THE US: The Democratic presidential candidate, Mr John Kerry, accused President Bush of using surrogates to "do his dirty work," as he hit back yesterday at a Republican assault on his Vietnam war record.
Mr Kerry said a group called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has attacked the Massachusetts senator's war record via television advertisements, was funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor in Texas, Mr Bush's home state.
"They're a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything you need to know: he wants them to do his dirty work," Mr Kerry told a convention of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union that is backing Mr Kerry.
However Bush campaign spokesman Mr Steve Schmidt said the President did not support the Swift Boat ads, which accuse Mr Kerry of lying about his Vietnam combat record. "John Kerry knows his statements are false. John Kerry knows the President said his service in Vietnam was noble," said Mr Schmidt. He said Bush wants an end to all political advertisements paid for by so-called soft money.
Mr Kerry has been put on the defensive by weeks of Republican criticism of his Vietnam war service as a decorated navy lieutenant. US military veterans usually vote in higher numbers than the general population, and Democrats fear the criticism may hurt his standing in key states in the election.
In addition, the Iraq war and fear of terrorism have given foreign policy and national security greater importance than economic issues in this presidential election, for the first time since the Vietnam era, the Pew Research Center said in a poll released on Wednesday. "Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that," Mr Kerry said.
"Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: 'Bring it on,'" the Massachusetts senator said.
A report on Thursday in the Washington Post said military records contradicted a claim that Mr Kerry did not come under fire during the battle that resulted in military honours for the Democratic senator.
Mr Larry Thurlow, who commanded a navy boat alongside Mr Kerry in Vietnam, has disputed that Mr Kerry was shot at during the March 1969 raid that resulted in Bronze Stars being awarded to both men. Mr Thurlow is a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
However Mr Thurlow's military records, partially obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Washington Post, contain references to "enemy small arms and automatic fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla, the newspaper says. - (Reuters)