September 9, 2004

Bush Guard Documents: Forged. Charles at Little Green Footballs opened Microsoft Word, set the font to Microsoft's Times New Roman, tabbed over to the default tab stop to enter the date "18 August 1973," then typed the rest of the document purportedly from the personal records of the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian.  And his Microsoft Word version, typed in 2004, is an exact match for the documents trumpeted by CBS News as 1973 “authentic.”  ... [Little Green Footballs] It is extremely unlikely that the Texas Air National Guard was using proportional fonts for routine memos in 1973.  UPDATE: CNS News has found three typeface experts who question whether CBS memos were fakes.  The memo was supposedly written on August 18, 1973, which was a Saturday.  Dedicated  Lieutenant Colonel  to be working on a Saturday, don't you think? UPDATE: Jeremy Chrysler had the same idea and discovered another exact correspondence: Bush Guard Documents Forged?  UPDATE: INDC Journal also had an expert look at the document, and he also thinks it is probably a fake.  UPDATE: The Daily Recycler has the relevant video from 60 Minutes. UPDATE:  Page A1 of the Washington Post for tomorrow. 3:06:53 PM

Iran seen using EU to buy time to get atomic bomb Reuters AlertNet, UK - Iran is using negotiations with the European Union's "big three" on suspending sensitive nuclear activities to buy the time it needs to get ready to make atomic weapons, an Iranian exile and intelligence officials said. With intelligence sources saying Iran could be months away from nuclear weapons cabability, the United States wants Iran reported to the U.N. Security Council immediately, charging Tehran uses its civilian atomic energy programme as a front to develop the bomb. Tehran vehemently denies the charge. France, Britain and Germany want to avoid isolating Iran and have taken a go-slow approach, negotiating with Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities. 9:10:25 AM