Dubya AWOL for a year

[Ted]

Dubya is a military deserter, yet he wasn't charged at all, got away scot free, this during the Veitnam war. Should he be brought before a military tribunal and charged?



What did Dubya do in the war, daddy?

LINDA MCQUAIG


It's often said that people just won't go into politics any more because of the intense media scrutiny one faces for even the smallest indiscretion in one's past. In fact, the media are temperamental beasts; fierce one day, gentle as lambs the next.

Certainly the media showed its soft side last week. As George W. Bush piously observed Veterans Day, media pundits somehow restrained themselves from pointing to the irony that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, who's sometimes referred to as a "former fighter pilot," has an embarrassing military past. His records show that for months at a time during the Vietnam War, Bush could be classified as, at best, "absent without leave" (AWOL) or, at worst, as an army deserter.

This would be equivalent to the media withholding comment as former U.S. President Bill Clinton publicly espoused the virtues of marital fidelity.

Indeed, one hardly needs to wait for Veterans' Day to note the irony in Bush's military fervour. The man can scarcely contain his enthusiasm for war — or at least for others going to war. As he inches closer each day to sending tens of thousands of American soldiers into Iraq (to be followed likely by hundreds of Canadian soldiers), any day would be appropriate for the media to satisfy its allegedly insatiable appetite for dirt on the rich and powerful by reporting the president's own military past.

The legwork has already been done by the Boston Globe, which dug up Bush's military records and interviewed his former military commanders.

While the paper published its dramatic findings during the presidential campaign of 2000, the rest of the media all but ignored the story and continue to do so, even as Bush has turned himself into arguably the most hawkish president in U.S. history.

It's not that the media are not hard on military laggards. While there were only 49 media stories about Bush's military past during his presidential campaign, there were a whopping 13,641 media reports on Clinton's Vietnam-era draft dodging during his first presidential race, according to former Clinton aide Paul Begala.

Begala made the observation on a media panel at a labour conference shortly after Bush's election. Other panelists, including journalists from major TV networks and Time magazine, agreed that Bush had had a much gentler ride, but attributed it to the media's alleged exhaustion after all the Clinton-era scandals.

Of course, it's possible Bush was so morally repelled by the U.S. slaughter in Vietnam that he just couldn't bring himself to participate. But probably not. Here's what we know.

Upon graduating from Yale, Bush applied for a position in the Texas National Guard, a coveted spot that required only part-time military duties at home, far from the battlefields of Vietnam. Bush was catapulted to the front of 500 other applicants after a friend of his father, then a wealthy Houston congressman, phoned the Speaker of the Texas House, according to the Boston Globe.

After completing training as a pilot, George W. Bush requested and immediately received a transfer to an Alabama National Guard unit in May, 1972. But Bush never showed up for duty there, according to the Alabama unit's commander and the commander's assistant, who were interviewed by the Boston Globe.

Military records show that Bush's two commanding officers back in Texas reported George W. did not show up for duty there either for a year, and that they believed he had been transferred to Alabama. Meanwhile, when Bush failed to take his required annual medical exam in August, 1972, his pilot status was removed.

It should be noted that reporting for military duty is not something that's optional, particularly during a war. Those caught shirking National Guard duties were usually punished by being drafted into the real army — the one that landed you in Vietman, where some 350 American soldiers were killed each week. But, despite more than a year absent from duty, nothing happened to the well-connected George W. Bush.

Favouritism is a sore point among those who actually went to war, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. As Powell wrote in his autobiography: "I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed ... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units ... Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal ..."

You've got to marvel at Powell's anger management skills.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda McQuaig is a Toronto-based author and political commentator who appears every Sunday

[Stormbringer]

Indeed, I find it very disturbing that he is willing to send people to die in his little war yet won't fight himself.

[data_link]

Indeed, I find it very disturbing that he is willing to send people to die in his little war yet won't fight himself.

Why? How does that make him worse than every other president we've had in say, the last thirty years?

[neoolong]

He did the crime, he should be punished for it. President or not.

[TrailerParkJawa]

Bush avoided combat on purpose. That sorta bugs me when he, and Cheney who also did not go to Vietnam, seem very eager for war.
It also bugs me when people bag on Clinton about Vietnam, when many senior Republicans avoided it as well.

[Stormbringer]

Indeed, I find it very disturbing that he is willing to send people to die in his little war yet won't fight himself.

Why? How does that make him worse than every other president we've had in say, the last thirty years?

Yes, he's a goddamned deserter yet is willing and eager to send our men and women to die to settle a personal score with saddam.

I suppose it's as they say: Rich man's war, Poor man's fight.

[Mike_6002]

[quote="Stormbringer"
I suppose it's as they say: Rich man's war, Poor man's fight.

A saying that came from the 1863 New York Draft Riots, good choice

[Stormbringer]

I suppose it's as they say: Rich man's war, Poor man's fight.

A saying that came from the 1863 New York Draft Riots, good choice

Indeed, that's exactly what this war is. I'd have supported Bush until his Iraq vendetta. But no more, if dad's boy won't even play at defending his country he sure as hell shoulded expect our armed forces to die for his fued.

[Ted]

I wonder how much he and his cronies have bribed the press

While there were only 49 media stories about Bush's military past during his presidential campaign, there were a whopping 13,641 media reports on Clinton's Vietnam-era draft dodging during his first presidential race

[TrailerParkJawa]

Why? How does that make him worse than every other president we've had in say, the last thirty years?

It makes him a chicken hawk in my opinion.

His dad fought in WW2 so I can believe that he knows the true meaning of ordering men into combat.

IIRC, Reagan wanted to serve but got disqualified for some medical reason.

Jimmy Carter was a naval officer.

So that leaves Bush jr and Clinton who avoiding service in Vietnam.

The fact that they did, does not bother me as much as the media attention that Clinton was some sort of unpatriotic swine, while Bush jr was not.

For me its just a credibility issue. If you didnt want to go to Vietnam just say so.

[Kelly Antilles]

You know, it's no use BITCHING about it when you fucking can't do a thing except vote! IT's not your goddman fault he was elected if you didn't vote for him.

I"m fucking sick and tired of you people being so hard on the US government. YES we know it sucks, but LET IT FUCKING GO!

[Joe]

I wonder how much he and his cronies have bribed the press

While there were only 49 media stories about Bush's military past during his presidential campaign, there were a whopping 13,641 media reports on Clinton's Vietnam-era draft dodging during his first presidential race

I'm extremely skeptical about that number.

[Mr Bean]

First time I've heard this story, furthermore I can't find any verfication of it


Like the strangly absent names of said CO's who are normaly ALWAYS listed


Beware the Bullshit Fokes this might be BS, hold off of making up your mind till we get confirmation

[TrailerParkJawa]

You know, it's no use BITCHING about it when you fucking can't do a thing except vote! IT's not your goddman fault he was elected if you didn't vote for him.

I"m fucking sick and tired of you people being so hard on the US government. YES we know it sucks, but LET IT FUCKING GO!

Umm..well. I vote and yes, I can bitch. There are places in the world where even discussing a matter such as this would get us jailed. Beside, isnt a BBS kinda a place to go to let off steam or talk about cool stuff anyway?

Look at what I said, Im not worried about a candidates service in Vietnam. I just expect them to be honest about it.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

Hey, maybe he forgot to go to Vietnam.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Dubya is a military deserter, yet he wasn't charged at all, got away scot free, this during the Veitnam war. Should he be brought before a military tribunal and charged?



What did Dubya do in the war, daddy?

LINDA MCQUAIG


It's often said that people just won't go into politics any more because of the intense media scrutiny one faces for even the smallest indiscretion in one's past. In fact, the media are temperamental beasts; fierce one day, gentle as lambs the next.

Certainly the media showed its soft side last week. As George W. Bush piously observed Veterans Day, media pundits somehow restrained themselves from pointing to the irony that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, who's sometimes referred to as a "former fighter pilot," has an embarrassing military past. His records show that for months at a time during the Vietnam War, Bush could be classified as, at best, "absent without leave" (AWOL) or, at worst, as an army deserter.

This would be equivalent to the media withholding comment as former U.S. President Bill Clinton publicly espoused the virtues of marital fidelity.

Indeed, one hardly needs to wait for Veterans' Day to note the irony in Bush's military fervour. The man can scarcely contain his enthusiasm for war — or at least for others going to war. As he inches closer each day to sending tens of thousands of American soldiers into Iraq (to be followed likely by hundreds of Canadian soldiers), any day would be appropriate for the media to satisfy its allegedly insatiable appetite for dirt on the rich and powerful by reporting the president's own military past.

The legwork has already been done by the Boston Globe, which dug up Bush's military records and interviewed his former military commanders.

While the paper published its dramatic findings during the presidential campaign of 2000, the rest of the media all but ignored the story and continue to do so, even as Bush has turned himself into arguably the most hawkish president in U.S. history.

It's not that the media are not hard on military laggards. While there were only 49 media stories about Bush's military past during his presidential campaign, there were a whopping 13,641 media reports on Clinton's Vietnam-era draft dodging during his first presidential race, according to former Clinton aide Paul Begala.

Begala made the observation on a media panel at a labour conference shortly after Bush's election. Other panelists, including journalists from major TV networks and Time magazine, agreed that Bush had had a much gentler ride, but attributed it to the media's alleged exhaustion after all the Clinton-era scandals.

Of course, it's possible Bush was so morally repelled by the U.S. slaughter in Vietnam that he just couldn't bring himself to participate. But probably not. Here's what we know.

Upon graduating from Yale, Bush applied for a position in the Texas National Guard, a coveted spot that required only part-time military duties at home, far from the battlefields of Vietnam. Bush was catapulted to the front of 500 other applicants after a friend of his father, then a wealthy Houston congressman, phoned the Speaker of the Texas House, according to the Boston Globe.

After completing training as a pilot, George W. Bush requested and immediately received a transfer to an Alabama National Guard unit in May, 1972. But Bush never showed up for duty there, according to the Alabama unit's commander and the commander's assistant, who were interviewed by the Boston Globe.

Military records show that Bush's two commanding officers back in Texas reported George W. did not show up for duty there either for a year, and that they believed he had been transferred to Alabama. Meanwhile, when Bush failed to take his required annual medical exam in August, 1972, his pilot status was removed.

It should be noted that reporting for military duty is not something that's optional, particularly during a war. Those caught shirking National Guard duties were usually punished by being drafted into the real army — the one that landed you in Vietman, where some 350 American soldiers were killed each week. But, despite more than a year absent from duty, nothing happened to the well-connected George W. Bush.

Favouritism is a sore point among those who actually went to war, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. As Powell wrote in his autobiography: "I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed ... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units ... Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal ..."

You've got to marvel at Powell's anger management skills.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linda McQuaig is a Toronto-based author and political commentator who appears every Sunday

And this article is a lie. There's a very simple explaination for why his transfer to the Alabama Guard didn't go through - But of course once it was approved he was no longer required to serve in the Texas Guard. He'd been transferred. Something then came up along the way, and that was that.

It's part of the military bureaucratic process - And, you know, we do need a national guard. There's nothing wrong with joining it, even in wartime (It could get activated, after all).

I'll make inquiries and get back to you.

[TrailerParkJawa]

It's part of the military bureaucratic process - And, you know, we do need a national guard. There's nothing wrong with joining it, even in wartime (It could get activated, after all).

No, there is nothing wrong with the guard. But in Vietnam it was not activated. It was a safe haven.

I didnt know this, but after Vietnam Congress changed the structure of the military so that for any large operation from then on out, Reserve and Guard troops would have to be called up. They did this to make sure Americans were more involved in any conflict.

At least thats what I heard. Im willing to admit it might be hooey.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

At least thats what I heard. Im willing to admit it might be hooey.

They did it because we rebuilt our military into a professional army from a conscript army.

[TrailerParkJawa]

They did it because we rebuilt our military into a professional army from a conscript army.

Yeah thats it. Thanks I forgot that part.

Good thing about a volunteer army is better quality.

Bad side is fewer people have a connection the services if they are asked
to go into combat.

[Sea Skimmer]

It's part of the military bureaucratic process - And, you know, we do need a national guard. There's nothing wrong with joining it, even in wartime (It could get activated, after all).

No, there is nothing wrong with the guard. But in Vietnam it was not activated. It was a safe haven.

I didnt know this, but after Vietnam Congress changed the structure of the military so that for any large operation from then on out, Reserve and Guard troops would have to be called up. They did this to make sure Americans were more involved in any conflict.

At least thats what I heard. Im willing to admit it might be hooey.

Actually it was more to save money. For a major war the new volunteer Army would need more troops they it could keep on hand full time because of costs and reciting difficulties. The guard provides a much cheaper supply of trained manpower that could be rapidly assembled and mated up with stored or pre-positioned equipment in a matter of days.

[The Dark]

Why? How does that make him worse than every other president we've had in say, the last thirty years?

It makes him a chicken hawk in my opinion.

His dad fought in WW2 so I can believe that he knows the true meaning of ordering men into combat.

IIRC, Reagan wanted to serve but got disqualified for some medical reason.

Jimmy Carter was a naval officer.

So that leaves Bush jr and Clinton who avoiding service in Vietnam.

The fact that they did, does not bother me as much as the media attention that Clinton was some sort of unpatriotic swine, while Bush jr was not.

For me its just a credibility issue. If you didnt want to go to Vietnam just say so.

Reagan served as Lieutenant of the 323rd Cavalry until 1942. His eyesight required him to be on limited duty, so he became the liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office at Fort Mason. He then was transferred to the AAF, first to their Public Relations department and then to the 1st Motion Picture Unit (I kid you not) in Culver City. His term of service lasted from 29 April 1937, when he enlisted in the Army Reserves, to 1 April 1953.

[Enlightenment]

I wonder how much he and his cronies have bribed the press

Bribe? The <cough, gag, choke> leftist media only report on war-scandal issues that make Democrats look unpatriotic.

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

I wonder how much he and his cronies have bribed the press

Bribe? The <cough, gag, choke> leftist media only report on war-scandal issues that make Democrats look unpatriotic.

The LEFTIST media makes DEMOCRATS look unpatriotic???

[Ted]

And this article is a lie. There's a very simple explaination for why his transfer to the Alabama Guard didn't go through - But of course once it was approved he was no longer required to serve in the Texas Guard. He'd been transferred. Something then came up along the way, and that was that.

It's part of the military bureaucratic process - And, you know, we do need a national guard. There's nothing wrong with joining it, even in wartime (It could get activated, after all).

I'll make inquiries and get back to you.

Bush got a transfer to the Alabama Guard unit.

Only he didn't turn up there for a YEAR.

When his medical was due, and they didn't have him, he lost his pilot status.

For EVERYONE ELSE who went AWOL or deserted like that would've been drafted immediately into the real army and plonked on the front lines in Vietnam, Shrun just had enough influence to get around that.


And Bean, this article is from the Toronto Star, and the reports from the CO's were from the Boston Globe, as it says in the article.

[Enlightenment]

The LEFTIST media makes DEMOCRATS look unpatriotic???

I was being sarcastic...

It's incidents like this which drive home the point that the so-called 'leftist' bias in the US newsmedia is nothing of the sort.