presidential debate Thursday night that the facts on whether Bush ran out on his
National Guard unit in 1972 and 1973 are in dispute.
But in the months before the 2000 presidential election, the New York Times
pretty much demolished this Democratic Party urban legend, a myth that first
surfaced in its sister paper, the Boston Globe.
"For a full year, there is no record that Bush showed up for the periodic
drills required of part-time guardsmen," the Globe insisted in May 2000, in a
report Moore currently cites on his Web site to rebut ABC newsman Peter
Jennings' debate challenge to Clark that the story is "unsupported by the
facts."
"I don't know whether [Moore's desertion charge] is supported by the facts or
not," Clark replied "I've never looked at it."
The Times did, however, look at it, and found that Bush had indeed served
during part of the time the Globe had him AWOL - and later made up whatever time
he missed after requesting permission for the postponement.
In July 2000 the Times noted that Bush's chief accuser in the Globe report,
retired Gen. William Turnipseed, had begun to back away from his story that Bush
never appeared for service during the time in question.
"In a recent interview," said the Times, "[Turnipseed] took a tiny step back,
saying, 'I don't think he did, but I wouldn't stake my life on it.'" In fact,
military records obtained by the Times showed that Turnipseed was wrong and that
the Globe had flubbed the story.
"A review by The Times showed that after a seven-month gap, he appeared for
duty in late November 1972 at least through July 1973," the paper noted on Nov.
3, 2000.
The Times explained:
"On Sept. 5, 1972, Mr. Bush asked his Texas Air National Guard superiors for
assignment to the 187th Tactical Recon Group in Montgomery [Alabama] 'for the
months of September, October and November,'" so Bush could manage the Senate
campaign of Republican Winton Blount.
"Capt. Kenneth K. Lott, chief of the personnel branch of the 187th Tactical
Recon Group, told the Texas commanders that training in September had already
occurred but that more training was scheduled for Oct. 7 and 8 and Nov. 4 and
5."
After the Bush AWOL story had percolated for months, Col. Turnipseed finally
remembered another glitch in his story: the fact that National Guard regulations
allowed Guard members to miss duty as long as it was made up within the same
quarter.
And, in fact - according to the Times - that's what Bush did.
"A document in Mr. Bush's military records," the paper said, "showed credit
for four days of duty ending Nov. 29 and for eight days ending Dec. 14, 1972,
and, after he moved back to Houston, on dates in January, April and May."
The paper found corroboration for the document, noting, "The May dates
correlated with orders sent to Mr. Bush at his Houston apartment on April 23,
1973, in which Sgt. Billy B. Lamar told Mr. Bush to report for active duty on
May 1-3 and May 8-10."
Yet another document obtained by the Times blew the Bush AWOL story out of
the water.
It showed that Bush served at various times from May 29, 1973, through July
30, 1973 - "a period of time questioned by The Globe," the Times sheepishly
admitted.
Yvonne: Will I see you tonight? Rick Blaine: I never make plans that far ahead.
_______________________________________________ Sndbox mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://a8.mewebdns-a8.com/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
