Burkett Boasts He 'Reassembled' Bush Files, Aided Michael Moore
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
September 17, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - The man believed to be the source of the documents used in a CBS News report critical of President Bush, wrote a commentary in August for a left wing online journal in which he bragged that he had "reassembled" President Bush's National Guard files.
At the conclusion of Bill Burkett's commentary, he also boasted that he had served as "one of the sources for information in the Michael Moore's film 'Farenheit 911.'" (sic) Burkett did not elaborate on his relationship with Moore. The left wing filmmaker has publicly called Bush "a deserter" for his service in the National Guard.
"I know from your files that we have now reassembled, the fact that you did not fulfill your oath, taken when you were commissioned to "obey the orders of the officers appointed over you," wrote Burkett to President George Bush in the Aug. 25 commentary for Online Journal. Burkett is a retired Texas National Guard lieutenant colonel.
In the commentary entitled, "Bush lies about his service, smears Kerry's and seeks exoneration for the Abu Ghraib brass," Burkett suggests his possible involvement in the CBS News/Dan Rather controversy weeks before the network's "60 Minutes 2" broadcast featuring allegedly fraudulent documents.
The documents, indicating Bush refused to follow orders, including one to get a physical exam, have been questioned for their authenticity by numerous typography experts. Those experts insist the purported 1972 and 1973 memos used in the CBS report and published on the network's website, contain typing characteristics that were extremely uncommon for typewriters of that era and have other features showing the documents were forged or altered.
Burkett has been named by many news organizations as the potential source for the documents that CBS used, and as CNSNews.com reported, Burkett has spent the past six years accusing Bush and his aides of tampering with the president's three-decade-old military records to spare Bush political damage. But Burkett has recanted on some of his allegations.
On March 19, 2003, Burkett wrote a column for Online Journal in which he claimed to have been personally ordered to "alter personnel records of George W. Bush." When Burkett refused to alter the documents, he wrote, he was punished by being sent to Panama where he contracted a disabling disease.
"George W. Bush and his lieutenants were mad," Burkett wrote. "They ordered that I not be accessed to emergency medical care services, healthcare benefits I earned by my official duty; and I was withheld from medical care for 154 days before I was withdrawn from Texas responsibility by the Department of the Army, by order of the White House."
Burkett later said his allegations were not true.
"That statement was not accurate, that is overstated," Burkett told the Houston Chronicle in February of this year.
While CBS News continues to stand by its "60 Minutes 2" segment anchored by Rather, CBS President Andrew Heyward promised this week that the network would "redouble our efforts to answer those questions" about the documents. Rather also conceded there might be problems with the documents, but a week after his original report had aired.
The "60 Minutes II" documents portray Bush as someone who was afforded special treatment during his National Guard service. But not long after the Sept. 8 broadcast, Internet bloggers began pointing to inconsistencies and oddities about the documents. CNSNews.com was the first news organization to report that the documents might be forgeries.
Burkett's opinions about President Bush were on full display in the Aug. 25 commentary. "I know that you not only lied to the American people in 1994, but have lied consistently since then," Burkett wrote in reference to Bush's first run for the Texas governorship and the handling of his military records.
"George W. Bush, you may be the president. But I know that you lied," he added.
Burkett also alleged that in falsifying his National Guard documents, Bush had extended the controversy into his presidency.
"One can easily see how this 'slick Willie' act of falsity could potentially carry over into policy, such as weapons of mass destruction, an attack on Iraq, the price of a prescription drug program, your close insider working relationship with Ken Lay at Enron, or Vice President Cheney's personal relationships and dealings with Halliburton. Mr. Bush, you've forgotten what the truth is. You have attended so many of your own 'closed town hall' meetings, that you've begun to believe the briefing cards of those hand-selected people in attendance," Burkett wrote.
In that August commentary, Burkett also left little doubt that he was still bitter over his alleged denial of medical benefits and the overall treatment of U.S. veterans. "[Y]our command profile, Mr. Bush, is that the grunts are like beetles and snails to you. You talk a good line, but they are always at fault for your problems," Burkett wrote.
"It was that way when you flew at the 111th," a reference to Bush's National Guard unit back in the early 1970s. "They caused you to quit coming to drill and obeying orders because they just couldn't get it right on your pay and attendance records. You learned how incompetent they were in March of 2000 when you discovered and released accusations that John McCain had lost his mind while 'serving' as a prisoner of war. And then, once John Kerry was nominated as your opponent, you discovered and turned over to your financiers (just like the Wyly brothers from 2000), Bob J. Perry and others, the information that John Kerry was favored and awarded medals for service that you never even saw," he wrote.
Perry is one of the chief benefactors of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group of Vietnam veterans criticizing Kerry for his actions in Vietnam and anti-war involvement once he returned from Southeast Asia.
But it was Bush's "command profile" that Burkett hammered in his commentary. "Your command profile, sir, is that you are a liar."
Burkett maintained that he never shirked his own National Guard obligations, while accusing Bush of being absent for much of the time. "Mr. Bush, I wasn't special, and neither were any of the men or women who served under me or with me," he wrote.
"Sir, I have a much higher opinion of their work; their value and their service than you. I know they made a few mistakes, but they didn't go out on their own and violate the Geneva Conventions at Abu Ghraib. They didn't go out on their own and fabricate awards for John Kerry. And they didn't go out on their own and destroy your military service," Burkett added.
Burkett, who resides in Baird, Texas, did not return a phone call from CNSNews.com seeking comment. He has not returned any news inquiries since the CBS News report featuring the controversial documents aired last week.
A military researcher contacted by CNSNews.com said Burkett should reveal just how he "reassembled" Bush's National Guard files.
"Because of the questions that have been raised about the legitimacy of the Bush National Guard files, knowing their provenance (creative and ownership history) it is an essential element in interpreting them," said Steve Jones, owner of Lyon Research in Virginia. Jones' company specializes in historical military research from archives, libraries and museums.
"[Burkett] should disclose the [source] of the documents he has apparently reassembled, and release them. As a researcher, all of my customers require [sourcing]," Jones said.
"It would be interesting to learn where he uncovered these newly discovered documents, I am sure the federal government would be interested since they have been tasked with releasing them all," he added. |
