Bush's Real Military Record

February 11, 2004

The old, hackneyed and fabricated story of George W. Bush going AWOL while serving with the Texas Air National Guard has reared its ugly head again. Terry McAuliffe, the political hit man for the DNC, has been making the talking head rounds trying to resurrect the same, stale tale that fizzled in 2000. Back in 2000, McAuliffe and others were trying to convince the American people that Bush got a pass when it came to serving in the military. Now it's worse. “ George Bush never served in our military in our country,” he told ABC-TV's This Week . I guess Terry doesn't consider you folks in the National Guard as “our military.” Something to remember come November.

 

McAuliffe has claimed that even when Bush was a part of this ‘non-military' organization he was AWOL. Now retired Lt. Col. Albert Lloyd, Jr. who was personnel director for the Texas Air National Guard from 1969 until 1995 has produced documentation that shows McAuliffe is a liar. Nothing new to those of us who follow politics. After all, McAuliffe is the protégé of this country's most notorious liar. What's most disturbing is the John Kerry campaign is reportedly involved in the attacks, too. While he tries to accentuate his own military record, Kerry's people, apparently with his blessing, are trying to malign the service of President Bush.

 

No one can take away Kerry's service to our country. Only he could diminish that role with his exploits and conduct after returning from Vietnam. Joining the likes of “Hanoi” Jane Fonda on the anti-war circuit and reportedly throwing his medals over the fence at the Capitol in a media photo op demonstrated his change of heart. (Kerry now maintains that he threw someone else's medals over the fence, not being able to part with his own. Even worse.) McAuliffe claims that Kerry is a military hero. That may be so but true military heroes don't tout their military service at every campaign stop. Real heroes don't approve of their campaign's attempt to belittle the service of a fellow American.

 

It's a touchy subject, no doubt. My respect for those who have served in the military is immense. However, that's not to say that they are not criticizable (yes, that is a word) because of it. Military service should be analyzed in the context of the totality of the person. Kerry and Bush served in the military but so did Timothy McVeigh and Lee Harvey Oswald. There are plenty of fine folks who never served. Dick Cheney comes immediately to mind. The problem arises when people start throwing one's association with the military around as if it's demonstrative of perfection. It isn't. It's a piece of the puzzle but not the whole puzzle.

 

But since McAuliffe and Kerry are so infatuated with it, let's talk about George W. Bush's military service. Since serving in the Texas Air National Guard, he volunteered to be commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. After his country was savagely attacked, he led a military campaign in three theatres – Afghanistan, Iraq and his homeland, the United States. Since taking command, he has routed the Taliban and al Qaida in Afghanistan. He commanded one of the swiftest victories in military history in Iraq and captured the most brutal and sadistic killer of the last forty years. In the American theatre, he has thwarted untold plans of attack against the United States and prevented any other attacks for two and a half years, saving countless lives. John Kerry has opened this military Pandora's Box. With all due respect to Lt. Kerry, his record pales in comparison.