Answer To CBS
By Gordon Bloyer (09/21/04)
Dan Rather and CBS News has claimed that no one has rebutted their story that President Bush entered the Texas Air National Guard by using influence. They also claim that President Bush can’t prove he fulfilled his commitment in the Guard. Both of these claims are NONSENSE and LIES. The news media purposely avoid interviewing the people who know the truth. I have previously answered all the questions about President Bush's Guard service. Since then some new evidence has also emerged that refutes the CBS story.
CBS claims that President Bush bypassed several hundred men on a waiting list when he entered the Guard. FALSE. Three Guard officers have come forward to say that there was NO waiting list for pilots. It is up to CBS to prove that these officers are lying. Why can't CBS produce at least one man who says he was on a WAITING LIST to be a pilot and Bush bypassed him. THERE WAS NO WAITING LIST FOR PILOTS.
Col. Lively said this to E. D. Hill on Fox News:
E.D. Hill: ''One of the other claims is that President Bush, because of his connections, was able in essence to jump ahead of hundreds of applicants. Now, you were the head of the Texas Air National Guard at that time. Did a significant number of people meet the requirements for the physical, educational, and security needs to even apply for the specific position that President Bush took?''
Lively: ''No, well actually, I wasn't the head of the Air National Guard, but I was the head of operations. I was director of operations, and I oversaw and inspected all the units in Texas, flew with them, and the--there was no waiting list for this. See, this is often confused with another thing, which was a waiting list to simply enlist in the Guard and do your service there rather than the regular military, and there were lots of people on those waiting lists. but those people weren't qualified to go to pilot training school.
Col. Walter Staudt told ABC News the following:
Staudt told ABC that during his Guard service he never tried to influence Killian or other Guardsmen, adding that he also never came under pressure to accept Bush.
''No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard,'' he said. ''It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody.'' Staudt told ABC he came forward because he saw erroneous reports on television. Bush did not use political influence to get into the Air National Guard, he asserted. ''I don't know how they would know that, because I was the one who did it and I was the one who was there, and I didn't talk to any of them.'' Staudt said he was in charge of deciding which pilots to accept.
Will CBS call Col. Staudt a liar? Col. Campenni has said the same thing on numerous occasions. Will CBS call him a liar? It is up to CBS to prove that Col. Staudt is lying.
As to charges that President Bush did not fulfill his duty, there are several publications that have compiled the points he earned during his enlistment, and they all come up with enough points to fulfill his service. It is up to CBS to prove that Bush did NOT get enough points to meet his commitment.
According to Byron York in “The Hill:”
After training, Bush kept flying, racking up hundreds of hours in F-102 jets. As he did, he accumulated points toward his National Guard service requirements. At the time, guardsmen were required to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to meet their yearly obligation. According to records released earlier this year, Bush earned 253 points in his first year, May 1968 to May 1969 (since he joined in May 1968, his service thereafter was measured on a May-to-May basis). Bush earned 340 points in 1969-1970. He earned 137 points in 1970-1971. And he earned 112 points in 1971-1972. The numbers indicate that in his first four years, Bush not only showed up, he showed up a lot.
So Bush stopped flying. From May 1972 to May 1973, he earned just 56 points-- not much, but enough to meet his requirement. Then, in 1973, as Bush made plans to leave the Guard and go to Harvard Business School, he again started showing up frequently. In June and July of 1973, he accumulated 56 points, enough to meet the minimum requirement for the 1973-1974 year. Then, at his request, he was given permission to go. Bush received an honorable discharge after serving five years, four months and five days of his original six-year commitment. By that time, however, he had accumulated enough points in each year to cover six years of service.
What evidence does CBS have that this is not true? It is up to CBS to PROVE that this is not true.
In addition to these facts, there are six people that have come forward to say they saw President Bush in Alabama. There are more and more facts that prove President Bush did NOT receive favorable treatment to get into the Guard and that he completed his service.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Gordon Bloyer
