Iraq dominates war of words

President George W. Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry battled over Iraq in a fierce debate yesterday, with an aggressive Kerry accusing the President of "a colossal error of judgment" and Bush doubting Kerry's ability to lead America in dangerous times.

In a pivotal and often heated confrontation, Bush and Kerry repeatedly clashed over who could best protect America, the need for the United States-led invasion of Iraq and how to lead the country in an age of terrorism.

"This President has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment, and judgment is what we look for in the President of the United States," Kerry said, arguing that Bush rushed to war without enough allied support or planning for the peace.

Bush shot back: "The world is safer without Saddam Hussein" and said Kerry was sending the wrong signal to US troops and the nation's enemies.

"I don't see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say 'wrong war, wrong time, wrong place'.

"What message does that send our troops, what message does that send to our allies, what message does that send to the Iraqis?" Bush said.

"The way to win this is to be steadfast and resolved."

The 90-minute, televised session on the University of Miami campus gave voters their first chance to compare the candidates directly in an encounter that both camps expected would be crucial in a tight race that polls show is leaning to Bush.

Both candidates were on the offensive early, trading shots over their views of the world and their outlook for Iraq, Afghanistan and US security in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.

The foreign policy debate focused on Iraq on a day when car bombs there killed 48 people, mostly children, raising doubts about Bush's optimistic view of Iraq's future.

"We're making progress," Bush said. "The biggest disaster that could happen is that we not succeed in Iraq."

With many polls showing voters still trust Bush more to handle key issues, including Iraq, the debate amounted to possibly Kerry's best chance to turn around his image and convince Americans he is up to the job.

Bush renewed his attacks on Kerry for what he said was the Massachusetts senator's shifting views on the war.

"The only thing consistent about my opponent's position is that he's inconsistent," Bush said. " He changes positions. You cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win.

"People know where I stand. People out there listening know what I believe."

Kerry acknowledged he had not always been artful in talking about Iraq.

He voted to authorise the war but has criticised its conduct, and in August said he would vote to authorise it again even now.

"I made a mistake in how I talk about the war, but the President made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?" Kerry asked.

"I think we need a President who has the credibility to bring the allies back to the table and to do what's necessary to make it so America isn't doing this alone," he said. "The President's not getting the job done."

Bush's policies could be summed up in four words: "More of the same."

Bush was forced to spend much of the debate defending his Iraq policies against Kerry's charges that he made mistakes before and after the war. Kerry said Bush blundered badly in diverting attention from Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden and shifting it to Iraq.

"Iraq was not even close to the centre of the war on terror before the President invaded it," Kerry said.

Although it was important to be strong and resolute, "we also have to be smart".

"We didn't need that tax cut. America needed to be safe," Kerry said.

Bush responded quickly: "Of course we're doing everything we can to protect America. I wake up every day thinking about how best to protect America. That's my job."

Bush said Kerry saw the same intelligence as he did on alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that bin Laden had been left isolated.

He accused Kerry of sending "mixed signals" with shifting positions on Iraq.

Kerry responded, "Yes, we have to be steadfast and resolved, and I am, and I will succeed for those troops now that we're there. We have to succeed. We can't leave a failed Iraq. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake of judgment to go there and keep the focus off Osama bin Laden."

In their only other foreign policy disagreement of the night, Bush and Kerry differed on the need for bilateral talks with North Korea over its nuclear programme.

Kerry said he would strive to quickly enter talks with Pyongyang.

"If you enter bilateral talks, they'll be happy to walk away from the table" with other countries involved in current six-nation talks, Bush said.

"I don't think that'll work."

Up to 60 million people were expected to watch the first and most crucial of the debates.

Some quotes from the debate:

* Kerry: "Unfortunately, Osama bin Laden escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best-trained in the world, to go kill him. The President relied on Afghan warlords, and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong."

* Bush: "My opponent says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way: 'Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time?' Not a message a commander-in-chief gives."

* Kerry: "I've had one position, one consistent position on Iraq: that Saddam Hussein was a threat, there was a right way to disarm him and the wrong way, and the President chose the wrong way."

* Kerry: "Iraq was not even close to the centre of the war on terror before the President invaded it."

* Bush: "Of course we're doing everything we can to protect America. I wake up every day thinking about how best to protect America. That's my job."

* Kerry: "When I talked about the US$87 billion [supplemental to fund the Iraqi operation], I made a mistake in how I talk about the war, but the President made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?"

* Bush: "I found that, in this world, it's important to establish good personal relationships with people so that when you have disagreements, you're able to disagree in a way that is effective."

* Bush: "And so the best indication about when we can bring our troops home - which I really want to do, but I don't want to do so for the sake of bringing them home; I want to do so because we've achieved an objective - is to see the Iraqis perform and ... step up and take responsibility."

* Kerry: "But this issue of certainty - it's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. It's another to be certain and be right, or to be certain and be moving in the right direction, or be certain about a principle and then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right."

* Kerry: "But again, the test or the difference between us - the President has had four years to try to do something about nuclear proliferation, and North Korea has got more weapons; Iran is moving toward weapons. And at his pace, it will take 13 years to secure those weapons in Russia. I'm going to do it in four years, and I'm going to immediately set out to have bilateral talks with North Korea."

* Bush: "I didn't need anybody to tell me to go to the United Nations. I decided to go there myself. And I went there hoping that, once and for all, the free world would act in concert to get Saddam Hussein to listen to our demands. They passed the resolution that said, 'Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.' I believe, when an international body speaks, it must mean what it says."


- REUTERS