Bush under pressure over military record Sarah Left and agencies
Thursday September 9, 2004
The US president, George Bush, was today under growing scrutiny over his Vietnam-era service record after several different sources questioned his time in the Texas and Alabama air national guards.
In one of the most damaging attacks, Ben Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Texas, said he had helped Mr Bush dodge the Vietnam draft by securing him a sought-after place in the Texas air national guard.
In 1968, the 29-year-old Mr Barnes was the Democratic speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Mr Bush, who had just graduated from Yale, was coming up for the draft as his exemption for being at university expired. At the time, his father, George Bush Snr, was a US congressman.
In an interview last night, Mr Barnes told the US television station CBS that he had been approached by Sid Adger, an oilman close to the Bush family, who had asked whether he could find a place in the national guard for the young Mr Bush.
Mr Barnes - now a prominent supporter of John Kerry - told CBS he had used his connections to ensure Mr Bush was safely placed in the national guard, a post that made it unlikely he would be sent to fight in Vietnam.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1300834,00.htmlThis story seems to be getting some legs!