The following is a selection of letters sent to the World Socialist Web Site regarding “President Bush’s history lesson”.
I enjoyed the article. Still, a few things stand out that would really open the door on just how full of it “The Decider” was during his latest divorce from reality:
In response to Bush’s “noble-izing” the war effort in Vietnam, nobody seems to have pointed out that a truculent but cowardly George Bush did everything he could to stave off active duty in Vietnam while a member of the Texas Air National Guard (ANG). Even this was made possible only after pulling the political strings held his father—then Congressman George H.W. Bush—to leapfrog ahead of others to join the Champagne Squadron of the ANG candidates. Even at that, there was nothing in his efforts with the ANG that would have excluded him from a tour of in Vietnam.
According to several sources, when asked on the application form if he wanted to be chosen for active duty in the ANG Bush (a) checked off “Do not volunteer” for overseas assignment; (b) listed his “background qualifications” as “none” despite a Yale undergraduate degree; (c) was allowed to jump over several more qualified pilots into training for the latest TANG aircraft F-102 Delta “Dagger.”
Bush made sure he logged only 300 of the 500 training hours necessary for placement on the F-102 active duty roster. Delta Daggers were doing recon patrols over Vietnam until the end of the War.
Bush did “volunteer” for active duty in Vietnam in the summer of 1970. At the time, he was no doubt fully aware that his lack of the other 200 hours of flight training would disqualify him from active Guard duty.
Bush’s request for transfer to a “postal” ANG unit in 1971-1972 should have qualified him for random drug testing as part of his flight surgeon’s fitness report. We know from several sources that such testing either never took place or the test results were suppressed before being placed in his permanent flight record.
One more small note: Bush’s “praise” of the noble American war effort in Korea forgets to mention that the war—technically—is still going on!
PL
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
24 August 2007
* * *The last five paragraphs—that is the kind of conclusion and argument that make the WSWS. To not simply say, “Right on!” is somehow difficult, but I cannot think of much more to add to what you wrote.
MS
Santa Rosa, California, USA
24 August 2007
* * *You tell it like it is. But please elaborate on the reasons why the population of the Middle East hates us so much. I mean, aside from having your doors kicked in in the middle of the night, being taken to a prison without being charged, and all the other immediate instances of cruelty, furnish a short history of what the US done, along with the British, to have descended to this state within the Middle Eastern mind.
No one seems to be asking whether Bin Laden would have the following he has if we had not done the meddling that we have done. I think the American public needs the facts as to why.
Thanks, I’ll be watching for the answers. In the meantime, keep up the good work. Perhaps if we can get enough people to give up “American Idol” long enough to look at some facts or at least have them aired, then we might have the ability to change things.
CN
Carlsbad, California, USA
24 August 2004