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CNN Saturday Morning News
White House Release Hundreds of Documents About President Bush's Military Service
Aired February 14, 2004 - 08:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Up first this hour, the latest chapter in a hot political story. The White House has put out hundreds of documents from President Bush's military files concerning his service in the Air National Guard.
Let's go right to the White House and CNN's Kathleen Koch.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jamie, as you can see, there are quite a lot of documents here. We're still sifting through them. But basically they trace the history of President Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War for the years from 1968 to 1973. And they do present some interesting details.
For example, in 1968, when the president applied for pilot training, he signed a statement saying that he "applied for pilot training with a goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit," and that from the future president. In 1971, superiors in an evaluation described Bush as "an exceptionally fine young officer with sound judgment, mature beyond his age and experience level."
But the papers give no concrete evidence that Mr. Bush served in Alabama during the period in question, from 1972 to 1973. Now, that is when Democrats have recently been charging very vocally that the president was temporarily AWOL, or absent without leave. A form sent from Texas to National Guard headquarters said the young pilot was "not rated" for the period between May 1972 to April 1973, adding the report for this period was "not available for administrative reasons."
Yesterday, though, a man came forward who says that Bush served under his command in Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN B. CALHOUN, ALABAMA AIR NATIONAL GUARD, RETIRED: We didn't have the airplanes in Montgomery that he could fly, so his duties while he was there, he had no assigned duties from our unit. But he studied his manuals. He read flying safety regs, accident reports, things that pilots do quite often when they're not getting ready to fly or if they don't have other duties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: The White House says that all this now finally proves that President Bush did, indeed, perform his National Guard service. They point out that he was, of course, honorably discharged. But a statement from the Democratic National Committee is skeptical, saying, "It remains to be seen if these newest documents will provide any answers -- Jamie.
MCINTYRE: Well, Kathleen, I understand President Bush is going to be meeting with the 9/11 Commission.
What can you tell us about what's going on with that?
KOCH: No firm time frame on this, Jamie, but this is something that has been in the works for some time. The 9/11 Commission, of course, already questioning hundreds of administration officials, most recently National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. And in a statement the White House released last night, it said, "The 9/11 Commission Chair Kean and Vice Chair Hamilton today requested a private meeting with the president to discuss information relevant to the Commission's work. The president has agreed to the request."
But it's important to point out the White House added that there is no need for the president to testify publicly and also it is not clear whether or not the president will testify under oath. I spoke with the spokesman for the Commission yesterday. He said that some of the witnesses do testify under oath and others don't -- Jamie.
MCINTYRE: Thank you, CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Bush's Military Service>
Aired February 14, 2004 - 08:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Up first this hour, the latest chapter in a hot political story. The White House has put out hundreds of documents from President Bush's military files concerning his service in the Air National Guard.
Let's go right to the White House and CNN's Kathleen Koch.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jamie, as you can see, there are quite a lot of documents here. We're still sifting through them. But basically they trace the history of President Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War for the years from 1968 to 1973. And they do present some interesting details.
For example, in 1968, when the president applied for pilot training, he signed a statement saying that he "applied for pilot training with a goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit," and that from the future president. In 1971, superiors in an evaluation described Bush as "an exceptionally fine young officer with sound judgment, mature beyond his age and experience level."
But the papers give no concrete evidence that Mr. Bush served in Alabama during the period in question, from 1972 to 1973. Now, that is when Democrats have recently been charging very vocally that the president was temporarily AWOL, or absent without leave. A form sent from Texas to National Guard headquarters said the young pilot was "not rated" for the period between May 1972 to April 1973, adding the report for this period was "not available for administrative reasons."
Yesterday, though, a man came forward who says that Bush served under his command in Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN B. CALHOUN, ALABAMA AIR NATIONAL GUARD, RETIRED: We didn't have the airplanes in Montgomery that he could fly, so his duties while he was there, he had no assigned duties from our unit. But he studied his manuals. He read flying safety regs, accident reports, things that pilots do quite often when they're not getting ready to fly or if they don't have other duties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: The White House says that all this now finally proves that President Bush did, indeed, perform his National Guard service. They point out that he was, of course, honorably discharged. But a statement from the Democratic National Committee is skeptical, saying, "It remains to be seen if these newest documents will provide any answers -- Jamie.
MCINTYRE: Well, Kathleen, I understand President Bush is going to be meeting with the 9/11 Commission.
What can you tell us about what's going on with that?
KOCH: No firm time frame on this, Jamie, but this is something that has been in the works for some time. The 9/11 Commission, of course, already questioning hundreds of administration officials, most recently National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. And in a statement the White House released last night, it said, "The 9/11 Commission Chair Kean and Vice Chair Hamilton today requested a private meeting with the president to discuss information relevant to the Commission's work. The president has agreed to the request."
But it's important to point out the White House added that there is no need for the president to testify publicly and also it is not clear whether or not the president will testify under oath. I spoke with the spokesman for the Commission yesterday. He said that some of the witnesses do testify under oath and others don't -- Jamie.
MCINTYRE: Thank you, CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Bush's Military Service>
