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Politics : Proof that John Kerry is Unfit for Command -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TideGlider who wrote (9883)	9/16/2004 8:47:13 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

Sounds to me like this Burkett guy is the source of those documents, he probably even created them... a typical nut job, disgruntled employee type... it's a good thing he didn't work at the post office, everyone there would have been wasted... GZ

To: TideGlider who wrote (9883)	9/16/2004 12:44:05 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Respond to of 27181

CBS Softens Defense of Bush Documents 16-Sep-2004 Story from AP NEW YORK (AP) -- Acknowledging questions raised about documents suggesting lapses in President Bush's National Guard service, CBS promised a full-court effort to determine their authenticity while standing by its story. "We will keep an open mind and we will continue to report credible evidence and responsible points of view as we try to answer the questions raised about the authenticity of the documents," anchor Dan Rather said on "60 Minutes" on Wednesday. But Rather said CBS' critics have never attacked the thrust of the network's story: that President Bush received preferential treatment to get into the National Guard and stay stateside during the Vietnam War, and failed to satisfy the requirements of his service. "If we uncover any information to the contrary, rest assured we shall report that also," the embattled anchor said. His report came after a day of political heat Wednesday, when top Republicans tried to tie the Kerry campaign to the disputed documents, called for a congressional investigation and for CBS to retract its story. In question are memos purportedly written by Bush's late squadron commander, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, indicating that he had been pressured to sugar coat Bush's performance and that the future president had ignored an order to take a physical. CBS on Wednesday flew Killian's former secretary, Marian Carr Knox, 86, from Texas to New York for an interview. In the interview, Knox said she believed the documents were fake but their content accurately reflected Killian's opinions. "I know that I didn't type them," she said. "However, the information in those is correct." Rather's boss, CBS News President Andrew Heyward, also said CBS would redouble its efforts to determine the authenticity of the documents. Several experts have said the documents, disclosed last week, are fakes, prepared on a modern computer rather than a typewriter in 1972 and 1973. Bill Burkett, a retired National Guard officer from Texas, has been cited in reports in Newsweek and The New York Times as a source for CBS' report. His lawyer, David Van Os, issued a statement saying Burkett "no longer trusts any possible outcome of speaking to the press on any issue regarding George W. Bush." Robert Strong, another former National Guard officer, told The Washington Post on Thursday that at least one of the documents used by CBS bore a faxed header indicating it had been sent from a Kinko's copy shop in Abilene, Texas, about 20 miles from Burkett's home. Strong said he was shown copies of the documents three days before the "60 Minutes" broadcast on which he appeared. Burkett, 55, told The Associated Press in February that he had overheard a conversation in 1997 between then-Gov. Bush's chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, and then-Adjutant Gen. Daniel James of the Texas Air National Guard in which the two men spoke about getting rid of any military records that would "embarrass the governor." Burkett said he saw documents from Bush's file discarded in a trash can a few days later at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas. Burkett described them as performance and pay documents. He said the documents bore the header: "Bush, George W. 1lt." -- meaning first lieutenant. Allbaugh and James denied the allegations. Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif., called Wednesday for a congressional investigation, saying CBS has declined to reveal its source "despite the growing abundance of evidence that CBS News has aided and abetted fraud." However, fellow Republican Joe Barton of Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, quickly rejected Cox's request, saying the media and viewers should sort out the matter. Forty congressional Republicans joined House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, in a letter calling on Heyward to retract the story. The Republican National Committee cited CBS in criticizing a Democratic National Committee video that portrays Bush as a "fortunate son" who used family connections to dodge the Vietnam War and then lied about it. RNC spokesman Jim Dyke said the video was "as creative and accurate as the memos they gave CBS." Responded Phil Singer, Kerry campaign spokesman: "It's ridiculous. We didn't give CBS anything." White House press secretary Scott McClellan said: "The one thing that is not under question is the timing of these orchestrated attacks by the Democrats on the president's service. And these are old, recycled attacks."