General Zinni on Sixty Minutes

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:
"WalterM140" wrote in message
...

"Yeah, the mainstream media have really kept a lid on this one. We
wouldn't know anything about Bush going AWOL if it hadn't been for
that obscure underground newspaper the Boston Globe, which broke
the story nationally in May 2000. But you're right that coverage has
been pretty thin. A few months after the 2000 election, former Bill

Clinton

adviser Paul Begala said he'd done a Nexis search and found 13,641
stories about Clinton's alleged draft dodging versus 49 about George
W. Bush's military record.



Alleged? Something is alleged when it is represented as existing or as
being as described but not so proved. There's nothing alleged about
Clinton's draft-dodging.

Really? In that case, would you mind producing some proof that there was a
court proceeding that found Clinton guilty of violating some portion of the
Selective Service Act?

You know, my dictionary defines "allege" as "to declare or assert without
proof". If you have no proof, there's no other word you could use about the
object of your affections than allege. You can't turn him into a criminal just
because you don't like his politics or sex life.

By way of example, many of Bush's critics think he was an unprosecuted AWOL or
maybe even a deserter but, lacking proof and/or evidence of a successful
prosecution, many amongst them refrain from making unsubstantiated charges like
that. Don't you think it's time both Bush and Clinton got a vacation from
having mud thrown at them for stuff nobody has yet proved that they did? It's
unseemly to treat our presidents that way, even the ones we don't like.

George Z.

"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...

Really?


Really.



In that case, would you mind producing some proof that there was
a court proceeding that found Clinton guilty of violating some portion
of the Selective Service Act?

You know, my dictionary defines "allege" as "to declare or assert without
proof". If you have no proof, there's no other word you could use about
the object of your affections than allege. You can't turn him into a
criminal
just because you don't like his politics or sex life.


My dictionary defines "draft dodger" as " someone who is drafted and
illegally refuses to serve". Doesn't say anything about court proceedings
or convictions.



By way of example, many of Bush's critics think he was an unprosecuted
AWOL or maybe even a deserter but, lacking proof and/or evidence of
a successful prosecution, many amongst them refrain from making
unsubstantiated charges like that. Don't you think it's time both Bush
and Clinton got a vacation from having mud thrown at them for stuff
nobody has yet proved that they did?


Well, I'm certainly not one who makes unsubstantiated charges.


Bill Clinton's Draft Record: A Chronology

Aug 19 1964: Clinton registers for the draft
[Washington _Post_ Sep 13 92]

Sep 1964: Clinton, age 18, enters Georgetown University
[The Comeback Kid, CF Allen and J Portis, p. 20]

Nov 17 64: Clinton is classified 2-S (student deferment) "which would shield
him from the draft throughout his undergraduate years."
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]

Feb 16 68: "The Johnson administration unexpectedly abolished graduate
deferments."
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]

Mar 20 68: Clinton, age 21, is classified 1-A, eligible for induction, as he
nears graduation from Georgetown.
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
Comment: "The [Los Angeles] _Times_ found that the future Arkansas governor
was the only man of his prime draft age classified 1-A by that board in 1968
whose pre-induction physical examination was put off for 10.5 months -- more
than twice as long as anyone else and more than five times longer than most
area men of comparable eligibility."
[Los Angeles _Times_ Sep 02 92]

Summer 68: Political and family influence keeps Clinton out of the draft.
"Robert Corrado -- the only surviving Hot Springs draft board member from
that period -- concluded that Clinton's [draft] statement" (the long delays)
was the result of "some form of preferential treatment." According to the
_Times_, "Corrado recalled that the chairman of the three-man draft panel
.... once held back Clinton's file with the explanation that 'we've got to
give him time to [go] to Oxford,' where the term began in the fall of 1968.

"Corrado also complained that he was called by an aide to then-Sen. J.
William Fulbright urging him and his fellow board members to 'give every
consideration' to keep Clinton out of the draft so he could attend Oxford.

"Throughout the remainder of 1968, Corrado said, Clinton's draft file was
routinely held back from consideration by the full board.
Consequently, although he was classified 1-A on Mar 20 68, he was not called

for his physical exam until Feb 3, 1969, when he was at Oxford."

Clinton's Uncle Raymond Clinton personally lobbied Sen Fulbright, William S.
Armstrong, the chairman of the three-man Hot Springs draft board, and Lt.
Cmdr. Trice Ellis, Jr., commanding officer of the local Navy reserve unit,
to obtain a slot for Clinton in the Naval Reserve.
Clinton secured a "standard enlisted man's billet, not an officer's slot
[which] would have required Clinton to serve two years on active duty
beginning within 12 months of his acceptance." This Navy Reserve assignment
was "created especially for the young Clinton at a time in 1968 when no
existing reserve slots were open in his hometown unit."

According to the LA Times, "after about two weeks waiting for Bill Clinton
to arrive for his preliminary interview and physical exam, Ellis said he
called [Clinton's uncle] Raymond to inqui 'What happened to that boy?'
According to Ellis, Clinton's uncle replied: 'Don't worry about it. He won't
be coming down. It's all been taken care of.' "
[LA Times Sep 02 92]

Fall 68: Because of the local draft board's continuing postponement of his
pre-induction physical, Clinton is able to enroll at Oxford Univ.
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]

Feb 02 69: While at Oxford, Clinton finally takes and passes a military
physical examination.
[Washington _Times_ Sep 18 92]
Comment: Clinton avoided being called for his pre-induction physical for
more than 10 months after becoming eligible for the draft. According to some
accounts, the delay was "five times longer than most area men of comparable
eligibility."
[LA Times Sep 02 92]

Apr 1969: Clinton receives induction notice from the Hot Springs AR draft
board. Clinton, however claims that the draft board told him to ignore the
notice because it arrived after the deadline for induction.
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
Comment: This notice set off the chain of events which led to Clinton's
efforts to avoid the draft.

Jun-Jul 69: Clinton receives a second induction notice with a Jul 28
induction date and returns home.
[Wash Times Sep 18 92]

Jul 11 69: Clinton's friend at Oxford, Cliff Jackson, writes that "[Clinton]
is feverishly trying to find a way to avoid entering the Army as a drafted
private. I have had several of my friends in influential positions trying to
pull strings on Bill's behalf."
[LA Times Sep 26 92]

Clinton benefited from yet another lobbying campaign in order to evade this
induction notice. "Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, who has
said he did not pull strings to avoid the Vietnam-era draft, was able to get
his Army induction notice canceled in the summer of 1969 after a lobbying
effort directed at the Republican head of the state draft agency."
Arrangements were made for Clinton to meet with Col.
Willard A. Hawkins who "was the only person in Arkansas with authority to
rescind a draft notice. ... The apparently successful appeal to Hawkins was
planned while Clinton was finishing his first year as a Rhodes scholar in
England. Clinton's former friend and Oxford classmate, Cliff Jackson -- now
an avowed political critic of the candidate -- said it was pursued
immediately upon Clinton's return to AR in early July [1969] to beat a Jul
28 deadline for induction."
[LA Times Sep 26 92]
Comment: Jackson's statement is contrary to Clinton's repeated assertions
that he received no special treatment in avoiding military service. "(I)
never received any unusual or favorable treatment."
[LA Times Sep 02 92]

Aug 07 69: Clinton is reclassified 1-D after he arranges to enter the ROTC
program at the University of Arkansas.
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
According to Cliff Jackson, Clinton's Oxford classmate, Clinton used the
ROTC program to "kill the draft notice, to avoid reporting on the Jul 28
induction date, which had already been postponed. And he did that by
promising to serve his country in the ROTC, number one, to enroll in the law
school that fall ... and he never enrolled."
[Wash Times Sep 17 92]
Comment: Clinton's admission into the ROTC program again runs contrary to
his repeated statements that he received no special treatment in order to
evade military service. Col Eugene Holmes, commander of the UArk ROTC
program, said Clinton was admitted after pressure from the Hot Springs draft
board and the office of Sen J. William Fulbright (D-AR).
Again, Clinton was receiving preferential treatment. In addition, records
from the Army reveal that Clinton was not legally eligible for the ROTC
program at that time. Army regulations required recruits to be enrolled at
the university and attending classes full-time before being admitted to an
ROTC program.
[Wash Times Sep 17 92]

Fall 1969: Clinton returns to Oxford for a second year.
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
Clinton was supposed to be at the Arkansas Law School. However, according to
Cliff Jackson, "Sen. Fulbright's office and Bill himself continued to exert
tremendous pressure on poor Col. Holmes to get him [Clinton] to go back to
Oxford."
[Wash Times Sep 17 92]

Sep 14 69: The _Arkansas Gazette_, published in Little Rock, headlined a
draft suspension was reportedly planned by the President.

Comment: The article, citing a source, said Selective Service reforms when
implemented, would only permit the conscription of 19-year-old men.
In addition, the source said "the Army would send to Vietnam only enlistees,
professional soldiers, and those draftees who volunteered to go." The source
contended that these reforms, combined with troop withdrawals, "would put
pressure on the Congress to enact draft legislation already proposed by the
President ... and set up a lottery to conscript only 19-year-old men," the
_Gazette_ reported.

From his letter to Col. Holmes, it is very likely that Clinton was in the
US on Sep 14 69. He was 23 years old.

Sep 19 69: "President Nixon, facing turmoil on college campuses, suspended
draft calls for November and December of [1969] and said the October call
would be spread out over three months."
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
The President also indicated that if the Congress did not act to establish a
lottery system, he would remove by executive order the vulnerability to the
draft of all men age 20 to 26.
[Ark Gaz Sep 19 69]
Comment: Again, Clinton was 23 years old.

Sep-Oct 69: "At some point, Clinton decided to make himself eligible for the
draft and said in February [1992] his stepfather had acted in his behalf to
accomplish this. _Newsweek_, attributing the information to campaign
officials, said this all happened in Oct 1969. [Clinton spokesperson Betsey]
Wright ... said she believed it took place in September. The difference is
potentially significant. ... If Clinton did not act to give up his deferment
until October, he could have known he faced no liability from the draft
until the following summer, that he could take his chances with the lottery
and find alternative service if he got a low number."
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]

Oct 01 69: "[Nixon] announced that anyone in graduate school could complete
the full year."
[Wash Post Sep 13 92]
Comment: Clinton is now safe from the draft through June 1970.

Oct 1969: President Nixon suspends call-up of additional draftees until a
draft lottery is held in December.
[Wash Times Sep 18 92]

Oct 15 69: Clinton organized and let anti-war demonstrations in London.
[Clinton's letter to Col. Holmes, and _Peace Eyes_ by Father Richard
McSorley]
Comment: According to McSorley, Clinton's demonstrations "had the support of
British peace organizations" such as the British Peace Council, an arm of
the KGB-backed World Peace Council.
[_The Revolution Lobby_ by JM Waller and AC Brownfield, for more
information on the World Peace Council, p.28]

Oct 30 69: Clinton is reclassified 1-A, eligible for induction.
[Wash Times Sep 28 92]
Comment: "Clinton said he put himself into the draft by contacting his draft
board in September or October and asking to be reclassified 1-A.
.... It is not clear, however, whether that occurred at Clinton's urging or
whether his failure to enroll at UArk automatically cancelled his 1-D
deferment."
[LA Times Sep 02 92]
Clinton has never produced any evidence to substantiate his claim that he
initiated his reclassification.

Nov 16 69: Clinton organized and led anti-war demonstrations in London.
[Clinton's letter to Col. Holmes] "I was glad to see a Georgetown
student [Clinton] leading in the religious service for peace. After the
service, Bill introduced me to some of his friends. With them, we paraded
over to the American Embassy carrying white crosses made of wood about one
foot high. There we left the crosses as an indication of our desire to end
the agony of Vietnam."
[Peace Eyes by Fath. Richard McSorley] Comment: Again, Clinton acted
with the support of the British Peace Council.

Dec 01 69: Clinton draws #311 in the first draft lottery.
[Wash Times Sep 18 92]
Comment: Clinton was virtually assured that he would not be drafted because
of the high lottery number.

Dec 02 69: Clinton writes to Col. Eugene Holmes, commander of the UArk ROTC
program and states, "From my work I came to believe that the draft system is
illegitimate ... I decided to accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for
one reason: to maintain my political viability."
[Clinton letter to Col. Holmes]

Dec 12 69 (approximately): Clinton visits Norway where he meets with various
"peace" organizations.
[Peace Eyes]

Dec 12 69 (approx.) - Dec 31 69: ???
Comment: After visiting Norway with Father McSorley, Clinton's movements and
activities are unknown until he arrives in Moscow on Dec 31 69.
Where did he go, what did he do, and who did he meet with?

Dec 31 69 - Jan 06 70: Clinton travels to Moscow. He later said "relations
between our two countries were pretty good then." He then described his
visit as "a very friendly time, a good atmosphere."
[Ark Gaz Jun 12 89, Knight-Ridder Newspapers Sep 25 92] Comment:
Despite Clinton's claim that Jan 1970 was "a time of détente," relations
between the United States and the Soviet Union were anything but warm. The
Soviets were supplying the North Vietnamese with advisors and anti-aircraft
weapons, and the KGB was secretly running the war from Moscow.

Sep 07 92: Col. Eugene Holmes, USA Ret., signs a notarized statement in
which he asserts that "there is the imminent danger to our country of a
draft dodger becoming Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United
States." He later writes that "I believe that he (Clinton) purposefully
deceived me, using the possibility of joining the ROTC as a ploy to work
with the draft board to delay his induction and get a new draft
reclassification."
[Letter reprinted in Wash Times Sep 17 92]