Two more US soldiers died in Iraq yesterday. For what?
The neo-con wet dream of a Three Stooges Reich.
The "US mainstream news media" does not want you to
know that more US soldiers have died in Iraq in July,
already, i.e. post-"handover," than in all of June,
i.e. pre-"handover."
The Emperor has no uniform...
Matt Kelley, Associated Press: The Pentagon on Friday
released newly discovered payroll records from
President Bush's 1972 service in the Alabama National
Guard, though the records shed no new light on the
future president's activities during that summer.
A Pentagon official said the earlier contention that
the records were destroyed was an ``inadvertent
oversight.''
Like records released earlier by the White House, the
newly released computerized payroll records show no
indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during
July, August and September of 1972. Pay records
covering all of 1972, released previously, also
indicated no guard service for Bush during those three
months.
Cleanse the White House of the Chickenhawk Coup and
Its War-Profiteering Cronies, Show Up for Democracy in
2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4344593,00.html
Pentagon Finds Bush's Guard Records
Friday July 23, 2004 10:46 PM
AP Photo MIPM104
By MATT KELLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon on Friday released
newly discovered payroll records from President Bush's
1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, though the
records shed no new light on the future president's
activities during that summer.
A Pentagon official said the earlier contention that
the records were destroyed was an ``inadvertent
oversight.''
Like records released earlier by the White House, the
newly released computerized payroll records show no
indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during
July, August and September of 1972. Pay records
covering all of 1972, released previously, also
indicated no guard service for Bush during those three
months.
The records do not give any new information toward
determining whether Bush kept his National Guard
commitments during 1972, when he transferred to the
Alabama National Guard unit so he could work on the
U.S. Senate campaign of a family friend.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy said Bush kept his
service commitments, pointing to the fact that Bush
was honorably discharged in 1973.
The release came days before Democrats began their
national convention in Boston to officially nominate
Sen. John Kerry as their presidential candidate.
Military veterans are being tapped at the convention
to help tell Kerry's story as he prepares to accept
the party's nomination next week.
Democrats have sought to contrast Bush's National
Guard service with Kerry's Vietnam War record. Kerry
enlisted in the Navy, volunteered for combat in
Vietnam and earned several medals including a Silver
Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. After
returning from Vietnam, Kerry became a prominent
anti-war activist.
The Associated Press had asked a federal judge on July
16 to order the Pentagon to quickly turn over a copy
of the pay records. The AP had sued under the Freedom
of Information Act to obtain the records from a state
library records center in Texas.
Records of Bush's National Guard service released
previously did not conclusively show whether Bush
fulfilled his service requirements in 1972 and 1973,
during the Vietnam War.
Bush had transferred to an Alabama National Guard unit
while he worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of
Republican Winton Blount.
The Pentagon had said that the payroll records for
that time period had been inadvertently destroyed.
``Previous attempts to locate the missing records at
the Federal Records Center had been unsuccessful due
to the incorrect records accession numbers provided,''
the Pentagon's Office of Freedom of Information chief
C.Y. Talbott said in a letter Friday to The Associated
Press.
``The correct numbers were obtained ... and the
records were found.''
Talbott wrote that the Defense Department ``regrets
this inadvertent oversight during the initial search
and the delay it caused in your receipt of these
materials.''
(UPDATES throughout with records shedding no new light
on Guard service question; corrects name of Pentagon
official to Talbott, sted Talbot; DELETES outdated
final graf. No pickup.)
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
Posted by richard at July 24, 2004 10:37 AM