John Kerry says he has signed Form 180. It's been 114 days since he promised to do so.
Kevin at Wizbang thinks it may not be so cut and dried.
LindaSog is similarly skeptical.
Lorie Byrd thinks there is still a candor gap.
Mark at Decision '08 urges caution. And he wants an update to the Kerry Clock.
And Michelle Malkin discusses an interesting point of disagreement between John O'Neill and Captain Ed. She quotes O'Neill:
Last summer, "Unfit for Command" author John O'Neill said if Kerry signed SF-180, reporters or anyone else could obtain all of Kerry's military records from DoD. "If he executes Standard Form 180, he would no longer be the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper would be the U.S. military," he told the Washington Times.
But Ed Morissey contends:
All kidding aside, Kerry only agreed to sign off on the SF-180. He didn't agree to release every document that results from that request. The SF-180 will only release the information to Kerry, who can then cull the material for anything embarrassing before making it public.
So is O'Neill right? Or Captain Ed? Time will tell, but I'm not holding my breath.
[Cross posted at Myopic Zeal]
Article comments
1 - RJ
If there is anything humiliating in these records, be sure that we will never hear about it...
2 - Anarchus
If you go and read the SF 180 stuff (see URL below), Capt. Ed is correct. The complete records are only released with authorizing signature of the service member or his legal guardian.
A Form 180 may be used by a third party to obtain Kerry's military records, but only with Kerry's signature of approval in Section III.
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/standard_form_180.pdf
So. Apparently the complete records will be sent to Senator Kerry, who will then presumably release the "complete" file to the public. Or not.
3 - alienboy
Could somebody please explain to me in what way this is news?
There is nothing in this "story" that makes sense unless you already know the backstory, and if one did, this didn't add any new information, just a whole lot of opinion.
Myopic - definitely
Zeal - well maybe, but not for journalism or reporting or news.