Mudville Gazette

Milblogs on Ra^thergate:

Both the Mudville Gazette and BlackFive have the same reaction to Ra^thergate: the are outraged at the slander to LTCOL Killian. Greyhawk:

Not much has yet been made of the fact that this fraud has been perpetrated in the name of a deceased military officer, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian of the Texas Air National Guard. CBS's claims actually besmirch the reputation of a man who served his country nobly and well, a man whose opinions (by all accounts of those who knew him best - his family) were the exact opposite of those expressed in the Rather Forgeries. A man who after spending a lifetime defending his country is no longer able to defend himself.

B5:

By allowing the forgeries to stand against all logic - including statements against the documents issued by Killian's son (also a retired Air National Guard Officer) and his widow - CBS is defaming the character of the service of LTC Killian.

Defaming LTC Killian's character?

I am sure that you military folks (and many of you who never wore a uniform) understand that writing a memo referenced to CYA is craven and not looked upon as worthy of the uniform of our Armed Forces. To military Officers, putting your career ahead of doing what is right is possibly one of the most distgusting acts for someone to commit (anyone thinking of the VVAW?).

If any of this pisses me off, it's the fact that CBS probably doesn't care about that.

The thought had come to me, in less strong terms, that it was a bit cowardly to forge documents in the name of a man who could no longer speak in his defense. But BlackFive's point is well taken: the "content" of the memo is itself slanderous to Killian.