Posted 9/10/2004 7:32 AM Updated 9/12/2004 11:08
Authenticity of new Bush military papers questioned
WASHINGTON (AP) — CBS News on Friday defended its report about President Bush's service in the Air National Guard, with anchor Dan Rather saying broadcast memos questioned by forensic experts came from "what we consider to be solid sources."
Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service are missing from records.
AP
On Friday's CBS Evening News, Rather said that "no definitive evidence" has emerged to prove the documents are forgeries. (Related story: U.S. servicemen react)
"If any definitive evidence comes up, we will report it," Rather said.
The show also showed excerpts of interviews with Marcel Matley, a San Francisco document expert, who said he believed the memos were genuine.
CBS can state "with absolute certainty" that the disputed memos could have been produced on typewriters available in the early 1970s when the memos are purported to have been written, the network said. Rather said the typeface and style of the memos were available on typewriters since well before the 1970s.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-10-bush-guard_x.htmBUT THAT'S NOT ALL
***Summary of the Newly Released Killian Memos and CBS Source***
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x797106indyjones1938 (145 posts) Sun Sep-12-04 10:43 AM
Original message
***Summary of the Newly Released Killian Memos and CBS Source***
Edited on Sun Sep-12-04 10:47 AM by indyjones1938
The other thread was getting messy so let's start discussion here.
For those who aren't aware, two new memos from Lt. Col. Jerry Killian have been released, in addition to the original four from 60 Minutes on Wednesday.
They are at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdfThe #1 memo and the #5 memo are the two newly-released ones. They are the missing pieces in the puzzle. Dan Rather has just buried the claims of forgery AND slyly revealed his source. Here's how:
(1) Read this new memo #5. It's obviously a letter from Killian to one of his superiors. The date is late June, 1973. He's telling this superior that he can't evaluate Bush because he hasn't shown up, and asks the superior what to do about it.
(2) It logically follows that Bush was contacted by either Killian or this superior sometime after the letter was written in late June, 1973. Bush realizes that he's in hot water and starts "talking to someone upstairs."
(3) Within a few weeks, Killian's superior writes back to him telling him to let Bush off the hook.
(4) Pissed off and suspicious, Killian "Covers His Ass" a few weeks later by writing that personal memo, in which he indicates that Hodges has been pressured by Staudt to let Bush off the hook. So Hodges was obviously the superior who Killian had written in late June, and Staudt was the one who Bush (or Poppy) had contacted sometime between that letter in late June and August.
(5) Since the #5 memo was written to Hodges (and SIGNED) by Killian, it HAD to have come from Hodges' files.
Therefore, CBS's source was almost certainly Maj. Gen. Bobby Hodges.
It's no coincidence that these two new memos were quietly released just as Hodges was crying foul and accusing the memos of being forgeries. The way I see it, there's two possibilites why he's backpedaling:
(1) Bush/Rove realized that he was the source and have threatened him or his family. Nothing new for the BFEE.
(2) The backpedaling is a ruse, and Rather/Hodges are playing the other media networks like a fiddle. This is much more likely. Rather knew that the wingnuts would accuse the documents of being forgeries instead of addressing their contents, so he set them up. Let them cry forgery for a few days, let the rumors spread, then have his "top source" Bobby Hodges accuse CBS of fraud to fan the flames. Then, release other documents, prove the Killian memos are authentic and watch Bush/Rove go down in flames. 100:1 bets Rather has OTHER documents and their release is imminent. The reason these two memos were released by USAToday instead of by CBS directly is so the wingnuts can't accuse CBS of forgery anymore. Clearly, USAToday has had their own experts vet the new documents and are convinced of their authenticity. Rather is now going into battle with an ally at his side. Absolutely brilliant.
Another important piece of information comes from memo #1 about Bush and James Bath, his close friend who was suspended from flying status the exact same time as Bush. Allegedly, Bath was doing cocaine, and Bush was as well by association. 100:1 that Rather has used FOIA to pull Bath's records and is about to prove the cocaine story about Bush. Game, set, match.
I think Bush is going to be singing his Swan Song within the next week.
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