SwiftVets.com

[1AD]

Just saw Dan on the News. As Sean Hannity predicted he ignored the fact that they (CBS Evening News) had spoken to Killian's wife and daughter and ignored what they had to say about the documents. The wife and daughter doubted their authenticity. Among other things Killian did not have an office at home! Where did the documents come from?

Dan also ignored that the documents "break" as if they were typed on a word processor. Ignored that a sample typed on a processor fits exactly over the "authentic" documents. Ignored that the documents are centered like they would be on a word processor. Dan's expert said the signatures were authentic but he ignored the other evidence showing they were done on a processor.

On Fox the person speaking to Jim Angle said Staudt was gone so why would Killian worry about Staudt. The descriptive acronym for the unit was not correct.

However, Dan did say that one document released by Bush did show the superscript. Can anyone find that document?

Now is not the time to give up!!!

[mr_mechanical]

We need to find some legitimate Killian documents to show the actual font and style used at the time.

[air_vet]

[Hondo]

Well now, what have we here . . . .

The purportedly signed memo we haven't seen before - the one dated 24 June 1973 - has some things that strike me as odd.

- First, the unit designation in the letterhead (111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron) has a superscripted th. The other ordinals (two occurrences of "1st" dont - but they have a space between the "1" and the "th". Not consistent practice.
- Second, letterhead is incomplete (no city/state/zip).
- Third, the typing is oddly bad. No misspellings, but multiple extra spaces just where you'd need them to avoid MS Word automatically superscripting the letters "th" following a number. I'd expect bad typing to show other errors as well (corrected misspelled words, uncorrected misspelled words, missing spaces, etc . . . ).
- Fourth, the signature block is in the wrong place for USAF/USAFR/ANG documents of the period.
- Fifth, I believe that a Squadron Commander asking his Wing Commander for guidance would virtually certainly say "Please advise . . . " vice "Advise . . . " Subordinates in the military most definitely ask for guidance from higher commanders very politely and carefully when they do so in writing.
- Sixth, I'm guessing this was to his Wing Commander, as there is no "To" address on this document. Strange, and definitely not common practice.
- Seventh, font in the document is proportional and seems to be Times New Roman. Not consistent with overwhelming majority of military typewriters in use in early 1970s.
- Eighth, previous documents using the abbreviation "F.I.S." (with periods) for "Fighter Interceptor Squadron" didn't have spaces between the period and the following letter. This one does. Inconsistent.

My personal BS detector is showing a high reading on this one, too.

[ASPB]

hattip Q&O

The blogosphere has been all over the CBS documents, but all the information is parceled out in penny packets all over the place. At the request of a reader, I thought I'd try to consolidate them into a single post. This is not canonical, of course, just the stuff I know about.

Typographical Arguments


The use of superscripted "th" in unit names, e.g. 187th. This was a highly unusual feature, available only on extremely expensive typewriters at the time.

The use of proportional fonts was, similarly, restricted to a small number of high-end typewriters which cost approximate $20,000 each.

The text of the memos appear to use letter kerning, a physical impossibility for any typewriter at the time.

Apostrophes in the documents use curled serifs. Typewriters used straight hash marks for both quotation marks and apostrophes.

The font appears indistinguishable from the Times New Roman computer font. While the Times Roman and Times fonts were rare, but available, in some typewriters at the time, the letters in Times Roman and Times took up more horizontal space than Times New Roman does. Times New Roman is exclusively a computer font.

Reproductions of the memos in Microsoft Word using 12pt TNR and the default Word page setup are indistinguishable from the memos when superimposed.

The typed squadron letterhead is centered on the page, an extremely difficult operation to perform manually.

Several highly reputable forensic document specialists have publicly stated their opinions that the documents were most likely computer generated, and hence, are forgeries.

The numeral 4 has no "foot" serif and a closed top. This is indicative of the Times New Roman Font, used exclusively by computers.

Stylistic Arguments


The memos do not use the proper USAF letterhead, in required use since 1948. Instead they are typed. In general, typed letterhead is restricted to computer-generated orders, which were usually printed by teletype, chain printer or daisy-wheel printer, the latter looking like a typed letter.

Manually typed correspondence is supposed to use official USAF letterhead. However, even special orders, which used a typed letterhead, were required to use ALL CAPS in the letterhead.

The typed Letterhead gives the address as "Houston, Texas". The standard formulation for addresses at USAF installations should require the address to read "Ellington AFB, Texas".

Killian's signature block should read:

RICHARD B. KILLIAN, Lt Col, TexANG
Commander

This is the required USAF formulation for a signature block.

Lt Col Killian's signature should be aligned to the left side of the page. Indented signature blocks are not a USAF standard.

The rank abbreviations are applied inconsistently and incorrectly, for example the use of periods in USAF rank abbreviations is incorrect. The modern formulation for rank abbreviations for the lieutenant grades in the USAF is 2Lt and 1Lt. In 1973, it may well have been 2nd Lt and 1st Lt, but that certainly wasn't correct in 1984, when I entered active duty, so I find the rank abbreviation questionable, and, in any event, they would not have included periods. Lt Col Killian's abbreviations are pretty much universally incorrect in the memos.

The unit name abbreviations use periods. This is incorrect. USAF unit abbreviations use only capital letters with no periods. For example, 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron would be abbreviated as 111th FIS, not 111th F.I.S.

The Formulation used in the memos, i.e., "MEMORANDOM FOR 1st Lt. Bush..." is incorrect. A memo would be written on plain (non-letterhead) paper, with the top line reading "MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD".

An order from a superior, directing a junior to perform a specific task would not be in the memorandum format as presented. Instead, it would use the USAF standard internal memo format, as follows:

FROM: Lt Col Killian, Richard B.

SUBJECT: Annual Physical Examination (Flight)

TO: 1Lt Bush, George W.

Documents that are titled as MEMORANDUM are used only for file purposes, and not for communications.

The memos use the formulation "...in accordance with (IAW)..." The abbreviation IAW is a universal abbreviation in the USAF, hence it is not spelled out, rather it is used for no other reason than to eliminate the word "in accordance with" from official communications. There are several such universal abbreviation, such as NLT for "no later than".

The title of one of the memos is CYA, a popular euphemism for covering one's...ahem...posterior. It is doubtful that any serving officer would use such a colloquialism in any document that might come under official scrutiny.

Personal Arguments


The records purport to be from Lt Col Killian's "personal files", yet, they were not obtained from his family, but through some unknown 3rd party. It is an odd kind of "personal file" when the family of a deceased person is unaware of the file's existence and it is not in their possession.

Both Lt Col Killian's wife and son, as well as the EAFB personnel officer do not find the memos credible.

Keeping such derogatory personal memos , while at the same time, writing glowing OERs for Mr. Bush would be unwise for any officer. At best, it would raise serious questions about why his private judgments differed so radically from his official ones, should they ever come to light.

At worst, they would raise questions about whether Lt Col Killian falsified official documents. As Lt Col Killian's son, himself a retired USAF officer, has said, nothing good can come of keeping such files.

The reasons above constitute a very reasonable basis for serious questions about the legitimacy of the memos distributed by CBS. In light oif them, it seems to me that CBS has a positive duty to disclose as much information about the provenance and authenticity of the memos as possible. So far, their response has been, "We think they're true, so do not question us!" That is an understandable reaction, and, indeed, it's much the same as that of the German magazine Stern, when it claimed to have found Adolph Hitler's diaries in the 1980s.

It is not a helpful response, however, and it indicates that CBS is, at this point, far more interested in performing CYA operations than it is in getting to the bottom of these questions.
_________________
On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB

[Sonar5]

I can't watch it until 6:30 Pacific, 21/2 hours form now, but I will watch it grudgingly...

I need a funny laugh....

Freepers are ripping it to shreds though....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212542/posts?q=1&&page=1#1

There is also a running table of sorts here:
Post #30 here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212542/posts?q=1&&page=1#1

[mr_mechanical]

RATHERGATE - let's expose the SOB!

[You GottaBeKidding]

1AD:

link to doc with lots of superscripts:

http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/doc14.gif

However, not that is is NOT proportional, it's standard typewriter print.

link to doc from Bush web site w/ Killian sig:

http://users.cos.net/coldfeet/doc27.gif

I thought there was another but I just went through my stack of printouts and don't find one.

[air_vet]

[Sonar5]

[Hondo]

air_vet:

Kind of what I thought also. Moreover, as I said, I seriously doubt he'd tell his boss "Advise. . . " in writing; much more likely he'd write "Please advise . . . "

ASBP:

Again, my congrats. One small quibble with your summary above.

The abbreviation "1st Lt", "Lt Col", and "Lt Colonel" all appear on authentic ANG military documents from the period - specifically, those previously released by the Bush campaign relating to his discharge. Apparently (1) rank abbreviations changed in the USAF in the following decade, and (2) the ANG in those days allowed some variation in its use of rank abbreviations, at least for the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

[Steve Z]

I was intrigued also that the 1 Aug 1972 memo gives the abbreviation as the "Ftr Intrcp Gp", while the 18 Aug 1973 memo uses the abbreviation "Grp".

I'm not a military man, but when someone writes "Harris took the call from Grp", does that mean "group", or something else?

If Killian (or a forger) was referring to a "group" in both memos, wouldn't he use the same abbreviation in both of them?

Also, the 19 May 1972 "memo to file" and the 18 Aug 1973 "memo to file" have no signatures, and there is no typewritten indication of who wrote them. How can Dan Rather (or anyone else) attribute them to Killian, or to any other person? We only have the word of Dan Rather's anonymous source, and we can't that source's own name!!!
_________________
The traitor will crater!

[mr_mechanical]

[You GottaBeKidding]

ASPB,

Clarification on the superscript. TexANG appears to have had a typewriter that could do superscripts. There's a form with a superscript and Bush's military history (which may or may not have been typed at TexANG, but let's assume that it is). Anyway, some of Bush's official documents were typed on a typewriter with superscript capability.

However, that typewriter printed in standard typewriter print. The superscript pair had the same width as a single standard character. IOW, it was one character that looked like two.

The superscripts in and of themselves are not conclusive. However, the nature of them probably is.

----------------

change "recopied dozens of times" to "copied or FAXed multiple times or scanned and manipulated"

------------

there are errors (spaces in places there shouldn't be spaces, and no spaces where there should be spaces), just not misspellings and typos or evidence of correction. BTW, perusal of the official docs doesn't show evidence of typos or correction at first glance. Non-issue, I think.

---------

absence of hyphens is another non-issue. Some official documents have them, some don't.

-------------

Return address: The one doc I see with a return address is in ALL CAPS (which I have read is the correct format for anything not on letterhead). It's DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE / 147TH FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR GROUP/ ELLINGTON AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS 77030

--------------

I'm seeing a special order with 1ST LT GEORGE W. BUSH, so 1st Lt is plausible. Also the grounded document has 1STLT.

[Nomorelies]

Dan Rather is stonewalling. He is hoping this issue will go away with the Hurrican this weekend going into the next news cycle. I just hope that the Killing family will file a lawsuit against CBS for multi-millions in slander and demand to get the original documents and the source.
_________________
Nomorelies Make a donation HERE