Man named in Bush memo left Guard before document was written

BY PETE SLOVER
The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas - (KRT) - The man named in a disputed memo as exerting pressure
to "sugar coat" President Bush's military record left the Texas Air National
Guard a year and a half before the memo was supposedly written, his own
service record shows.

An order obtained by The Dallas Morning News shows that Col. Walter "Buck"
Staudt was honorably discharged on March 1, 1972. CBS News reported this week
that a memo in which Staudt was described as interfering with officers'
negative evaluations of Bush's service, was dated Aug. 18, 1973.

That added to mounting questions about the authenticity of documents that seem
to suggest Bush sought special favors and did not fulfill his service.

Staudt, who lives in New Braunfels, Texas, did not return calls seeking
comment. His discharge paper was among a packet of documents obtained by The
Dallas
Morning News from official sources during 1999 research into Bush's Guard
record.

A CBS staffer stood by the story, suggesting that Staudt could have continued
to exert influence over Guard officials. But a former high-ranking Guard
official
disputed that, saying retirement would have left Staudt powerless over
remaining officials.

The authenticity of the memo and three others included in Wednesday's "60
Minutes" report came in for heavy criticism Friday, prompting an unusual on-air
defense of the original work. Experts on typography said they appeared to have
been computer-drafted on equipment not available in the late 1960s and early
1970s.

And the family of the officer who supposedly wrote them, Lt. Col. Jerry
Killian, who died in 1984, said it wasn't his nature to keep detailed personal
notes.

In its network news broadcast Friday, CBS said the documents were supported by
both unnamed witnesses and others, including document examiners.

Earlier, CBS anchor Dan Rather told The Dallas Morning News that he had heard
nothing to make him question the legitimacy of the memos. He attributed the
backlash to partisan politics and competitive journalism.

"This story is true. The questions we raised about then-Lieutenant Bush's
National Guard service are serious and legitimate," he said, expressing
confidence the
memos are authentic. "Until and unless someone shows me definitive proof that
they are not, I don't see any reason to carry on a conversation with the
professional rumor mill."

The interview concluded before The Dallas Morning News determined the date of
Staudt's departure, so that issue was not included. But a CBS staffer with
extensive knowledge of the story said later that the departure doesn't derail
the story.

"From what we've learned, Staudt remained very active after he retired," the
staffer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "He was a very bullying
type,
and that could have continued."

In the "60 Minutes" report, Rather said of the memo's contents: "Killian says
Col. Buck Staudt, the man in charge of the Texas Air National Guard, is putting
on
pressure to `sugar coat' an evaluation of Lt. Bush."

Staudt was the person Bush initially contacted about Guard service, and he was
the group commander at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston when Bush arrived
there to fly an F-102 jet. He later transferred to Austin, where he served as
the chief of staff for the Air National Guard.

In the disputed memo, Killian supposedly wrote "(another officer) gave me a
message today from group regarding Bush's (evaluation) and Staudt is pushing to
sugar coat it."

It continues: "Austin is not happy either."

The CBS staffer said that the memo appears to recognize that Staudt has
retired, since it differentiates between his displeasure and that of Austin,
where he
served his final Guard stint.

But another Texas Air National Guard official who served in that period said
the memo appears to wrongly associate Staudt with his group command in Houston,
and - based on that mistake - the memo distinguishes his views from that of
the Austin Guard headquarters.

Retired Col. Earl Lively, who was director of Air National Guard operations
for the state headquarters during 1972 and 1973 said Staudt "wasn't on the
scene" after
retirement, and that CBS' remote-bullying thesis makes no sense.

"He couldn't bully them. He wasn't in the Guard," Lively said. "He couldn't
affect their promotions. Once you're gone from the Guard, you don't have any
authority."

The report about the memos originally appeared to stir anew longstanding
questions about Bush's Guard service, including whether he defied a direct order
to
take a physical exam, and whether his suspension from flying was partly for
failure to meet military performance standards.

The campaign of Bush's Democratic rival, John Kerry, stood mostly mum, saying
Bush should answer all questions about his service. Earlier this year, though,
Kerry aides raised the exact points the memo seemed to address.

Bush has not commented publicly about the CBS report, and aides say his
honorable discharge proves he fulfilled his obligations.

But the White House, which contends that all known records of Bush's service
have been released, also took the unusual step of distributing the CBS memos to
reporters the night of the broadcast.

"We don't know whether the (CBS) documents were fabricated or are authentic,"
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Friday.

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© 2004, The Dallas Morning News.

Keep diging Steve!!!


--
Burr

Vote "RIGHT"
Vote Republican
Phu Bai/Hue, Da Nang

"dxAce" wrote in message
...
|
|
| Man named in Bush memo left Guard before document was written
(edited for brevity)

OOPS!

I wonder what Brybaby will have to say about this?

(Intrigued by the sounds of crickets chirping out on the balcony)

73,

Steve Lawrence
KAØPMD
Burnsville, Minnesota

(NOTE: My email address has only one "dot."
You'll have to edit out the one between the "7"
and the "3" in my email address if you wish to
reply via email)


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