New documents shed light on Bush military record
|
Reviving issues that have shadowed his political career, the documents show Bush ignored a direct order from a superior officer and lost his status as a Texas Air National Guard pilot more than three decades ago because he failed to meet military performance standards and undergo a required physical examination.
The disclosures marked the second time in days the White House had to backtrack from assertions that all of Bush’s records had been released. It also raised the specter that Bush sought favors from higher-ups and that the commander of the Texas Air National Guard wanted to “sugar coat” Bush’s record after he was suspended from flying.
Less than two months before the election, the documents turned the spotlight on Bush after weeks of political attacks questioning John Kerry’s military service in Vietnam.
Overshadowing issues such as jobs and the economy, that controversy raised doubts about Kerry and hurt him in the polls.
Kerry, campaigning in Iowa, refused to talk Thursday about the new Bush documents. “That’s for the White House to answer,” he said in an Associated Press interview.
Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said, “I think you absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates on the president.”
Yet, it was the White House — not Kerry’s campaign — that distributed four memos from 1972 and 1973 from Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, now deceased, who was the commander of the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Houston where Bush served. The White House obtained the memos from CBS News, which said it was convinced of their authenticity, and the White House did not question their accuracy. There was no explanation why the Pentagon was unable to find the documents on its own.
The key questions about Bush’s service are whether or where he trained in late 1972 and early 1973, why he skipped the required medical exam, and whether he was investigated or punished for skipping the exam and six months’ worth of training in 1972.
Bush has adamantly denied that any strings were pulled to get him into the guard. Yet, former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes, a Democrat who now supports Kerry, has stepped forward to say he helped Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the guard so they could avoid serving in Vietnam.
Bush completed basic training in August, 1968, and by early 1970 was assigned as a pilot of F-102 interceptors in the 111th Squadron at Ellington Air Force Base. Killian, the squadron commander, ordered Bush in May, 1972, to undergo his annual physical, the new memos show.
Later in May, Killian said in his memo that he’d had conversations with Bush “of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November” because Bush wanted to go to Alabama to work on a political campaign.