Kerry Appeases Party Critics By Starting to Talk Tough on Iraq

John Kerry fought to regain the initiative in the presidential race yesterday with a wide-ranging and scathing attack on the Bush administration's policy in Iraq, accusing the president of bungling the war and lying to Americans about the seriousness of the situation.

In his most pointed assault so far on George Bush's handling of the conflict, Mr Kerry said the invasion had made the world "a more dangerous place for America and Americans" and put forward an exit strategy of his own.

Mr Kerry called for the increased involvement of other countries in training Iraqi security forces and guarding the country's borders, in return for participation in its oil industry and reconstruction contracts. In that way, he argued, the US could begin withdrawing its forces by next summer, and "realistically aim to bring all our troops home within the next four years".

Speaking in New York on the eve of Mr Bush's scheduled address to the UN general assembly, Senator Kerry said the president should use the occasion to hold a summit on the future of Iraq, but predicted his opponent would face an uphill task of his own making.

"After insulting allies and shredding alliances, this president may not have the trust and confidence to bring others to our side in Iraq," he said. "But we cannot hope to succeed unless we rebuild and lead strong alliances so that other nations share the burden with us."

The speech at New York University was Mr Kerry's response to Democrat critics who complained he was not being nearly aggressive enough on Mr Bush's record and, after a string of conflicting remarks, had failed to articulate his own position clearly.

In turn, the Bush campaign accused Mr Kerry of vacillation over Iraq.

"During the primaries John Kerry said that anyone who didn't think the world was safer without Saddam Hussein doesn't have the judgment to be president," Steve Schmidt, a Bush campaign spokesman, said. "Now he is saying the removal of Saddam Hussein from power has made us less safe. John Kerry's contradictions on Iraq have led him to the mother of all flip-flops."

The exchange reflected a now familiar pattern in the increasingly bitter campaign. The White House has focused on Senator Kerry and his record. The Kerry campaign is struggling to direct attention back to the turmoil in Iraq.

At the heart of yesterday's speech was some of the strongest language Mr Kerry has yet used, accusing the president of trying to mislead the US over its dire predicament.

"In Iraq this administration's record is filled with bad predictions, inaccurate cost estimates, deceptive statements and errors of judgment of historic proportions," he said. "George Bush has not told the truth to the American people about why we went to war and how the war is going."

Mr Kerry also defended his Senate vote in October 2002 to authorise the use of force, saying it was meant to strengthen Mr Bush's hand in a tense diplomatic situation and was not a blank cheque.

"Congress was right to give the president the authority to use force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. This president, any president, would have needed the threat of force to act effectively. This president misused that authority," he said.

"I thought it was one of his stronger speeches on foreign policy," said Michael O'Hanlon, a strategic analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "As for his proposal on going forward - as is the case for any proposal in Iraq it is unlikely to reverse the situation very quickly."

The Kerry camp pointed to support for its view from a string of Republican senators over the weekend. John McCain, a former presidential contender, said Mr Bush was not being "as straight as we would want him to be".

Another moderate Republican, Chuck Hagel, said: "I don't think we're winning" and called for "some recali bration of policy". Senator Richard Lugar said that of the more than $18bn (£10bn) approved last year for rebuilding, only $1bn had been spent.

"This is the incompetence in the administration," he said.

In today's UN speech Mr Bush will point to elections in Iraq scheduled for January as the potential start of democratic change in the Middle East. He will call for more international involvement in making those polls possible, but the Kerry camp insists he has alienated too many nations and offered too few incentives for help.