ARCHIE LEVINE's LOOK AT THE PRESIDENT'S WAR RECORD IN VIET NAM

Is our President REALLY an action hero?

(updated September 29th, 2004)

How could Bush just blow off his flight physical during the middle of a war and throw away all the time and money the military spent training him to be a fighter pilot without any repercussions whatsoever?

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well placed ...
managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units.
Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me
as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal
and owe equal allegiance to their country."
--Colin Powell, My American Journey

Excerpt of Ben Barnes on getting Bush into the National Guard - UNEDITED VIDEO: "My name's Ben Barnes. I was Speaker of the Texas House when George W. Bush went into the National Guard. He got preferential treatment. I know. I gave it to him. His family sent a representative to my office and asked me to move their son up on the waiting list. And I did. It was wrong. He was jumped over hundreds of others in line. Some of them went off to Vietnam and died. I made a mistake supporting that war. And as other, less-privileged kids were going off to be killed, I helped the son of a congressman avoid combat. I wish I had not. But I think it's time people know. And it's time for George W. Bush to stop attacking the people who did serve." --Ben Barnes, the former Lt. Gov. of Texas, giving a speech in which he admits to moving George W. Bush up on lists to get him into the National Guard. Barnes has never been this succinct, nor has he ever expressed guilt. He does in this speech. He has never provided this kind of detail, previously. Barnes was an ambition Texas politician. He wanted to be governor so he supported Democrat LBJ on the war as well as helped Republican politicians get their son's out of the war. He is clearly beginning to feel both guilt and shame....when will the President?

Bush’s Air Guard stint started well, then faded into mystery, by William H. McMichael, Air Force Times, September 27, 2004
An Agile Pilot Who Flew Under the Radar: After a promising start in a coveted Guard slot, George W. Bush nearly dropped out of sight, by James Rainey, Stephen Braun and Ralph Vartabedian, LA Times, September 27, 2004
What Is Bush Hiding? By E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, September 21, 2004
New Greg Palast Documentary Highlights How Bush's Military Records Were Purged, Democracy Now, September 17th, 2004
Reconstructing Bush’s Military Record: Examination of Official Docs Released by White House Question Bush's Duty, Democracy Now, September 17th, 2004
Officer Wrote Letter to Bush's Father, by Matt Kelley, Associated Press, Sep 17, 7:00 PM ET
Media's memo obsession has enabled conservatives to distract from Bush's lies about service Media Matters, September 17, 2004
Judge orders all Bush records released: Pentagon must hand over documents by Sept. 24 The Associated Press, Sept. 16, 2004
The $50,000 Question: Got proof that President Bush fulfilled his National Guard duties? It could be worth $50,000. By Brian Faler, Washington Post, September 15, 2004; Page A11
Ex-Guard Typist Recalls Memos Criticizing Bush: But the commander's secretary says she thinks the ones that surfaced last week are fakes. By James Rainey, LA Times, September 15, 2004
Mr. Bush's Glass House, by Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, September 15, 2004
Skipping Texas for Alabama: There is increasing evidence that Bush left his Texas Air National Guard unit in '72 for Alabama because he was having problems piloting a fighter jet. By Russ Baker, The Nation. September 14, 2004.
Professor says Bush revealed National Guard favoritism: A business school professor who taught George W. Bush at Harvard University in the early 1970s says the future president told him that family friends had pulled strings to get him into the Texas Air National Guard. By Phil Hirschkorn, CNN, September 13, 2004
Bush's past is catching up, Cincinnati Post, Sept. 13, 2004
CBS stands by its report amid memo debate, by Mark Memmott, USA Today, Sept. 13, 2004
Memos debate eclipses content, USA Today, Sept 13, 2004
Playing to the media in attacks on service, by Thomas Oliphant, The Boston Globe, September 12, 2004
Gaps in Service Continue to Dog Bush, by Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, September 12, 2004
Bush faces assault on war record: Democrats try to avenge attack on Kerry, by Paul Harris, The Observer [UK], September 12, 2004
Bush's Guard Service and the Right Wing's 60 Minutes Mythology, by Salvador Peralta, The Progressive Trail, September 11th, 2004
The Dishonesty Thing, by Paul Krugman, New York Times, September 10, 2004
The Long Shadow of War, New York Times, September 10, 2004
Lt. George W. Bush's Cowardice: What we thought was an arrogant rich boy missing National Guard meetings now appears to be a scared boy running from potential military danger. By Frederick Sweet, Intervention Magazine, September 9, 2004
More Revelations, by David Corn, The Nation, 09/09/2004
"The records show that in May 1972, Bush disobeyed a direct order."
Memos Show Bush Suspended From Flying: Bush Suspended From Flying for Failing to Meet Guard Standards, Take Required Physical, The Associated Press, Sept. 9, 2004
Renewed focus on Bush time in military: Ex-official says he helped politician's son avoid Vietnam, by Zachary Coile, San Francisco Chronicle Washington Bureau, September 9, 2004
Records Say Bush Balked at Order: National Guard Commander Suspended Him From Flying, Papers Show, by Michael Dobbs and Thomas B. Edsall, Washington Post, September 9, 2004
Bush worked connections for Alabama transfer, memo shows, by Mark Silva and Jeff Zeleny, Chicago Tribune, September 8, 2004
Bush fell short on duty at Guard: Records show pledges unmet, Boston Globe Spotlight Team -- reporters Stephen Kurkjian, Francie Latour, Sacha Pfeiffer, and Michael Rezendes, and editor Walter V. Robinson. It was written by Robinson. September 8, 2004
Bush's Guard Duty Under Microscope, CBS News, Sept. 8, 2004
George Bush's National Guard Records Solidify Six-Month Gap, The Washington Dispatch, Sepetember 8th, 2004
Lawsuit uncovers Bush Guard records: Months after insisting it could find no more records of President Bush's Air National Guard service, the Defense Department has released more than two dozen pages of files, including Bush's report card for flight training and dates of his flights. CNN September 8, 2004
Report: Bush Fell Short of Military Obligation, Reuters, Sep 8, 2004
Missing in Action, by Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, September 8, 2004
Bush's Youth Under Scrutiny, by Dan Froomkin, washingtonpost.com, September 7, 2004
Lawsuit uncovers new Bush guard records, Associated Press, 9/7/2004
'Texans for Truth' ad challenges Bush on Guard service, by Mark Memmott, USA TODAY, 9/7/2004
Bush military file lacks required records: Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts. CNN, September 6, 2004
Bush's National Guard File Missing Records, by Matt Kelley, Associated Press, September 5th, 2004
Democrat Says He Helped Bush Into Guard to Score Points, by Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, September 4, 2004
President Bush photographed wearing Air Force award he never earned, Photo of Bush wearing false award found at Bush’s father’s Presidential Library, y John Byrne, The Raw Story/Blue Lemur, September 1st, 2004
Bush, not Kerry, should face scrutiny, by Linda McQuaig, The Toronto Star, Aug. 29, 2004
It Comes Down to This: Kerry Served in Vietnam, Bush Didn't, by Helen Thomas, Falls Church News-Press, August 26, 2004
Bush's unanswered questions, By Mike Thomas, ETalkingHead, August 25, 2004
Questions about Bush's Guard service unanswered, by Dave Moniz and Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY, 8/23/04
BuzzFlash interview: Ian Williams: Author of Deserter: Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past, August 23, 2004
Bush's AWOL Scandal: Let's Break Through the Media Barrier, by Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers, August 12, 2004
Bush was AWOL in 1972; Repeatedly misled press, public about Guard service, by John Byrne, The Raw Story, August 1, 2004
AP demands Bush service records in court, July 16, 2004
Part of Bush military record 'destroyed' UPI, July 10th, 2004
Pentagon Says Bush Records of Service Were Destroyed, by Ralph Blumenthal, New York Times July 9, 2004
Bush Military Service Files Were Destroyed, Reuters Jul 9, 2004
AP Sues for Access to Bush Guard Records, by Pete Yost, Associated Press, June 22, 2004
George and the Guard by Lou Dubose for LA Weekly (FEBRUARY 13 - 19, 2004)
Bush's top ten lies about his military service
Chart of Bush's Military Service, including details, background, and notes on context
Bush's military service record documentation (Oh, you want proof?)
We were Soldiers Once? (The Bush War Record chart for Mother Jones)
AWOLBUSH.com, a comprehensive look at his military service record...you decide if he should be an action figure and the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces.
There were 13,641 major news stories about Clinton's "draft dodging" while the demonstrable desertion of George W. Bush merited only 49 major news stories....makes you ask, "What liberal news media are you watching, Rush?" (Source)
For the article covering desertion see: http://www.usmilitary.about.com

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