Free Republic

The former Vermont governor was excused from the draft in 1970 when X-rays showed he had a bad back, although Dean said in an interview that he "probably" could have served, The New York Times reported yesterday. Two other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination — John Kerry, D-Mass., and retired Gen. Wesley Clark — fought and were wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam. The two declined to criticize Dean for his draft deferment, which was approved by the Selective Service. But a Clark spokesman said Clark's years of military service and term as supreme allied commander of NATO...

Serving in the Army, emigrant is first Indian to die in Iraq war NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian who emigrated to the United States and joined the U.S. Army has become the first Indian killed in the Iraq conflict, according to family members in the United States and in northern India. The death of Spc. Uday Singh, 21, on Dec. 1, reported by The Associated Press in Illinois on Wednesday, was bannered on the front pages of Indian newspapers Thursday. Singh was born in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, emigrated to the United States at 18 and joined...