First the background . . .

This document is part of Bush’s military records — specifically, it is the document which records that Bush was suspended from flight status for failure to show up for an annual physical examination.

Interestingly, below the entry for Bush is another entry for another pilot, also removed from flight status (on the same day), for failure to show up for an annual physical examination.

The pilot’s name: James R. Bath.

Who is James Bath? Were he and Bush buddies or something, deciding to skip their Air National Guard obligations together?

You bet they’re buddies. Bush and Bath later co-founded Arbusto, an oil company, in 1979 [Arbusto means "Bush" in Spanish — cute, huh?]

Now comes the interesting part . . . Bath was accused of funnelling Saudi money into Arbusto and other Bush business interests including money from — wait for it — Saudi Sheik Salem M. Binladen.

Binladen? Where have I heard that name before? Yup, it’s Osama’s older brother.

That probably explains why Bush, when he recently released his military record, redacted the name of "James R. Bath" (as Atrios point out). Unfortunately, the document was released years ago, unredacted — that’s how we know of James R. Bath. But still, one can see why the Bush White House would not want to remind the public that Bush’s friend was a bin Laden business representative.

You can read more about the Bush-Bath-Saudi-Bin Laden connections in this 1992 Houston Chronicle article, reprinted here.