The Justice Department is arguing that a new class action lawsuit regarding the use of the defoliant 'Agent Orange' during the Vietnam War should be dismissed by a federal court judge in Brooklyn, New York.

The Justice Department's motion is ironic since the U.S. government is not a defendant in the case. The suit was brought against the chemical companies who were responsible for the production of Agent Orange. Still, the Justice Department contends that the lawsuit would be a dangerous threat to the president's power to wage war.

The Justice Department's papers said, 'The implications of plaintiffs' claims are astounding. As they would (if accepted) open the courthouse doors of the American legal system for former enemy nationals and soldiers claiming to have been harmed by the United States Armed Forces.'

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are millions of Vietnamese citizens who claim they were harmed by Agent Orange which contains the chemical dioxin. In addition to seeking billions of dollars in monetary damages, the suit also asks that the companies pay for an environmental cleanup of Vietnam which still feels the effects of the dioxin even 30 years later.

The chemical companies are using the same defense they used when American veterans sued about the health problems they experienced from the use of Agent Orange: that there is no proof of any link between Agent Orange and the health problems complained of.

Judge Jack Weinstein indicated that the case 'has to go forward seriously' as it raises some important issues. It also faces some serious legal hurdles as well.