Deserter: Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past

by Williams, Ian

• ISBN13: 9781560256274
• ISBN10: 1560256273
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-29
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Summary

Deserter looks objectively at the military record of George W. Bush, his role in the armed forces, and his treatment of them. Over the past year, Bush's military poses have been contrived to convince the American public that he is a National Security President. Others have found his playacting less convincing. While George W. Bush supported the Vietnam War, his contribution was to enlist in a nepotistic unit of the Texas National Air Guard, which, short of World War III, was guaranteed never to see military action. Even in this safe position, Lieutenant Bush broke under the strain and went AWOL for the best part of a year. In contrast, American National Guardsmen have not only been called up for frontline action in Iraq, but they have had their terms of service extended. While the military budget soars, the war is being fought with a dangerously inadequate number of troops. The dead and disabled are shipped home under cover of darkness; those who eventually return in one piece find that their veterans' medical benefits and facilities are being axed. Deserter strips away the illusion of Bush as "commander-in-chief" to reveal a hypocrite who has betrayed his troops and his country.

Table of Contents

Why beat the Bush?	p. 1
Twelve inches of power : Bush and thrust	p. 7
Timing	p. 17
Wrapping the flag	p. 21
Potemkin village	p. 31
Soldier of fortune	p. 41
Quantum Vietnam	p. 57
Old money	p. 65
Odious comparisons	p. 73
The military tradition	p. 83
Roll Alabama roll	p. 91
Evasive action	p. 113
The Harvard years	p. 121
Bayonets and ballots	p. 133
Commander in chief	p. 143
Why Iraq?	p. 149
Neglecting the troops	p. 157
Give us the tools, we'll finish the job	p. 161
Sticky ends	p. 169
Volunteers of America	p. 173
Then and now with the Guard	p. 181
Well done thou good and faithful servant - now get lost	p. 185
Veterans and the administration	p. 189
Because our president lied	p. 191
If he were not serious, he would be a joke	p. 197
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