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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 16, 2004 Vets offer stinging criticism of Bush By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Vietnam War veteran Doug Snider of Medford has had enough. "I’m outraged at the speech George Bush gave yesterday saying he honors the National Guard service," Snider said. "The truth is he does the exact opposite." Snider, 59, a flight officer in the Navy who served two deployments to Vietnam, was among three veterans who mustered at the Veterans Memorial Park in Medford Wednesday to speak out against what they believe were at best disingenuous comments by Bush when he addressed the National Guard convention in Las Vegas Tuesday. Although acknowledging he is a Democrat, Snider, who logged more than 2,400 hours in the cockpit while serving from 1967 to 1971, said the issue isn’t about politics. He says Bush’s decision to send troops into Iraq, deploying more than 100,000 members of the Guard and military reserves, merits looking into what he did or didn’t do in the Guard more than 30 years ago. "It is clear that he is asking sacrifices that he specifically sought to avoid himself, using power and privilege — now he is lying about it," Snider said, referring to charges that Bush did not complete his Guard service. Advertisement Snider observed that at least 110 members of the National Guard have died in Iraq, more than the number of guardsmen killed in Vietnam. Eight members of Oregon’s National Guard have been killed in Iraq, including two earlier this week. "They continue to die while Bush refuses to answer questions and respond to irrefutable facts about his own failure to serve his country honorably," Snider said. "I support our Guard soldiers and all the troops deployed overseas, but I cannot support the man who sent them there," he added. Marine Corps veteran Troy Ferguson of Medford isn’t buying that argument. He is the state chair of the Veterans for Bush group. "It is absolutely irrelevant," he said of Bush’s Guard service. "This is a non-issue." Ferguson, who will tell you Bush served honorably as reflected by his honorable discharge, observed that national polls have consistently shown that veterans support Bush over Democrat John Kerry. "All the vets on board Veterans for Bush know President Bush is the right man to lead the war on terror," he said. "At the national security level, the (Iraq) war was the right thing to do." Ferguson, who handles veterans issues for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said the Bush administration in four years has accomplished more for veterans than the Clinton administration did in eight years. "President Bush cares for veterans," he said. But Ashland resident Don Morris, 64, who served first in the enlisted ranks and later as an Army officer in an artillery unit beginning in 1966, disagreed. "As a soldier, the things I always admired in a commander was straight-forwardness, lack of hypocrisy and the ability to lead by example," he said, adding that Bush, as commander-in-chief of the military, has failed that test. "He has let us down," Morris said during the event at the memorial park. "He has let the Guard down. He has let all the veterans down who really served." Air Force veteran Joe Suste, 57, of Medford, whose overseas duty included Vietnam, also believes Bush is dishonoring those in uniform. Suste served from 1968 to 1972. "This president lies about his military record and he lies when he says he is doing everything he can to support our troops," Suste said. "Even though he got preferential treatment to get into the Guard, he still didn’t have enough respect for the Guard to honorably complete his service." An independent who said he supports John Kerry, Suste said Bush rushed to war in Iraq without a plan to win the peace, leaving those serving in Iraq now in the lurch. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities