Rather Reminder: Texas Air National Guard Right about President Bush-(FACTS, from USAF COLONEL!)

Far more troubling than Dan Rather’s+ fraudulent memos are the maliciously contrived myths embedded in those fraudulent memos. The hoax exposé (below) demostrates that the content of Dan Rather’s memos was fraudulent. Left-Wing Media (LWM) treachery, deception and distortion laid a solid foundation for Dan Rather’s fabricated story and fraudulent memos.

Prior to Election 2004, communications generated by “credentialed media” misled the American people about GWB’s ANG record. As you read the hoaxes perpetrated by the LWM against the American people, appreciate that these hoaxes were contrived from interwoven myths forged via repetition (by LWM, Democrat National Committee [Terry McAuliffe], Kerry’s Campaign, Left-Wing 527s and finally, Dan Rather’s and 60 Minutes). The purpose of these hoaxes was to defeat President Bush in Election 2004 and restore the Democrat Party to power.

It is incomprehensible that investigative journalists could get so much wrong about a story. How is it possible that LWM investigative journalists didn’t inform the American people that there was “no waiting list” to get into the Texas Air National Guard (147th Fighter Interceptor Group [FIG]) as a pilot in May 1968? (p.46 -47) How is it possible that the American people weren’t informed that F-102 pilots from GWB’s unit were flying combat missions in Vietnam at the very time George W Bush applied for pilot duty and that President Bush (while in the ANG) volunteered for service in Vietnam? (p.130) As you review the LWM hoaxes below, you should appreciate that Dan Rather’s CBS 60 Minutes was just the tip of iceberg of the fraud perpetrated by media on the American people in an effort to defeat a sitting President of the United States.

The Left-Wing Media asserted (prior to the election) that GWB, with the help of people in positions of power, leapfrogged over hundreds of Texas Air National Guard (TANG) applicants to protect him from the draft and avoid Vietnam. There was no truth to this assertion; there was “no waiting list” for “qualified pilot applicants” in May 1968 when GWB applied to the TANG (147th Fighter Interceptor Group [FIG]). In mid 1968, the 147th FIG was under-manned by 156 military personnel (130 enlisted and 26 officer positions). Pilots, on occasion, had to be recruited from outside Texas to fill vacant pilot positions. A coveted pilot slot in the ANG in 1968 was a LWM myth. So called “credentialed main stream media” couldn’t help but know this (in their vigorous search for the “truth” about GWB’s ANG service) (p.46) but for some reason (I wonder what that would be?) they chose to deceive the American people (media fraud?).

There were reasons why the TANG was short of pilots. At the time GWB applied for a pilot slot, the 147th FIG was routinely deploying F-102 pilots to Vietnam to fly combat missions. These deployments came at a time when squadron pilot positions were not fully manned. In May 1968, the 147th FIG found it challenging to find qualified pilots due to: (1) stringent educational, security clearance and physical requirements to qualify for an ANG pilot slot and United States Air Force (USAF) pilot training; (2) a six-year service commitment; and (3) the “danger factor“ (70 pilots were killed flying the F-102). A six-year commitment, stringent requirements and risky training (versus the alternative - 2 years of enlisted time) made pilot training a very uninviting option - if anyone was trying to avoid Vietnam.

Can it be validated that there was “no waiting list for qualified pilot applicants in May 1968” when GWB applied for the TANG? Yes it can. Four separate entities can confirm no waiting list. First, the pilots that were flying in the 147th FIG (111th Tactical Interceptor Squadron) in May 1968; Second, the ANG senior officers that were in the 147th FIG in May 1968; Third, the Director of Operations for the TANG (when GWB was in the ANG) Colonel Earl Lively says: there was no waiting list for qualified pilot applicants to get in the TANG as a pilot in 1968; and Fourth, the TANG history indicates no waiting list for qualified pilot applicants in May 1968. Even later, when there were waiting lists, practically all applicants were applying for ANG enlisted positions; not for officer pilot training.

Pre-election strategy was to malign President Bush’s military service and undermine the peoples’ trust in GWB as Commander-In-Chief. At the same time, John Kerry was promoted as a war hero in a calculated effort to offset Kerry’s anti-war activities and extreme anti-national security voting record.

The leapfrogged hundreds hoax was a progressive hoax. Once Left-Wing “credentialed” media duped the American people into “erroneously” believing that GWB was leapfrogged over hundreds of applicants, then the hoax was embellished with an assertion: that the only way GWB could have been leapfrogged over hundreds of applicants would be through the use of political influence, family intervention, favoritism and special treatment. Then the hoax manufacturers went in for the kill with the CBS 60 Minute interview with Ben Barnes. In this interview, Barnes asserted how troubling it was for him to admit that it was he who got GWB leapfrogged over hundreds of ANG applicants. Mr. Barnes, answer one question, how did you get GWB leapfrogged over hundreds of applicants if there was no waiting list? This is a question that needs to be answered by Ben Barnes, Dan Rather, Mary Mapes and credentialed LWM. See pages 130 and 131 of the Report of the Independent Review Panel for details regarding the answer to this question.

The progressive hoax doesn’t stop here. The hoaxers further duped the American people into believing that not only had GWB used political influence to get into ANG, but that he did so to avoid going to Vietnam; see my article Coward/Draft Dogger Hoax. Also, the same hoax gave credence to charges of political influence and favoritism, which propped up Dan Rather’s CBS 60 Minute fabricated story and fraudulent memos and the Ben Barnes’ fabricated story of political influence. (Note: Colonel William Campenni (retired), U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard served in the same fighter squadron as GWB. See his articles: “Bush and I were Lieutenants “ and “Answering Kerry’s Questions “. See my article: Left-Wingers’ Attacks on Bush Are Slap in Face to Servicemen.)

Dan Rather and Left-Wing Media (LWM) asserted that political influence, family intervention, favoritism and special treatment were used to get GWB into the ANG. Their assertions were false. The truth is GWB got into the Guard based on his own merit. (p.47)

President George Herbert Walker Bush stated publicly that the Bush family played no part, whatsoever, in getting his son in the ANG. President George W. Bush stated publicly that he had no help from anyone in getting into the Guard. For argument’s sake, let’s disregard what both Presidents said on this issue.

A serendipitous benefit of the CBS 60 Minutes fraudulent memo scandal was that the public got to hear directly from retired ANG senior officers about GWB’s ANG service (unfiltered by LWM). What these officers had to say was quite different from what LWM had been telling the American people. Retired Colonel Walter B. “Buck” Staudt (who conducted the interview that resulted in GWB’s being selected by the ANG) stated in an ABC Special Interview: “He recalled Bush as a standout candidate”; “No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard. It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody.”; “He didn’t use political influence to get into the Air National Guard”; “He was highly qualified. He passed all the scrutiny and tests he was given” “He was a well-educated, bright-eyed young man, just the kind of guy we were looking for.” “He presented himself well. He more than met the requirements for pilot training. I’d say he was in the upper 10 percent or 5 percent or whatever we ever talked to about going to pilot training. We were pretty particular because when he came back (from training); we had to fly with him.”

Any investigative journalist searching for the truth about how GWB was selected for the ANG would have asked himself simple logical questions. First, why wouldn’t the ANG want GWB? Bush was a Yale graduate and potentially a great asset to the Guard. Second, why wouldn’t the Guard select a young man who had already met stringent educational, security clearance and physical requirements for pilot training and held the attributes Staudt stated in the ABC Special Interview? (These attributes were well known by many people). Third, there was “no waiting list” for “qualified pilot applicants” in May 1968, so why would political influence be needed? Fourth, GWB’s pilot instructor in the F-102 (Major Maurice Udell) pegged GWB in the top 5 percent of pilots he instructed; GWB was known to be a top-notch fighter pilot by the pilots that flew with him and knew him. Given due consideration to the above and positive information about the flying skills of GWB, a fair minded journalist would have concluded that the ANG made the right decision when they selected GWB for a pilot training.

Journalists, having done their homework, would have known that GWB got into the Guard based on his own merit. Their problem was that this wasn’t the story the LWM wanted told, so the LWM fabricated a different story: one of political influence, family influence and favoritism and sold that story to the American people. They perpetrated a hoax on the American people every bit as malicious as the fabricated story and fraudulent memos used in Dan Rather’s CBS 60 Minute hit piece.

It’s a fascinating story – how is it that the LWM hoaxes became embedded in Dan Rather’s fraudulent memos? Whatever happened to fair and balanced journalism, seeking the truth, ethical standards and the independence of the press? Apparently, when a national election is at stake these principles do not apply. There must be a special dispensation given media during the national election cycle that allows Party affiliation and activism to trump ethics and fair play. Fortunately, the Blogoshpere, radio talk shows and FOX News have now made it risky for the LWM to continue their fraudulent and partisan reporting.

President Bush is the 19th President of the United States to have served in the National Guard. Colonel Staudt’s 36 year-old decision to select GWB for pilot training (based on his assessment of GWB’s character and qualifications) has stood the test of time.

John Wambough is a retired Air Force colonel with 28 years of service. During his career in the Air Force, Colonel Wambough flew F-105 and F-111 tactical fighter aircraft. His combat tour in Southeast Asia was in the F-105 and F-111 tactical fighter aircraft. His combat tour in Southeast Asia was in the F-105s with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Also, he served in Current Operations at 7th Air Force Headquarters, TanSon Nhut Air Base, RVN. He was a Fighter Squadron Commander (F-111E aircraft, 55TFS, Royal Air Force, Upper Heyford, United Kingdom) and later Group Commander at the same base. He served on the Air Staff and Joint Staff in the Pentagon – and attended the National War College. He was head of the Joint Studies Group at Tactical Command Headquarters, Langley AFN, Virginia and completed his service in the Air Force as Commander of the 4442nd Tactical Control Group and Commandant of the United States Air Force Air Ground Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He retired in March 1990 – having served 28 years in the Air Force.

MORE REFERENCES:

Sorry, Dan, Sorry, SeeBS, WE WHO DO OUR HOMEWORK can tell even the "story" the phony documents are supposed to be about is phony.
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Find an overview of the FACTS about GWB's Texas Air National Guard Service at http://www.hillnews.com/york/090904.aspx

A summary of the salient points are at http://boortz.com/nuze/200409/09152004.html#guard

STAUDT FINALLY SURFACES: DUBYA DID NOT GET SPECIAL TREATMENT AND "SUGAR COATING" WAS NEVER REQUESTED BY ANYBODY. See http://snipurl.com/c1iu and http://snipurl.com/9bny

Ed Morrisey, the guy who swore W into the TANG weighs in here: http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/173996 (the paper's front page is at http://www.thedailytimes.com/ )

Find this: "The Air Force, in their ultimate wisdom, assembled a group of 102's [F-102 pilots] and took them to Southeast Asia. Bush volunteered to go. But he needed to have 500 [flight] hours, but he only had just over 300 hours so he wasn't eligible to go,” Morrisey recalls. ... Despite that, Lieutenant Bush stayed busy. ... "He flew in active air defense missions, training missions. Day, night, regardless of inclement weather," Morrisey says. ... Colonel Morrisey assured us that to the best of his knowledge Lieutenant Bush was treated like any other officer in the Texas Air National Guard. ... Morrisey says he considers himself to be more of a Libertarian than Republican or Democrat. Nonetheless, Morrisey says he is voting for George Bush come election day. -- in BOTH printable version AND video clip at http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2346701

See what Dubya's Wing Men (NOT boaters or yachtsmen, now, but FELLOW FIGHTER PILOTS) had to say (they were not in the SAME supersonic fighter plane with him, but they DID SERVE WITH HIM AND FLEW ALONGSIDE HIM) here: http://snipurl.com/6qkp

A Commentary by Col. John H. Wambough, Jr. USAF (Ret.) is at: http://jb-williams.com/guest-kerry.htm

Major General Hodges says GWB didn't get preferential treatment, didn't need any, and besides, he's mad at CBS for misleading him here: http://snipurl.com/a3y2

4 Eyewitnesses who saw GWB serving in Alabama are quoted and sourced HERE: http://snipurl.com/a3y3

See Exactly WHERE George W. Bush's TANG service fits in The REALLY Big Picture here: http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3919

And don't forget, IT WAS GWB who signed the Standard Form 180 asking that ALL his military records be released and JFK who DID NOT. Physical exams were irrelevant to someone like GWB who'd already taken physicals and flown for 3 years and no more flying was required (on top of that, the F-102 had started to be phased out anyway); they were never considered worth writing him up for except in the FAKE memos, the source of which SeeBS refuses to identify.

"In Texas in the late sixties and early seventies, it was so Democratic that no Republican had enough pull to have a parking ticket fixed [let alone get someone into the National Guard]." -- Robert, Lubbock, TX -- email to Fox NewsWatch, 9-18-04

Besides, Daddy Bush (GHWB) was only a junior Republican U.S. Congressman at the time and had absolutely NO influence in the LBJ/Barnes-dominated state government in Austin. THE reason they took W was because the Texas Air National Guard didn't have enough applicants to be pilots at the time, while almost all the other services did.

Bush served HONORABLY, with multiple links HERE:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1230803/posts

"The [Texas Air National Guard] records released Tuesday also include orders for an August 1971 training mission in Canada, where Bush impressed his commanders. An evaluation written nine months later said Bush's 'skills as an interceptor pilot enabled him to complete all his ADC (Air Defense Command) intercept missions during the Canadian deployment with ease'." -- The Wichita Eagle, 10-5-04

Kerry's questions are answered here: http://snipurl.com/a71g

This whole SeeBS fiasco was based on such an irrelevant non-story from the git-go that one can only presume there was a complete breakdown, or even lack, of standards and possibly, even malice aforethought, especially if you review the timeline of the SeeBS fiasco here:
http://snipurl.com/a3y6

Golly, it would have been nice to say, well, they both were irresponsible kids who got away with really, really bad stuff, but hell, it's all water over the dam, etc. EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IT TURNS OUT IF W GOT INTO ANY MISCHIEF, IT HAD NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH WHAT THEY'VE TRIED TO FRAME HIM FOR. The NYTimes' and Flim Flam Dan Rather's claims that yes, the memos are fake, but what they say is true -- amounts to saying it's OK to fabricate and plant evidence if you think -- or at least hope -- someone's guilty.

"This is the same media that spent months investigating George W. Bush's military record and, even after key allegations were revealed to be based on forgeries, continued publicizing rumors and innuendoes. They didn't stop even after the President signed Form 180, opening all his military records to the public." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell, here: http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4142

As far as the documents go, their fraudulence is PROVEN here: http://snipurl.com/c1k0 .
See what a REAL Texas Air National Guard document from the '70s looks like HERE: http://www.geocities.com/bush_not_awol/document40.html

The latest attempt to prove the phony memos are "real" (this time by Utah Professor David Hailey), is shown to be yet ANOTHER fraud here: http://wizbangblog.com/archives/003851.php

The Texas forgery code provides that publication of two or more fake government documents is a felony. Follow the updates on CBS's tampering with the evidence in this crime HERE: http://snipurl.com/9eqw Further, there may have been a criminal conspiracy to use forged documents in an attempt to influence a Presidential election, a federal crime.

-- all from http://freedomkeys.com/w-tangfacts.htm

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