Fear of Flying (gwb, TANG)

[eek]

This is just breaking at The Nation.

Fear of Flying

by RUSS BAKER



A new source has emerged with what she says is personal knowledge about why George W. Bush prematurely left his Texas National Guard unit in 1972--because nerves, fear and a possible drinking problem were affecting his ability to pilot his F-102A plane.
(snip)


... Janet Linke of Jacksonville, Florida,...widow of Jan Peter Linke, who was brought into Bush's National Guard unit to replace him when Bush left the unit and the state for Alabama in May 1972.

Linke says that Bush's now-deceased commanding officer in the Texas Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Lieut. Col. Jerry Killian, confided in her and her husband during an encounter at a social gathering as to the reasons Mr. Linke had been brought in to replace Bush. "He said Bush was mucking up his flying very badly and he couldn't fly the plane," Linke said. "Killan told us that he was having trouble landing, and that possibly there was a drinking problem involved in that"--which Linke took to mean a particularly debilitating one, since carousing was almost the norm in such units.
(snip)
"They were looking for someone they didn't have to spend extra money training," recalled Linke.

(nice touch...on top of everything else, there's the money wasted by letting blinky boy into the Guard!)

more goood stuff:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041011&s=baker

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. Bush could easily refute these charges

with a physical showing he was 100%. Too bad he never showed up for it.

[Moderator]

2. Locking

There is this same article in Editorials and other articles. ALso several days ago, this story was on the front page.