Read: Bush and Uncommon Valor.  

"380 Tons of RDX and HMX Missing" Hoax

"Sugarcoated Officer Efficiency Report" Hoax

Left-Wing Media (LWM) treachery, deception and distortion laid a solid foundation for Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minute fabricated story and fraudulent memos. Thousands of communications misled the American people about George W. Bush's (GWB's) service in the Air National Guard (ANG). LWM fraudulently orchestrated  so many hoaxes on President Bush's Air National Guard (ANG) service that it is not practical to debunk them all, so I'll focus on some of the most outrageous ones. The first article featured the Leapfrogged Hundreds Hoax and Political Influence/Favoritism Hoax. The second article addressed the Coward/Draft Dodger Hoax. This article features the 380 Tons of RDX and HMX Missing Hoax and Sugarcoated Officer Efficiency Report Hoax (Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes memos scandal).

We have a candidate for President that has said the Iraq War was the wrong war at the wrong time and the wrong place. Of the 1,000,000 tons of munitions in Iraq located in 10,000 storage facilities, our forces have  destroyed 400,000 tons and now 380 tons (1/1000) has allegedly gone missing. Kerry has gone ballistic on the campaign trail over the "alleged" missing of 380 Tons of RDX and HMX from the al Qaqaa facility in Iraq - an event that likely took place prior our troops entering Iraq. But how does this make sense? Iraq was supposedly no threat to the United States with 1,000,000 tons of munitions - to include RDX and HMX (even though these munitions could "easily" have been put in the hands of terrorists, used against Iraq 's neighbors and used in the United States). Having 380 tons of RDX and HMX missing now is a catastrophic event to Kerry, why? He had little concern about 1,000,000 tons being under the control of Saddam Hussein and his sons (we will contain them) but now has great concern about 380 tons - less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the munitions already destroyed by our Armed Forces? Again, Kerry and the New York Times have not been concerned about the 1,000,000 tons but very concerned about all the horrible things 380 tons could do. According to Kerry, the 380 tons have put our citizens in greater danger.

The 380 Tons of RDX and HMX missing is a hoax story.  The story (when it broke) gave no time-line for when the RDX and HMX went missing (other than sometime after military operations commenced in Iraq). The thrust of the NYT story is that our troops were incompetent; that the 380 tons were taken away right under their nose; that the President was incompetent. We now know possible scenario time-lines for the removal of the explosives (March and April 2003). We now know that it was likely that most of these sensitive explosives were moved out of the al Qaqaa facility in a prewar dispersal ordered by Saddam Hussein (before March 19, 2003). See interview with John A. Shaw regarding Russian Special Forces removal of critical sensitive items from these facilities and explosives prior to U.S. Armed Forces arriving at the al Qaqaa facility. Photos point to removal of weapons within weeks prior to the beginning of military operations in Iraq (March 2003). We now know that an NBC News report showed that the HMX and RDX explosives were not present when coalition forces first arrived at Al Qaqaa on April 10, 2003. Three weeks into the war, the Army's 101st Airborne didn’t find the nearly 380 tons of conventional explosives, called HMX and RDX, which is now alleged missing.  

The ABC crew video of April 18 showed explosives in the Al Qaqaa facility indicating "not" all munitions or explosives had been removed. Units of the 101st Airborne Division were near Al Qaqaa for "two to three weeks," starting April 10. Then they headed north to Baghdad. When they returned to the AL Qauaa facility in May, the explosives were gone. So who removed these munitions/explosives? We now know who the infamous looters were that LWM has been so concerned about one week before our national election. We (the United States) were the looters. Major Pearson of the United States 3rd Infantry Division stated on October 29, 2004 that his unit picked up 250 tons of munitions and explosives in April 2003 (which may have included RDX and HMX), took them to Baghdad and destroyed those munitions. We now know that we bombed bunkers containing HMX  which could have destroyed much of the tonnage over and above the 250 tons we removed (if HMX were still in bunkers). An IAEA document obtained by ABC News showed that as of Jan. 14, 2003, the agency's inspectors recorded "only" just over 3 tons of RDX stored at the Al Qaqaa facility. The final answer is yet to come; however, we now know Kerry used a hoax story to discredit our soldiers and Commander-In-Chief.  

We now know that our military planners took appropriate steps to reduce the stockpiles of dangerous munitions in Iraq and that they had taken measures to destroy these munitions after our forces entered Iraq.   The "380 Tons of RDX and HMX Missing Under Bush's Watch Hoax" was designed to create a windfall campaign issue for Kerry, discredit the President and discredit the actions of our troops in Iraq . The players in this hoax are a disgruntled UN employee (Mohammed ElBaradei), the Left-Wing New York Times, CBS's 60 Minutes and the Kerry Campaign. Kerry made guarding of the munitions storage facilities an issue in his second Presidential debate. Hmmm. was he setting the stage for the hoaxers? What did he know? When did he know it?

The significance of Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes  September 8, 2004 fabricated story and bogus documents scandal was that LWM orchestrated this event in an effort to influence the outcome of our national election. We know that both CBS's Mary Mapes and John Kerry's Campaign Advisor (Joe Lockhart) were talking with each other and both of them were talking to Bill Burkett (a former Texas National Guard army officer) the source of the fraudulent documents aired on Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes. We also know that proximate to airing Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes hit piece, LWM launched a barrage of attacks regarding GWB's ANG service. Fortunately, Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes Hoax was rapidly debunked by Internet bloggers.

  On October 31, 2004  CBS's 60 Minutes had planned to take another shot at influencing the outcome of our national election. It's being reported that the New York Times and CBS' 60 Minutes were engaged in a collaborative effort to manufacture a story with the following underlying theme "380 Tons of RDX and HMX went missing under Bush's Watch"; therefore, Bush is incompetent and the military was incompetent in performing its duties to safeguard each of the 10,000 storage facilities. This story was ideal for an October election surprise because it would imflame the passions of the American people with conjured up stories of how the 380 tons could be used to attack our population and soldiers; also, the hoax would  require time to debunk and therefore perfect for influencing a national election. Back to back efforts by CBS's 60 Minutes to influence a national election tells us that there are no boundaries when it comes to getting a Left-Wing Democrat in the White House - fraudulent and misleading stories are okay. Now that the NYT's story has been debunked, CBS will have to find another story designed to discredit President Bush and his administration just before the election - I wonder what it will be? Whatever it is, it will be CBS's third recent attempt to influence an election in favor of Kerry.

The components of this LWM hoax were myths: (1) that GWB received "sugarcoated" officer efficiency reports (OERs); that GWB didn't get superior ratings based on his own merit; that Dan Rather's CBS's 60 Minute memos confirmed GWB was getting “sugarcoated” ratings; (2) that GWB'S performance ratings were the result of political influence, favoritism and special treatment as evidenced by command pressure placed on GWB's Squadron Commander (Lt. Col. Killian); that Dan Rather's CBS's 60 Minute memos confirmed that Col Stuadt was the individual applying the command pressure; (3) that Killian wouldn’t give GWB a “sugarcoated” rating in 1973 even though under pressure to do so; that GWB received a "Not Observed" report because his Squadron Commander didn't know where GWB was or what he was doing.

First Myth - that GWB received "sugarcoated" officer efficiency reports; that GWB didn't get exceptional reports based on his own merit; that Dan Rather's CBS's 60 minute memos, finally, has confirmed that GWB received “sugarcoated” ratings. The facts: (1) GWB was a top notch officer and fighter pilot and universally respected by his Squadron Commander Lt. Col Killian, the officer pilots he flew with in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and officers in his Texas Air National Guard (TANG) . GWB didn't need anyone to "sugarcoat" his ratings. (2) The Dan Rather's CBS's 60 Minute memos were proved fabricated and fraudulent.

Second Myth - that GWB'S performance ratings were the result of political influence, favoritism, special treatment as evidenced by command pressure placed on GWB's Squadron Commander (Lt. Col. Killian); that Dan Rather's CBS's 60 Minute memos has now confirmed where the command pressure on Killian to “sugarcoat” GWB’s officer efficiency reports was coming from; command pressure was being exerted by Colonel Staudt. The facts: (1) Colonel Staudt had no leverage to exert command pressure on commanders’ Hodges or Killian to “sugarcoat” GWB’s rating since Staudt was no longer in the command line. Staudt retired from the TANG almost 1½ years before the alleged command pressure on Killian, Staudt had retired from the ANG on March 1, 1972 . August 18, 1973 was the date of the fraudulent memo and alleged command pressure. (2) The Dan Rather's CBS's 60 Minute memos were proved fabricated and fraudulent.

Third Myth - that Killian wouldn’t give GWB a “sugarcoated” rating in 1973 even though under command pressure to do so; that GWB received a Non Observed rating because his Squadron Commander didn't know where GWB was or what he was doing. The facts: (1) GWB could have cared less about an OER in 1973 since he wasn’t making the ANG a career; a sugarcoated OER would have been meaningless. (2) Lt. Col. Killian would have viewed the preparation of an OER on GWB as a waste of time in 1973 since GWB wasn’t going to remain in the Air National Guard. (3) To the extent Killian wanted to get in touch with GWB, he would have known exactly how to do it. Whatever arangements GWB had with his Squadron Commander over thirty years ago resulted in GWB’s honorable discharge October 1, 1973 .

A serendipity benefit of the CBS 60 Minutes fraudulent memo scandal was that the public got to hear directly from retired ANG senior officers about GWB's ANG service (unfiltered by LWM). What these officers had to say was quite different from what LWM had been telling the American people. Retired Colonel Walter B. "Buck" Staudt (who conducted the interview that resulted in GWB being selected by the ANG) stated in an ABC Special Interview that: "He recalled Bush as a standout candidate"; “No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard. It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody.”; “He didn’t use political influence to get into the Air National Guard”; “He was highly qualified. He passed all the scrutiny and tests he was given” “He was a well-educated, bright-eyed young man, just the kind of guy we were looking for." "He presented himself well. He more than met the requirements for pilot training. I’d say he was in the upper 10 percent or 5 percent or whatever we ever talked to about going to pilot training. We were pretty particular because when he came back (from training); we had to fly with him.”

  The President of the United States and Commander-In-Chief of our Armed Forces served honorably in the ANG - as did many thousands of Guardsmen. It is now time to stop the attacks on GWB's service in the ANG and spend, at least, a little time evaluating John Kerry's National Security Record - Click Here. Kerry's strategy (supported by LWM) was to malign President Bush’s military service and undermine the peoples’ trust in GWB as Commander-In-Chief.  At the same time, this strategy called for promoting Kerry as a war hero. Kerry's strategy was calculated to offset his anti-war activities and his extreme anti-national security voting record.

While the American people heard the steady drum beat of attacks on GWB's service in the ANG, LWM refused to scrutinize Kerry's service history. There were no LWM lawsuits for the release of Kerry's records as there were for GWB and there was no pressure applied by LWM for Kerry to sign form 180 - which would have released all of Kerry's military records. LWM didn't permit a video critical of Kerry (Stolen Honor) to be seen by the American people  Think about it. Kerry makes Vietnam the centerpiece of his campaign for President. The Vietnam Prisoners of War that were most impacted by Kerry's actions would like to heard; LWM won't give them the time of day. To view Stolen Honor, Click Here.