CBS-Rather Update:Authenticity of Bush Sugar Coat Memo Further Questioned

[GOPAgainstGW]

Authenticity of memo to 'sugar coat' Bush record is further questioned
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/091104dnpolguard.117c8.html
12:11 AM CDT on Saturday, September 11, 2004
By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – The man named in a disputed memo as exerting pressure to "sugar coat" President Bush's military record left the Texas Air National Guard a year and a half before the memo was supposedly written, his own service record shows.

An order obtained by The Dallas Morning News shows that Col. Walter "Buck" Staudt was honorably discharged on March 1, 1972. CBS News reported this week that a memo in which Col. Staudt was described as interfering with officers' negative evaluations of Mr. Bush's service was dated Aug. 18, 1973. That added to mounting questions about the authenticity of documents that seem to suggest Mr. Bush sought special favors and did not fulfill his service.

Col. Staudt, who lives in New Braunfels, did not return calls seeking comment. His discharge paper was among a packet of documents obtained by The News from official sources during 1999 research into Mr. Bush's Guard record. A CBS staffer stood by the story, suggesting that Col. Staudt could have continued to exert influence over Guard officials. But a former high-ranking Guard official disputed that, saying retirement would have left Col. Staudt powerless over remaining officials.

<snip>

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[Alpharetta]

1. Then it's settled?

Whether or not the document is fake, the fact remains:

Bush has not explained why he refused to take his flight physical.

[GOPAgainstGW]

8. Kitty Kelley Says Bush Refused Medical Exam Because of His Drug Use

[GOPAgainstGW]

11. CBS Right - On Bush Guard Memo Per Kitty Kelley Book

http://sydney.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=46022&group=webcast

[Tuttle]

2. How odd...

didn't Lt Bush "leave" the guard a year and a half before his hitch was up also?

Tut-tut

[emulatorloo]

3. Other Threads have pointed out that Staudt could still exert PRESSURE

even after he retired, as does this story.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

14. you got it... it's called " the middle man" or "go between"

a tool the bush family uses in everything they touch.

[annabanana]

15. All the "favors" were 'extra-military'

That's the whole point.

[Prodemsouth]

4. He may have been retired, but was he still active. Was he a friend of the

family. he could still have contacts in the guard. people retire and still have influence in an organization after they retire. The military/national Guard is no is no different. My dad was in the Air Guard, he did things with them after he retired.

[GOPAgainstGW]

5. See Four Memos regarding Pres. Bush's National Guard Service

The four memos were written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Mr. Bush's commander at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston who died in 1984. They were in his personnel file, and suggest his growing frustration at Mr. Bush's attitude toward fulfilling his Guard duty:

Bush ordered to report for physical (May 1972)
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/09-04/barnes4.pdf

Bush asks for transfer to Alabama (May 1972)
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/09-04/barnes3.pdf

Bush suspended from flight status (Aug. 1972)
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/09-04/barnes1.pdf

Pressure to evaluate Bush (Aug. 1973)
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/09-04/barnes2.pdf

[rvgwinn]

6. Yah Right!

Connections are connections, The military takes care of its own.

[mbperrin]

7. "retirement would have left Col. Staudt powerless "?

Why sure, only active duty ranking officers could have any clout with the Guard - that's how Ben Barnes got * in; he's a commissioned 4 star f**king general with the Guard, right?

I mean, if a retired colonel is powerless, then no way an ordinary civvie politician could have any clout, right?

I mean, if Colin Powell calls up the TANG offices with an idea, they'll just telling him to go cheney himself, right?

Glad I could clear this up!!!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. obviously not . eom

[huckleberry]

9. Your headline is misleading and is not the headline of the article.

[Catfight]

12. Bush is a guy you want to have a line of coke with. n/t

[Teaser]

13. Retired does not preclude pressure.

I'm sure he still heald quite a bit of sway in TANG.

[Paulie]

16. If Status after retirement wasn't there

the Pentagon wouldn't have all those ex-generals walking the halls lobbying for the defense contractors!!!!

[leesa]

17. How long can they milk this junk to avoid talking about any relevant

issues?

[Wickerman]

18. Retired means nothing - When I was in the AF a Col I worked with

was forced to retire after 30 years. The next day he came back to work - IN UNIFORM. All he did was put masking tape aver his rank insignia and US Air Force of his fatigues.

Ok, obviously, this medical doctor/researcher was a hard case (and a tad insane - in a good way) and he eventually got a civilian job create for him, but he worked in the facility for months without authorization or pay - all the while wearing his odd uniform. I have no idea if there was some sort of understanding, but I do know had anyone told him to go home you'd better have had the Air Police standing with you.

The point of this stroll down memory lane is to note that a retired Col can be very powerful and exert pressure even after his "departure".

[KC21304]

19. You bet your a - - that Staudt had to see that Bush

got an honorable discharge, and that was what the Aug 73 memo was all about. He was very close to GHWB and was ultimately responsible for covering up for Bush's delinquent behavior. If Bush hadn't gotten that honorable discharge Staudt would have come under scrutiny.

[Moderator]

20. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=818477