Bush defends Guard duty after Democrat attacks

3.00pm

WASHINGTON - President George W Bush accused Democrats on Sunday of misrepresenting his record of attendance in the Air National Guard at the height of the Vietnam war, insisting "I did my duty" far from the front-lines although there may be no evidence.

Bush said the attacks -- by Democrats who have accused him of going absent without leave from the guard -- were politically motivated.

While he did not name Democratic presidential front-runner and decorated Vietnam veteran John Kerry, Bush suggested that those stoking the controversy were denigrating the entire National Guard.

Unlike Kerry, Bush did not volunteer to serve in Vietnam. Instead he joined the Texas Air National Guard. "I flew fighters and enjoyed it, and we provided a service to our country," he told NBC's Meet the Press.

The Republican president expressed some misgivings about the way Vietnam was carried out, calling it a "political war." Asked if he was in favour of the war itself, Bush said only: "I supported my government. I did. And (I) would have gone had my (National Guard) unit been called up."

Democrats have long challenged Bush's record of attendance in the guard in 1972 when he transferred temporarily to an Alabama unit to work on a political campaign.

"I put in my time, proudly so," Bush said.

Underscoring White House concerns that it could become a campaign issue, Bush went on the offensive for the first time, saying: "What I don't like is when people say serving in the guard ... may not be a true service".

Bush was upbeat about his re-election chances despite a new Time/CNN poll showing 55 per cent of Americans have "doubts and reservations" about him. "No, I'm not going to lose," Bush insisted.

According to a copy of the National Guard document granting him an "honourable" discharge on October 1, 1973, Bush completed five years and four months of service -- less than the obligatory six years -- before going to Harvard Business School.

Bush said Democratic charges that he went "AWOL" by missing required drills in Alabama were untrue and evidence that the "political season is here".

"I served in the National Guard. I flew F-102 aircraft. I got an honourable discharge... I did my duty," Bush said.

Asked why no evidence has been found to show he reported to duty in Alabama during the summer and fall of 1972, Bush said: "There may be no evidence, but I did report. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been honourably discharged... I did show up in Alabama."

Bush said he would "absolutely" authorise the release of any documents relating to his Guard service during that period -- "if we still have them." He said the records are kept in Colorado and have already been "scoured."

Bush acknowledged that he did not volunteer to go to Vietnam. "No, I didn't. You're right," he said.

Pressed on his feelings about that war, Bush said: "The thing about the Vietnam War that troubles me as I look back was it was a political war. We had politicians making military decisions, and it is lessons that any president must learn, and that is to set the goal and the objective and allow the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe thrust the issue to the political centre stage a week ago by saying he welcomed a debate on military service if Kerry won the party's presidential nomination.

"I look forward to that debate when John Kerry, a war hero with a chest full of medals, is standing next to George Bush, a man who was Awol in the Alabama National Guard," McAuliffe said. "George Bush never served in our military in our country. He didn't show up when he should have showed up."

Asked whether he considered Bush "Awol" during his service in the National Guard, Kerry responded, "It is a question that's been raised and that ought to be answered."

Analysts said the issue of military service could hurt Bush, especially if Kerry wins the Democratic presidential nomination. A new Time magazine poll says 60 per cent think Kerry did his duty for the country during the Vietnam war. In contrast, 39 per cent said Bush did his duty. Thirty-six per cent think it is "definitely or probably true" that Bush went Awol, absent without leave, when he should have been training.

- REUTERS