Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(October 2004)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
A pen portrait of a Commander-in-Chief:
Quote: Under Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution
of the United States. "The President of the United
States shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the
several states, when called into the actual service of
the United States".
 Documents, which were said to have surfaced recently
regarding President Bush’s service with the Air
National Guard were published by CBS television, who
when challenged shortly after the broadcast by several
sources about the authenticity of the story initially
maintained that the contents of the documents were accurate
and authentic.
These documents in part alleged that the
current President, George W. Bush, received special treatment
after political associates pulled strings in Texas and
Washington during the Vietnam War, allowing Mr. Bush
to opt to join and serve with the Air National Guard
which virtually guaranteed him exclusion from military
service in Vietnam with the United States Armed Forces.
These allegations referring to George Bush’s service
records have been around for some time and recent information
apparently gained under the Freedom of Information Act
is said to have brought to light records showing that
Mr. Bush abruptly stopped flying and discontinued his
duties with the Air National Guard when moving from Texas
to Alabama to work on a political campaign.
 CBS News anchor Dan Rather apologized on Monday the
20th of September 2004 for a "mistake in judgement",
and CBS acknowledged for the first time that its source
was a retired Texas National Guard official. The credibility
of the information provided by the informant, who at the time was touted
as an unimpeachable source, apparently has since been
found to be unreliable and therefore the authenticity
of the information given could not be substantiated.
Even so I did not see or hear a full retraction given
by CBS.
Question: "If authentic service records were ever
discovered to be available and proven to be accurate,
and the allegations made could be substantiated that
the current President enlisted in the Air National Guard
to avoid military service in Vietnam, would you consider
this person to be suitable for the position of Commander-in-Chief
of the United States Armed Forces"?
We welcome feedback about any of the contents of these
newsletters. Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
|
