Paul Lukasiak's "AWOL Project"...a detailed run-down of Bush's cowardice

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/09/bush_guard_duty/index.html

There are also indications that Bush -- unwilling to fly, take a physical or report for duty -- was trying to mislead Guard officials with his transfer application. When asked for his permanent address, Bush listed the P.O. box for the Alabama campaign headquarters he worked for temporarily. When asked to note his Air Force Specialty Code, Bush wrote down 1125B, the designation for F-89 or F-94 pilots. At the time of his transfer request, both of these planes had been retired from service in all components of the Air Force, including the Guard and Reserves. Bush's accurate code was 1125D, designing an F-102 pilot. At the time, F-102 planes were still very much in use. It was an error Bush made more than once on the application. Lukasiak writes: "The odds of Bush being able to scam his way into a non-training unit would be enhanced if his specific skill set was one which was no longer useful to the Air Force."

Lukasiak's work has created a storm in the blogosphere. (He's also a Salon Table Talk member, and an active thread is devoted to his research.) He makes no secret of his conviction that Bush used his family connections to evade the draft. The AWOL Project concludes: "Bush simply blew off his last two years of required service, and was able to get away with it because he came from a politically influential family. There is no other explanation for Bush's records. None."

Of course none of that stopped Bush from hyping his military service as he launched his political career. In 1978, during an unsuccessful run for Congress in west Texas, Bush produced campaign literature that claimed he had served "in the US Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard." In 1999, when asked by an A.P. reporter why Bush had claimed to have served specifically with the U.S. Air Force when he'd only been in the National Guard, Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes insisted the claim was accurate because when Bush attended flight school for the Air National Guard he was considered to be on active duty for the Air Force. That was plainly false, as the A.P. noted, citing Air Force policy, which stated Guardsmen are never considered to be members of the Air Force active duty.

Just four years after escaping his military obligations, Bush was already trying to rewrite his military record for political gain. Bush said he strongly supported the Vietnam War, obscuring how he spent several years, after securing a safe spot in the National Guard, evading his military obligation. Now President Bush orders Guardsmen and Reservists to shoulder an unprecedented load -- physically, financially and emotionally -- in the war in Iraq. As new information at last begins to emerge about what he really did, Bush and his aides are still at work covering up the record. His ultimate war is with the truth about his past.

NOTE: The AWOL Project can be found HERE: http://www.glcq.com/

Lukasiak's Salon Blog is HERE: http://tabletalk.salon.com/webx?13@@.7739b7ad

[opihimoimoi]

1. In six weeks, the American Public will get the real deal about W

and John Kerry will be victorious. This is W's Fear. So they will lie, cheat, steal to prevent eating crow.

[cthrumatrix]

6. so ...you mean business as usual for shrubco

[opihimoimoi]

7. If Bush succeeds in Fooling America, this generation will have to answer

to the Future who will see us as Fools for swallowing the BS and allowing this Machine to continue its nefarious ways... Sad and Pitiful.

[henslee]

2. Big kick for Paul L.

[Spazito]

3. The AWOL Project is a fascinating read!

Mr. Lukasiak's research is very exhaustive, I am glad he is getting noticed!

[oly]

4. Unfortunately, John Q. Public hears about Swift Boaters and

AWOL Bush and more or less equates the two in deciding who too vote for. That's a huge win for Bush -- evidence Bush lied is overwhelming and evidence of Kerry telling the truth is overwhelming.

[kentuck]

5. He's a scam artist - a flim-flam man

"When asked to note his Air Force Specialty Code, Bush wrote down 1125B, the designation for F-89 or F-94 pilots. At the time of his transfer request, both of these planes had been retired from service in all components of the Air Force, including the Guard and Reserves. Bush's accurate code was 1125D, designing an F-102 pilot. At the time, F-102 planes were still very much in use. It was an error Bush made more than once on the application. Lukasiak writes: "The odds of Bush being able to scam his way into a non-training unit would be enhanced if his specific skill set was one which was no longer useful to the Air Force."