Son of Late Officer Questions Bush Memos

[freeandfun1]

No matter how much the media wants Kerry to be elected, if ABC or NBC can put another nail in CBS' coffin, they will and here is there chance and so far, at least ABC is going after CBS on this. This is going to get intresting.

Son of Late Officer Questions Bush Memos

Son of Late Officer Questions Memos Attributed to His Father in File on President Bush's Service

The Associated Press

DALLAS Sept. 9, 2004 — The authenticity of newly unearthed memos stating that George W. Bush failed to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War was questioned Thursday by the son of the late officer who reportedly wrote the memos.

"I am upset because I think it is a mixture of truth and fiction here," said Gary Killian, son of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984.

Another officer who served with Killian and a document expert also said Thursday the documents appear to be forgeries.

Gary Killian, who served in the Guard with his father and retired as a captain in 1991, said one of the memos, signed by his father, appeared legitimate. But he doubted his father would have written another, unsigned memo that said there was pressure to "sugar coat" Bush's performance review.

"It just wouldn't happen," he said. "The only thing that can happen when you keep secret files like that are bad things. ... No officer in his right mind would write a memo like that."

News reports have said the memos, first obtained by CBS's "60 Minutes," were found in Jerry Killian's personal records. Gary Killian said his father wasn't in the habit of bringing his work home with him, and that the documents didn't come from the family.

The personnel chief in Killian's unit at the time also said he believes the documents are fake.

"They looked to me like forgeries," Rufus Martin said. "I don't think Killian would do that, and I knew him for 17 years."

CBS stood by its reporting. "As is standard practice at CBS News, the documents in the '60 Minutes' report were thoroughly examined and their authenticity vouched for by independent experts," CBS News said in a statement. "As importantly, '60 Minutes' also interviewed close associates of Colonel Jerry Killian. They confirm that the documents reflect his opinions and actions at the time."

Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software, which wasn't available when the documents were supposedly written in 1972 and 1973.

Lines, a document expert and fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, pointed to a superscript a smaller, raised "th" in "111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron" as evidence indicating forgery.

Microsoft Word automatically inserts superscripts in the same style as the two on the memos obtained by CBS, she said.

"I'm virtually certain these were computer-generated," Lines said after reviewing copies of the documents at her office in Paradise Valley, Ariz. She produced a nearly identical document using her computer's Microsoft Word software.

The White House distributed the four memos after obtaining them from CBS News. The White House did not question their accuracy.

Associated Press Writer Matt Kelley in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[freeandfun1]

60 Minutes docs on Bush may be fake - Washington Times

Washington, DC, Sep. 9 (UPI) -- The Cybercast News Service reported Thursday documents casting doubt on the U.S. president's national guard service might be fakes.

CNS, an Internet-based news organization affiliated with a conservative media watchdog group, said the 32-year-old documents used by CBS to cast "a negative light on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, may have been forged using a current word processing program."

The news organization said three independent typography tests indicated "they were suspicious of the documents" because they used a modern Microsoft Word font feature that was not available in 1972 or 1973.

The documents were featured Wednesday on "60 Minutes II" and allegedly came from the personal files of former Bush squadron Cmdr. Jerry B. Killian, now dead. CBS will not say how it obtained them.

John Collins, the chief technology officer of Bitstream, Inc., cited the use of a superscript "th" in one document as a reason to be suspicious.

"That would not be possible on a typewriter or even a word processor at that time," Collins said. "It is a very surprising thing to see a letter with that date (May 4, 1972) on it. There's no question that that is surprising. Does that force you to conclude that it's a fake? No. But it certainly raises the eyebrows."

 

[MtnBiker]

Is this thing an original document or if copied was copied soon after it was created? I would think the paper could be dated to verify how old it was. That would pretty much tell in an instant if it is crediable or not.

 

[freeandfun1]

Is this thing an original document or if copied was copied soon after it was created? I would think the paper could be dated to verify how old it was. That would pretty much tell in an instant if it is crediable or not.

Nobody has seen the "originals" and CBS cannot explain how they got these "copies" since the family says they NEVER released any of the Colonels personal files to anybody.

 

[MtnBiker]

Did Sandy Berger ever visit the Colonel?

 

[JIHADTHIS]

Did Sandy Berger ever visit the Colonel?

:teeth: :teeth: :teeth: Quick, check his socks!!!!!!