<p>Killian’s secretary at the time, Marian Carr Knox, stated, “We did discuss Bush’s conduct and it was a problem Killian was concerned about. I think he was writing the memos so there would be some record that he was aware of what was going on and what he had done.” She added that Killian had her type the memos and locked them away in his private files. She did not believe the CBS documents were real, due to inconsistencies, but said the content is accurate and was perhaps copied from the originals.</p>
<p>Robert Strong was a friend and colleague of Killian who ran the Texas Air National Guard administrative office in the Vietnam era.
“They are compatible with the way business was done at the time. They are compatible with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being,” says Strong. “I don’t see anything in the documents that is discordant with what were the times, what was the situation and what were the people involved.” </p>
<p>CBS reported Hodges stating that details read to him over the phone were “the things that Killian had expressed to me at the time.” According to Hodges, when CBS read portions of the memos to him he simply stated, “well if he wrote them that’s what he felt.” </p>
<p>Well - 1 (sort of) out of 3 should be good enough for Fox News, anyway…</p>
<p>CGM: Hmmm … maybe I’m not making myself clear. I spend many posts talking about bias in the media and you think I have a list of unbiased media sources? The only way to come close to a complete picture of the situation in Iraq is watch and read a lot of different sources. It takes a lot of deliberate effort - effort that the average 18 year old is not likely to put in. Sadly, the average 18 year old probably gets his/her news from Comedy Central. One source for very firsthand accounting of what is going on from an insider’s perspective is: <a href=“http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/[/url]”>http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/</a></p>
<p>AFAMom: good luck to your son at the AFA; my nephew (also from the GR area) is entering his senior year there. It’s a great school with great opportunities. My nephew used to give an email diary of the goings on in his first year - your son is in for quite an experience!!!</p>
<p>18 year olds view of the Iraq War:
Saddam may not have had WMD in 2003, but who can say that he wouldn’t in 2013? For how many more years would his torture have gone on? How many more people would have disappeared in the middle of the night for having the wrong views? </p>
<p>A lot of people, American, Iraqi, and others, have died, which is truly sad. But if our military were pulled out of Iraq tomorrow there would be complete chaos, and their deaths would be for nothing. Right or wrong, we must finish what we started.</p>
<p>magoo09: Congratulations; you see beyond what many older adults fail to see. They only want to read the parts of the reports on WMD that confirm their pre-existing views and ignore the parts that talk about Saddam’s plans after the sanctions fell. They also ignore the fact that the sanctions had already deteriorated to a sham thanks to our European “allies”. My only quibble with your post was the timing - I don’t think it would be as late as 2013. Something like 2005 would be more like it.</p>
<p>Good luck at the Academy. If you haven’t already seen it, check out this week’s edition of Time magazine. It had a nice article about the class of 2005 at the academy - the class which started just prior to 9/11 and how the events since then have re-shaped their views on post academy life.</p>
<p>There’s no need to be rude to military recruiters unless they really become pests. It seems like most people should be able to say “no” and mean it by the time they’re eighteen years old without having to be rude or resort to telling the recruiters they’re “homasekshuls” to get rid of them. They have a tough job these days and deserve some compassion. Also keep in mind that most military NCOs consider being posted to a recruiting job to be a signal of the end of their career. </p>
<p>The Marine recruiter that called me kept trying to sell me on being able to pay for college and I just told him, “Thank you, but I already have a full ride” and further explained that both my parents are veterans and my father died in a training accident when I was little. That leaves me already getting $9,000 a year from the VA until I’m twenty-three (which I’ll save for grad school) without even needing to sign up as long as I stay in school or a professional apprenticeship. Besides, I think my mom - a former Navy nurse - would absolutely forbid it. He didn’t call again.</p>
<p>BTW, I agree with Magoo to the extent that now that we’re in, we can’t pull out without anarchy resulting. Damn sad situation. I do think our president exhibited extremely poor judgement in invading in the first place, though. Saddam was not a serious threat and had no real capacity to become one. There was no credible evidence of any involvement with the terrorists, either. In fact, they wanted him dead since he was a secularist. He was effectively isolated and was most likely going to die of natural causes in the next decade anyway if somebody didn’t knock him off first. That’s when we should’ve made our move though it should have been in a more covert way. Invasions and occupations are too expensive and come with too much blood of innocents! His sons were weak and were most likely going to fight each other for succession and we could have easily funded an insurrection then to get a friendly presence in power. Invading was the typical impatient American fast food mentality. On the other hand, I’m in complete agreement with our involvement in Afganistan. The timing was right there. Just another eighteen year old opinion.</p>
<p>Im confused- I thought that the marines don’t pay for college- becasue it is supposed to be enough to be a Marine- is this a new thing?
or is it just the bonuses for signing that Marines don’t get.
I also heard that if you are deployed and killed or wounded and not able to finish your tour of duty you don’t get your signing bonus?</p>
<p>Marines are eligible for the same benefits through the [GI</a> Bill](<a href=“http://www.gibill.va.gov/]GI”>www.gibill.va.gov/) as any other service person. In some specialities, they’re sent to college for additional training, too. I think they even get the option of studying what they want as long as it doesn’t interfere with deployments. If they get killed or permanently disabled, they or their families get the same benefits as any other service person. I don’t know what the deal is with the signing bonus.</p>
<p>thanks for the link
I am trying to figure out how my brother- who had shared custody of his kids, although he lived several states away , is able to get the tuition of a public college paid for , for his daughter.
I would think it would be tricky to get instate for her, let alone a scholarship- he retired from the service but not injured or anything.
He is very happy that she is choosing to attend university in same state- hard to pass up the freemeal deal, and what a head start once you graduate!</p>
<p>Thesbo, what a mature way to handle the situation. I applaud you (and I haven’t even seen you on stage yet!). I feel the same way about recruiters. There are unfortunately unscrupulous military recruiters, just as there are such people in any field. They need to be reported, and the highschools need to stand firm that any such people have no place there tallking to students. But to whole sale bar the military from giving their pitch to students is going too far. It’s not as though you sign on the dotted line and they take you away. There are a number of outs before you make that decision. And for many kids who are uncertain about the near future, the military is not a bad option. I know too many nonkids in their 30’s who are not self supporting and are still on a sofa with remote in hand. A stint in the military could have done them well. As a parent of many males, and having grown up in a military background household, I am well aware of the risks of going into the military, but my generation lost more of their own through accidents, suicides than through military activities, and I know too many lost souls who did not make it through the college route to write off the military as an option. That is without even going into the entitlement issues that the government may have regarding permitting recruiting in the schools.</p>
<p>Actually I have stated that I think there should be mandatory service of some type for all high school graduates ( I also think that a drivers license should be tied to taking a GED/high school diploma after age of 18)
Whether it be military- freedom corps or whatever
No getting out of it- so no cries of elitism.
However I don’t think the military wants a draft per se, nothing like fighting alongside someone who doesn’t want to be there, but then having a few recruits who were coerced into joining isn’t going to help the stability of the troops either.</p>
<p>my friend was a recruiter for a short time, spent 20plus years in the army. He hated it because he had to promise people things that he knew they wouldn’t get, (sure, you can be stationed in hawaii). he always wanted to be in the army, and that was the career he chose. now my son, if it was presented in the right way, he would go. he would also be the first one killed because he has no street smarts and is too tru****l. after what my friend told me about recruiting, I wouldn’t allow my kids to talk to them. when they are done with college, they can make their own decisions.</p>
<p>I just thought I would represent for the US Naval Academy class of 2008, which my son is a proud part of. As are the other academy appointees on this list, my son is a thoughtful, reflective, intelligent young man who has a very firm understanding of history and the role of diplomacy/military force in international relations. </p>
<p>Those who think that Europe is a peaceful land of plenty where socialism has cured the ills of society have not lived there. It is largely defended by the US, which does free up much money for other priorities, however there is rampant unemployment, inflation, the medical care is not nearly on a par with America’s (you get what you pay for!) and the politics in places like Italy are laughable. Government corruption is a way of life.</p>
<p>To the military recruitment argument, people quit in bootcamp all the time. The resulting loss is called an attrite and is charged against the recruiter, making the quota for the next month higher by the number of attrites charged. This is a punitive measure meant to make it counter-productive for the recruiter to misrepresent the obligation or opportunities available to the recruit. Also, no, the military does not target those with low ASVAB scores or without high school diplomas or the equivalent. They have a standard and they have set numbers of recruits they can put in from various mental categories. It is actually very difficult to become a proud member of the Armed Forces. Gone are the days when the paddy wagon was backed up to the jail and inmates were given an option. Today’s military is high-tech to the nth degree and must be run by individuals whose processing speed dwarfs their counterparts of even 15 years ago. This is the brightest military ever fielded. If you never receive calls from your recruiter, perhaps your child does not qualify. </p>
<p>It is very illustrative to hear the allegations which are bandied about here. I would think that one would research what one is freaked out about before posting alarmist messages which are not in the least productive. Maybe it is better that you save the recruiter the time of trying to tell the truth to your child, since it seems so little has been done to find out the truth. I hope that I have dispelled some of the untruths which have been told here.</p>
<p>“Those who think that Europe is a peaceful land of plenty where socialism has cured the ills of society have not lived there. It is largely defended by the US, which does free up much money for other priorities, however there is rampant unemployment, inflation, the medical care is not nearly on a par with America’s (you get what you pay for!) and the politics in places like Italy are laughable. Government corruption is a way of life.”</p>
<p>Europeans have better healthcare, education, and living and working conditions than people in the US.</p>
<p>Don’t turn this into a political flame thread, there are already too much of those.</p>
<p>bottom line: The military is now scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of voluntary recruits, at least most grunts, not like your son who will become an officer</p>
<p>Don’t turn this into a political flame thread, there are already too much of those.
sorry
I just wanted to point out there are other countries with higher literacy rates, lower birth mortality rates(way lower), higher levels of education, less gap between highest and lowest standards of living
Being patriotic does not mean blind obedience nor being blind to our faults</p>
Sorry if this is a political flame, but that is simply uninformed mantra. The uninformed say that about Cuba, too. I suppose it depends on your definition of “better.” Nine out of ten middle class Americans who think the European system is better would be outraged if they went there and experienced it first hand. A great place to go on vacation if you can afford it, but hardly a land of opportunity.</p>