White House releases Killian memos

[quaoar]

By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released memos Wednesday night saying that George W. Bush was suspended from flying fighter jets for failing to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard.

The Vietnam-era memos add new dimensions to the bare-bones explanation of Bush’s aides over the years that he was suspended simply because he decided to skip his annual physical exam. The exam was scheduled during a year in which Bush left Texas, where he had been flying fighter jets, to work on a U.S. Senate campaign in Alabama.

White House communications director Dan Bartlett told CBS’ “60 Minutes II,” which first obtained the memos, that Bush’s superiors granted permission to train in Alabama in a non-flying status and that “many of the documents you have here affirm just that.”

“On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination ... as ordered,” states an Aug. 1, 1972, memo by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_national_guard

EDITED BY ADMIN: TO ADD LINK

[Tim_in_HK]

1. Link? n/t

[quaoar]

6. Had to wait for one

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_national_guard

[jezebel]

2. If they had them, why didn't they release them earlier? NT

nt

[cheshire]

4. The truth hurts?

[napi21]

5. The WH released them??? Why now???

Did they ahve them all along? Gee, what happened to I'm putting everything out there that I have. It was a long time ago, and things get lost.

Are you sure it was the WH????

[BurtWorm]

8. They released them because they knew CBS had them.

Their hand was forced.

[napi21]

19. After the fact????

That's like being suspected of killing your wife, and you keep saying no I don't until the cops find the bloody knife!!!!

[BurtWorm]

23. I used to write true crime stories, and that is exactly what it's like.

The detective says to the suspect, "So if you don't know where your dad's bank card was, how come you were caught on video withdrawing all his money the day after he went missing and the day before his hacked up body was found in the dumpster?"

The suspect stares blankly for a second, then says, "Ohhh! That bank card!"

[napi21]

25. Not only novels...but real life too!

Gee, wee should get together. Maybe we could be the next Sidney Sheldon.

[BurtWorm]

26. You write crime novels?

It was the best job I've ever had, working on true crime magazines on 34th Street in Manhattan. If they hadn't gone bankrupt, I might still be working on them. I sometimes dream the magazines have been resuscitated, and I've been called back to that office to fire them up again.

:cry:

[napi21]

34. Sorry, just a dream of mine.

I've thought about it, and read them all the time. I remember those magazines too. I used to read them all the time too. Had some good stuff! We need them back!!!

[mhr]

9. So They Lied When They Said Earlier This Year All Documents Released

Imagine That!

[Leilani]

31. Earlier this year?

They have been lying since 1999, when he ran in the Repub primaries.

[BurtWorm]

3. Remember those very words: failure to perform

?On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination ... as ordered,? states an Aug. 1, 1972, memo by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian.


That's the killer, right up there in bold and bold italics. Before, we thought he just missed a medical. Now, according to the WH's own admission, it was because he failed to perform to AF/ANG standards. He really is a miserable failure! If it weren't for his connections, he'd be nothing. (Damn those connections!)

[napi21]

10. You got that right! disobeying a direct order!

It may have slacked off now, but in the 60's & 70's it was no slouch offence! You did that, you went to 'Nam!!!!!!!!!

[BurtWorm]

17. That's exactly how Eric Boehlert puts it all together at Salon.com

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/09/bush_guard_duty/index.html

The White House has conceded that Bush missed some required weekend training drills, but insists Bush promptly made up those drills and earned enough annual credits for an honorable discharge. In fact, according to Lukasiak's research, based on the procedures in place at the time requiring that makeup dates be completed within 15 days before or 30 days after the date of the drill date missed, between half and two-thirds of the points credited to Bush for substitute training were fraudulent. Some of the points credited to Bush were "earned" nine weeks beyond the date of the missed drill. According to Air Force policy, Bush could not have received permission for substitute training that far outside the accepted parameters. The evidence is also overwhelming that Bush failed to get authorization for substitute training in advance, suggesting the points were awarded by the Texas Air National Guard retroactively and without any supporting paperwork. The fraudulent points are key, because without them Bush would have fallen far short of meeting his annual obligation, which meant he should have been transferred to active duty for 24 months and made eligible for service in Vietnam.

[KharmaTrain]

37. Now They Need To Put Up Or Shut Up

I keep hearing how Bunnypants made up these hours and those hours...but where's the paperwork on it? I know, I know...

Burt, yes, their hand was forced tonight to release those Killian memos as CBS also had them, and you can't refute the written word of a dead man. Had he been alive, I'm sure those memos would be securly locked away in Rove's office.

Now how do we get the real golden nugget here? Junior's failed physical report...I'm sure that still has to exist, if these other documents do...and how do we force their hand to get it?

As a student of history, I've notice the most incriminating evidence always remains. Nixon could have saved his ass had he destroyed his tapes...he didn't. North could have kept Iran/Contra deep cover had Fawn Hall started the shreader several weeks or months earlier and so on.

The fun here is to keep this story dripping...give these assholes a nice helping of the crap they've fed Democrats...but this one is based on truths and facts, not lies and smears.

[BurtWorm]

42. I was under the impression that Bush never took the medical at all.

The citation says something like failure to achieve required medical. I took that to mean that Bush didn't go near a doctor, presumably because he understood that he would fail the exam (which was required as a means of screening out druggies). It seems to me that Bush and probably his father and family calculated how to get out of the mess as quietly as possible, and that meant leaning on TANG brass (and I'll bet, on a criminal court judge) to go easy on the boy.

[KharmaTrain]

43. I Agree...Plus There's That Dental Exam <ahem>

Now...how do you force them to provide that document if it exists...and from my knowledge (this thing is getting more confusing by the hour) they still claim it does. Am I missing something here, Burt?

I am with you that Junior never took the test, knowing he'd test positive for drugs and didn't have the discipline to clean out (if I'm not mistaken, these tests were far less stringent than they are now...and there were ways he could have masked the drugs and passed the test)...I wonder if there's more to it.

This leads to the abyss...the Hatfield charge of being busted in Houston in '72...and does this lead us in that direction?

Combine this with the Kelley stuff coming out and will this compell someone to turn this very dangerous rock over?

[BurtWorm]

44. It does look like they're inching up to it.

To the Houston arrest, I mean. I think they've been scared of it till now, for fear that pursuing it would make them look partisan or looney. But a whole lot of shit just opened up with those Killian memos. I mean they've taken us deeper than even we who suspected Bush of getting busted knew about before yesterday. It's all coming together. Why did Bush have to get out of Texas? To work on a campaign? Yeah, right! The salon.com story was probably accurate. He was a mess and bringing shame on the family, and they needed him away from the Congressional district.

[KharmaTrain]

46. Great Report On Public Radio Today

That implied just what you are saying. Junior was a failure...dad was the WWII hero, Junior couldn't fly trainers. Dad hit paydirt when he wildcatted, Junior came up with dry holes. The picture is like that of other rich/famous families where the burden of achiving by a namesake can lead to major problems (witness various Kennedys) and thus he got into a lot of trouble that required dad to bail him out of creating an even deeper hole Junior would get stuck in...

Supposedly there's a half-way house where Bunnypants volunteered at in 1972. I'm not sure if this was from Native Son or some other investigation, but I remember reading that the manchild spent some time at this house...claiming later he was volunteering, but never did prior nor did after that time...and that the person who headed this half-way house is now employed by the Bush machine.

The interesting thing is how a door is starting to open. Yes, the Killian memos were a streak out of the blue. None of us knew they existed and it is a real key piece of the puzzle. I'm certain we will see how the dots connect here, but will this have legs outside the cozy hive of DU?

Cheers!

[BurtWorm]

49. Here's Hatfield's explanation of how he followed the thread

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/cocaine/index1.html

"Salon actually started this," Hatfield said in an interview Monday. "The book was finished. The galleys were in and ready to go to print. You guys did the story on the MLK Jr. center.

"When I was working on the book, it's almost like being one of those women who sit around and make quilts all day. You've got all these patches of fabric. The Project P.U.L.L. year in 1972 did not fit his personality. It would be like that one piece on that quilt and you may not notice it. But if I made that quilt I'd be across the room going, 'That piece just doesn't fit. It bothers me.'"

Hatfield says he, like other reporters, didn't pay much attention to the year Bush spent doing community service -- at a time when it was well-known he was drinking and carousing. "I fell for it just like everybody has. Kinda glossed over it -- 'That's nice.' All of a sudden he goes back to his young and irresponsible years again. Why all of sudden would you quit flying your planes, quit drinking, quit chasing women and go mentor inner-city black kids? That piece never fit in.

"He was arrested. He was not charged as far as I know from my sources. What happened was he was picked up, taken to Harris County Jail. Within hours Dad was there.

"I think his dad might have gotten him switched to another judge. Texas judges are elected, which makes a lot of people believe that they can be manipulated and corrupted."

[KharmaTrain]

51. Project P.U.L.L??? Hmmm

That's it!!! Thank-you, Burt!

Yep, something doesn't fit here and it's been itching at me for the past 4 years. I was wondering if we were heading this way. Methinks the fact you and I are discussing it is maybe a bit of clairvoyance. LOL.

I was alway curious why the Bush family went after Hatfield as hard as they did when he came out with Native Son and how thoroughly the book and then Hatfield vanished. I recently saw the movie on Bravo about Hatfield and those questions came back to life. I tried to get a copy of the book and never could do so...only reading what I could online when Hatfield's site was up and going.

In '72 dad was the head of the RNC...the Chipmunk Gillespie...and somehow stayed clear of Watergate...but it might have been that he was pre-occupied getting Junior out of his own fixes in Houston at the time.

By that time Poppy had been a Congressman and ran for Senate as well...so to think he didn't have the connections in a very corrupt Harris County is like thinking Karl Rove & Perry haven't talked in 6 months.

Now any idea where to search about PULL? Methinks the time to bring this question...or piece of Hatfield's quilt...out is rapidly approaching. And wouldn't it be great vindication to Hatfield's memory if it does.

[BurtWorm]

52. You mean Fortunate Son. It's available courtesy of Soft Skull Press.

It's gone through a couple of editions, at least. I have the first. It's a very well put-together book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1887128840/qid=1094712005/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-0888377-9153764

[KharmaTrain]

53. I Stand Corrected

I need to get a copy of the book.

Until now I didn't want to get into this stuff as even the simplest, proven stuff...the Marty Heldt material and others...went un-investigated. Now that we've gotten this far, I suspect we need to keep prodding this story on further.

Again, many thanks for your replies.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

16. So ordered -

On this date I order that President Bush be suspended from the presidency due to failure to perform to mandates set forth in the United States Constitution and failure to meet minimum requirements as a leader of the free world, basic understanding of economic and foreign policy issues, for selling out to the highest bidder, for lying, and just generally being a mean spirited, low-life jackass ... as ordered

signed - The American public

[napi21]

21. Oh, only if you were a judge!!!!

It ain't gonna happen that way! Wonder what's going to happen after Nov?

[jackstraw45]

7. Uh...didn't CBS already release them?

This article acts as if they White House is bringing them to light...

[quaoar]

11. CBS apparently got the memos

from Killian's family or someone else who had them. They were characterized as personal files.

The White House apparently had its own copies on file.

[napi21]

24. Somewhere I read that these memos came from Killians wife.

Sorry I can't remember where I read or heard this, but it was last week. Somebody said the widow of an officer from Ala. released docs from her husbands personal files.

[BurtWorm]

13. I read this as "WH admits CBS story is accurate."

That's in effect why they released the papers. They didn't want to be found to have them and to have not released them. They got shoved into a corner.

[napi21]

15. I don't understand that either! If this is their counter, it ain't workin

That might have had a teeny bit of credibility last week, but after the 60 minutes program, it juat ain't happenin' now!

Come on Karl, can't you do better than this???

[whalerider55]

12. uh yeah

I find the article very incoherent, like it was sliced and diced before paste-up.

just mah opinion.

whalerider55

[Spazito]

14. Interesting! It was the White House that released these memos...

and not the Pentagon. Wasn't it just this morning that the WH was saying they were frustrated that the Pentagon hadn't found and released the documents to AP earlier? They are frustrated with the Pentagon yet they, themselves, were withholding pertinent documents. One has to ask what other papers does the WH have? Perhaps the results of the investigations that were done when bush didn't show up for his annual physical and went AWOL from Alabama?

[Democrat 4 Ever]

18. They released them after they were outed by CBS tonight.

[Spazito]

22. Yes, I saw the show, it was very good!

There was a freedom of information request filed yet the White House has been withholding documents that would be part of that request. It certainly leads me to believe they have other documents that are supposedly missing.

[Leilani]

35. Is that against the law?

To defy a Freedom of Information Request order?

[Spazito]

39. If it is not deemed exempt, which it seems bush's military records aren't

then, by law re FOIA, they must release them. If they do not, you have the right of appeal and, as a last resort, court.

[A_Possum]

20. He TOLD Killian he'd take physical in AL!

Phone call from Bush," Killian wrote in a May 19, 1972, memo. "Discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November. ... Says that he is working on another campaign for his dad. ... We talked about him getting his flight physical situation fixed ... Says he will do that in Alabama if he stays in a flight status."

Wasn't the story supposed to be "I couldn't take the physical because my physician was in Texas"?

!!!

[librechik]

27. nice catch n/t

[DemMother]

28. Bartlett's still trying to spin it. Black is white. Up is down.

near the end of the story:

"Asked about Killian's memo which gives two reasons for Bush's suspension, Bartlett told CBS, "That might be official language." Bartlett said "the records have been clear for years that President Bush (news - web sites) did not take a physical because he did not need to take a physical because, obviously, the choice was that he was going to be performing in a different capacity."

From story--The two reasons were:
"On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination ... as ordered,"

....Yup, sounds pretty official to me; sounds officially like Bush not only screwed up but deliberately disobeyed orders.

Followed by another bizarre statement.
"Asked about Killian's statement in a memo about the military's investment in Bush, Bartlett told CBS: "For anybody to try to interpret or presume they know what somebody who is now dead was thinking in any of these memos, I think is very difficult to do." "

UNBELIEVABLE! What other interpretation could there be? They've got nothin'. They're just hoping the press buys this, that the media presents this as the WH coming clean about the facts (kind of like the document dump), and that it all blows over quickly.

[Darby]

54. "the choice" was...

Do all military personnel have a choice about whether or not they want to do what they are supposed to do?

Whose choice is this? Bush's choice? Certainly not his CO's choice - why would his CO choose to have him go do campaign work instead of his Guard duty?

Did Poppy Bush really think that this campaign experience was better for W's resume than serving, and completing his service duties? Was W a high-level strategist on this campaign, or did he just stuff envelopes? Stuffing envelopes is more important than completing Guard duty? While other young men his age were dying by the hundreds in Vietnam?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

55. Exactly. Bartlett Pear so full of shite. "Obviously, the choice was.."

You don't get a choice to not do your duty or follow orders. Unless maybe you are the future naked boy emperor.

[ruggerson]

29. Coverup - Why weren't these released years ago?

[RamboLiberal]

30. Links to 4 Killian Memos

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardmay4.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardmay19.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardaugust1.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/BushGuardaugust18.pdf

[TacticalPeek]

32. Kick

:kick:

Bwaaahahahahahahah!

:evilgrin:

[eleny]

33. It's time for some Senator to do the Nixon era thing

...and tell George it's tme to resign. Lies upon lies are piling up. This deja vu is giving me the willies.

[DemMother]

36. AP changed original story--made it stronger once they realized

what they had.

From Americablog (great site, by the way):

"WHITE HOUSE CAUGHT IN COVER UP
by John in DC - 9/9/2004 01:29:23 AM

Note this little paragraph buried in an AP story tonight:

"After the <60 Minutes> broadcast, the White House, without comment, released to the news media two of the memos , one ordering Bush to report for his physical exam and the other suspending him from flight status."

UPDATE: AP just updated the story, deleting that paragraph and now making the release of the new memos THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF THE STORY. I think AP suddenly realized the significance of the memos, at least content-wise, though they still haven't commented on "where the heck did they suddenly come from".

The new first paragraph:
The White House released memos Wednesday night saying that George W. Bush was suspended from flying fighter jets for failing to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard.

Yeah, you better not have a comment until you talk to your lawyers because it looks like you just got caught in a conspiracy to withhold documents that you were legally bound to have already released under the Associated Press' earlier FOIA request."


What else do they have?

http://americablog.blogspot.com/archives/2004_09_05_americablog_archive.html

[BurtWorm]

38. Wow!

:wow:

[LynneSin]

40. Hey Dan Bartlett, tell me how you're going to spin 'Failure' & 'Suspended'

Seriously - the memo didn't say anything like:

Upgraded to non-flying status

Reassignment to new duties

Special assignment to non-flight position

Promotion to Desk Job

Vacation in Alabama

Pleased as Punch for his Performance

Overjoyed at his talented

Star of the Class

Manly enough he didn't need a physical


Mr. Bartlett this memo said things like Failure and Suspended. If I had a job and my boss wrote these things about me I'd better start shaping up my performance or putting together my resume for a new career (or see if I have a family member that can get me into Harvard Business School - but that's for people named Bush)

[DemMother]

41. Bush also lied on his transfer forms--maybe the media will pick this up

now that they're showing some balls.

This is from Salon--the best summary I've read about the recent coverage of the AWOL story. You have to get the day pass if you're not a subscriber.

from the story:

There are also indications that Bush -- unwilling to fly, take a physical or report for duty -- was trying to mislead Guard officials with his transfer application. When asked for his permanent address, Bush listed the P.O. box for the Alabama campaign headquarters he worked for temporarily. When asked to note his Air Force Specialty Code, Bush wrote down 1125B, the designation for F-89 or F-94 pilots. At the time of his transfer request, both of these planes had been retired from service in all components of the Air Force, including the Guard and Reserves. Bush's accurate code was 1125D, designing an F-102 pilot. At the time, F-102 planes were still very much in use. It was an error Bush made more than once on the application. Lukasiak writes: "The odds of Bush being able to scam his way into a non-training unit would be enhanced if his specific skill set was one which was no longer useful to the Air Force."

Fits in with his bs about flying planes that had been retired...

http://salon.com/

"Stung" (if you don't have time to read the original Lukasiak report)

[grasswire]

48. DAMN!!

It's worse than we thought all these years.

DAMN! He entered the code for an obsolete plane instead of the code for the F102.

Arghhhhhhhhhhh! Has he ever done an honest thing in his life?

[Darby]

57. this should be blasted on the Media Blaster

[kentuck]

45. Wait just a minute !

If the WH is releasing the same documents and saying they are correct, then something is up here folks...They are releasing this information because there is more damaging information to come. They are putting out just enough to divert the truth, it seems to me.

[grasswire]

50. yes, of course...

...trying to drip it out and get past the election.

Perhaps trying to steal headlines with the more minor stuff to tie up reporters. A diversion.

[grasswire]

47. why did the WH release them?

AP sued the Pentagon to get the papers. So why were they channeled through the WH for release? Why not directly?

The more info you get about the Bushies the more you realize they're hiding.

[Darby]

56. it's like they were trying to incriminate themselves (?)

Did the Pentagon balk?

[Darby]

58. Maybe they think if Bush seems threatened it will energize their base

[shraby]

59. Maybe CBS has more to come.