Dean Rebuked for Statement Implying Brother Served in Military

New York Times ^ | December 23, 2003 | JODI WILGOREN

[wewillnotfail]

Howard Dean came under criticism from an Iowa newspaper last weekend for an answer to a questionnaire in which he implied that his brother was serving in the military when he disappeared in Laos 29 years ago. His brother had been traveling in Southeast Asia as a tourist.

Asked by The Quad-City Times, which is based in Davenport, Iowa, to complete the sentence "My closest living relative in the armed services is," Dr. Dean wrote in August, "My brother is a POW/MIA in Laos, but is almost certainly dead."

The brother, 23-year-old Charles Dean, whose apparent remains were recovered by a military search team last month in Laos, was classified as missing in action, along with other civilians captured or killed in the area during the Vietnam War. But Charles Dean never wore a uniform, and while some family members at times suspected that he was working as a spy, Dr. Dean said he never believed that.

His answer to the newspaper's question, published on Dec. 14 as part of a regular feature on The Quad-City Times's editorial page in which the Democratic presidential candidates respond to questions intended to probe their persona, drew complaints from readers and a rebuke from the newspaper's editorial board on Sunday. The editorial was circulated to a handful of reporters on Monday by a rival campaign.

Dr. Dean was asked about his answer by a reporter after a town hall meeting here on a day when he took aim at President Bush for what he called a "callous" refusal to press Congress for an extension of unemployment benefits.

"The way I read the question was that they wanted to know if I knew anything about the armed services from a personal level," he said. "I don't think it was inaccurate or misleading if anybody knew what the history was, and I assumed that most people knew what the history was. Anybody who wanted to write about this could have looked through the 23-year history to see that I've always acknowledged my brother's a civilian, was a civilian."

Mark Ridolfi, editor of the paper's editorial page, noted that the question had specifically asked about the armed services and said of Dr. Dean's reply, "It certainly is not an accurate response."

[wewillnotfail]

Pass this on to anyone who still cares about the POW/MIA's

[Clara Lou]

Howard Dean is shameless. Stupid, too, in spite of that medical degree.

[2banana]

My brother is a POW/MIA in Laos, but is almost certainly dead

Nope, not misleading at all. I bet he also got a medal for a "shell fragment" in his eye (from a hard boiled egg - old MASH episode)

[rabidralph]

Already posted.

[autoresponder]

What a lying little weasel!

Dean makes Bill Clinton seem honest!

[aynrandfreak]

It's amazing to see liberal bias turned against one of their own.

[ClearCase_guy]

"My brother was a tourist -- he was just minding his own business, traveling the world. He went into Laos and the communists captured him and killed him. This convinced me that America was the bad guy ..."