by Olivier Knox
WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (AFP) - Democrats took aim at President George W. Bush`s credibility, as new details of his Vietnam-era service and an ad-campaign questioned the claim he fulfilled his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.
Bush "either deliberately lied to the American public or he has a very strong memory loss" about his service, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe told reporters late Wednesday.
"It`s a different world today than it was yesterday because he (Bush) has now been caught," McAuliffe said.
"We are going to make an issue of the president`s credibility as relates to his service," he added.
The service records of Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry more than 30 years ago have become a volatile issue in the campaign, in which both candidates have sought to portray themselves as more qualified to lead the country in the war on terror.
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, accused Bush on Wednesday of charting a "catastrophic course" in Iraq, a day after the death toll among US forces there passed 1,000.
The escalation of the presidential campaign warfare over the Vietnam era was fuelled by separate reports in the Boston Globe and on the CBS network`s "60 Minutes" programme, as well as a TV campaign ad charging that Bush failed to perform his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.
The "60 Minutes" report included an interview with former Texas House speaker Ben Barnes, who said he had pulled strings at the request of a Bush family friend to secure Bush a coveted National Guard place, thus reducing the future president`s chances of seeing active duty in Vietnam.
"I would describe it as preferential treatment," said Barnes, who voiced remorse for using his influence at the time.
Bush and his father, former president George H.W. Bush, have both denied asking for special treatment.
Interviewed on the same programme, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett dismissed Barnes`s allegations as a partisan smear by a "Democrat activist," but did not specifically counter information on Bush`s service records obtained by CBS.
"The bottom line is that President Bush would not have received the honourable discharge that he was granted ... if he had not met his requirements," Bartlett said.
The Boston Globe said a re-examination of records released in February showed Bush`s attendance at required training drills was so irregular that his superiors could have disciplined him or ordered him to active duty in 1972, 1973, or 1974.
Instead, the newspaper said, they did neither.
Finally, a group called "Texans for Truth" launched a television ad campaign, in which a former National Guard lieutenant colonel says neither he nor his friends saw Bush when he was supposed to be with their unit in Alabama in 1972.
The ad campaign`s intent is similar to last month`s televised ads by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that accused Kerry of embellishing or even lying about his Vietnam War experiences.
Kerry on Wednesday attacked Bush`s Iraq policies, saying he had botched pre-war diplomacy and post-war planning alike, leading to chaos in Iraq.
"A glance at the front pages or a look at the nightly news shows brings home the hard reality: Rising instability, spreading violence, growing extremism, havens now created" for terrorists, Kerry said in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Bush laid out the case for ousting Saddam Hussein in an October 2002 speech.
The senator accused the president of sticking the United States with the bulk of the burden in blood and treasure by snubbing traditional allies, squandering billions of dollars that could have gone to domestic priorities.
"I call this course a catastrophic course that has cost us 200 billion dollars because we went it alone, and we`ve paid an even more unbearable price in young American lives," said the senator from Massachusetts.
Bush on Wednesday briefly marked the symbolic benchmark of 1,000 US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the war during a brief appearance with lawmakers at the White House.
Bush did not mention Iraq by name but told reporters: "We mourn every loss of life. We`ll honor their memories by completing the mission."
"We`re chasing down these killers overseas so we don`t have to face them here at home. We`re making good progress," the president said in a subdued tone. "Ultimately, we will prevail."