White House releases Bush's military records

US president George Bush has released his Vietnam-era military records, in a bid to calm a political storm and to counter suggestions…

US president George Bush has released his Vietnam-era military records, in a bid to calm a political storm and to counter suggestions he shirked his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.

But there was no new evidence documenting he was in Alabama during a period when Democrats have questioned whether he showed up for service.

Hundreds of pages of documents released yesterday - many of them duplicates - detailed Mr Bush's service in the Guard from 1968 until 1973.

Mr Bush's medical records, dozens of pages in all, were opened for examination by reporters in the Roosevelt Room, but those documents were not allowed to leave the room.

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The records showed that Mr Bush, a pilot, was suspended from flying status beginning August 1st, 1972, because of his failure to have an annual medical examination. His last flight exam was on May 15th, 1971.

Democrats have questioned whether Mr Bush showed up for temporary duty in Alabama while working on a political campaign during a one-year period from May 1972 to May 1973.

Reports differ on which months Mr Bush was in Alabama, but generally, it is believed that he asked for permission to continue his duties at the 187th TAC Recon Group, Montgomery, in May 1972 and returned to his Texas unit after the November election.

The US administration says Mr Bush went back to Alabama again after that. There were no new documents about Mr Bush's serving in Alabama.

Presidential press secretary Mr Scott McClellan said Mr Bush had fulfilled his pledge to release all his records. "Our understanding is that this is the entire file," he said. "The record documents that the accusations by some are false."

But Democrats kept up their criticism. "Hopefully these are all the documents," said Ms Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. "Each revelation of material from the Bush White House has raised more questions than it has answered. It remains to be seen if these newest documents will provide any answers."

Mr Marlin Fitzwater, the only person to serve as press secretary to two presidents, said Bush's administration was paying the price for its handling of intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.