A US federal court in New York has dismissed a legal action brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs over the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The plaintiffs had sought compensation from the firms that manufactured the chemical, which allegedly caused birth defects, miscarriages and cancer...the chemical companies said no such link had been proved. The defendants - including Dow Chemical and the Monsanto Corporation - ...maintained that US courts could not punish corporations for carrying out the orders of a president exercising his powers as commander-in-chief. [suit also targeted American Home Products (now Wyeth), Ansul (part of Tyco), Crompton, Elementis, Harcros Chemicals, Hercules, Occidental Chemical (part of Occidental Petroleum), Pharmacia (part of Pfizer), Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (part of Valero Energy)]