WASHINGTON, Sept 9: The military records of President George W. Bush and his Democrat challenger John Kerry have become a major issue in the 2004 presidential election as both sides use these records to demonstrate that their candidate is better suited to lead US forces for the next four years.

Since Senator Kerry served in Vietnam and won several medals for his valour, the Republicans have focused on pointing out inconsistencies in his stories about Vietnam rather than comparing his military career with those of Mr Bush, who only served in the United States during the war.

After the war, Mr Kerry became one of the leaders of the anti-war movement, annoying both Republicans and Vietnam veterans who say that he is not fit to lead the US forces as their commander-in-chief.

The Democrats, however, point out that Mr Bush used his family connections to evade the war and stay in the United States as a pilot of the Air National Guards. Mr Bush's uneventful career in the Air Guards also protected him from public scrutiny. So far the Democrats had not found anything good or bad about his military career to use it against him. But this may now change.

Documents obtained by the CBS News programme '60 Minutes' shed light on one of the most controversial episode in Mr Bush's military service, when he abruptly stopped flying and moved from Texas to Alabama to work on a political campaign.

The programme points out that in May 1968 - when Vietnam was in flames and more than 2,000 Americans were killed in combat in that month alone - Mr Bush used his family connections to avoid the draft.

Mr Bush had just graduated from Yale and could have been drafted for Vietnam. But former Texas House Speaker and Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes told CBS News he helped keep that from happening.

Mr Barnes said he decided to go public about this because he had received "hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to know the story." Mr Barnes is a Democrat who is now actively raising money for Senator John Kerry.

He said the late oilman Sid Adger, a friend to both Barnes and then-Congressman George Bush, asked him to ensure that George W. Bush is sent to the Air National Guard and not to Vietnam.

But Mr Bush has rejected Mr Barnes' claim, saying: "Any allegation that my dad asked for special favours is simply not true." "And the former president of the United States has said that he in no way, shape or form helped me get into the National Guard. I didn't ask anyone to help me get into the Guard either," said Mr Bush.

Then-Lt. Bush went to Georgia, and completed a difficult pilot training programme. He was assigned to duty in Houston, flying F-102s out of Ellington Air Force Base.

Mr Bush had signed a six-year commitment to fly for the Air Guard, but "60 Minutes" has obtained documents that show that Mr Bush started making plans to quit before completing the period he had signed for.

His squadron commander, Lt. Col, Jerry B. Killian, wrote a memo in May 1972 saying that Lt. Bush called him to talk about "how he can get out of coming to drill from now through November."

Lt. Bush told his commander "he is working on a (political) campaign in Alabama - and may not have time to take his physical." Mr Killian adds that he thinks Lt. Bush has gone over his head, and is "talking to someone upstairs."

In a memo from August 18, 1973, Col. Killian says Col. Buck Staudt, the man in charge of the Texas Air National Guard, is putting on pressure to "sugar coat" the evaluation of Lt. Bush. Col. Staudt, a long time supporter of the Bush family, refused to be interviewed by the CBS News.

The memo continues, with Mr Killian saying, "I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job." One of the Killian memos is an official order to George W. Bush to report for a physical test. The president never carried out the order.

On Aug 1, 1972, Lt. Bush was suspended from flying status, due to "failure to accomplish his annual medical examination." He goes on: "The officer (then-Lt. Bush) has made no attempt to meet his training certification or flight physical."