Spectre of bin Laden stalks Bush and Kerry

1.00pm - By ANDREW BUNCOMBE in Washington


The spectre of Osama bin Laden haunted the closest and most significant American presidential election for generations yesterday as George Bush and John Kerry reacted to the al Qaeda leader's dramatic intervention in their contest by trying to outbid each other on who best could deal with the terror threat.

As Bin Laden's extraordinary video message sent shockwaves across the American heartlands, and with polls showing the two candidates tied only two days before the vote, George Bush and John Kerry placed the threat of terrorism and the spectre of September 11 at the centre of their appeals to undecided voters.

As they did so, news was coming in from Iraq of the bloodiest attack on US troops for seven months. Eight US marines were killed, prompting speculation that the long-awaited assault on Fallujah was imminent.

The day also saw a bomb attack on the al-Arabiyah television station offices in Baghdad, which left seven dead. More than 25 other deaths were reported elsewhere in Iraq yesterday.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mr Bush told supporters: "The person that sits in the Oval Office will determine the outcome of the war on terror and the economy."

Several hundred miles to the west, in Appleton, Wisconsin, Mr Kerry vowed to "lead the world in fighting a smarter, more effective, tougher, more strategic war on terror".

He said: "We will make America safer."

The issue of national security and the so-called "war on terror" has always been at the heart of this election campaign. But it is the virtual presence of Bin Laden on the campaign trail - his image beamed on to the television screens of millions of Americans - that most threatens to tilt the outcome of Tuesday's vote (Wednesday NZ time) one way or another.

It is impossible to know which candidate will benefit. Analysts said yesterday that while the 18-minute video, only sections of which was broadcast, was an uncomfortable reminder that Mr Bush had failed in his vow to take Bin Laden "dead or alive", the al Qaeda leader's presence and the perceived threat he represents may cause voters to rally around the commander-in-chief.

Mr Bush certainly hopes so. Without providing details, officials said he had ordered his aides to take whatever steps were necessary to guard against a new terror attack. He also sharply attacked Mr Kerry, saying he was not equipped to protect America.

"The terrorists who killed thousands of innocent people are still dangerous and they are determined," he told a crowd of 17,000.

"The outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against terror. Senator Kerry has chosen the path of weakness and inaction.

"In times of war and in hours of crisis, Senator Kerry has turned his back on 'Pay any price' and 'Bear any burden', and he's replaced those commitments with 'Wait and see' and 'Cut and run'."

The barbed nature of Mr Bush's attack underscored the neck-and-neck nature of the campaign and the reality that at this stage any slight shift in the perceptions of voters could prove crucial. Mr Bush has repeatedly cast himself as a war-time leader willing to take tough decisions.

Mr Kerry, by contrast, has argued that Mr Bush's decision to invade Iraq, costing the lives of more than 1,000 US troops and many thousands of Iraqi civilians - a recent estimate in The Lancet put the figure at 100,000 - has been a diversion from the real threat facing America.

Mr Kerry seized on the new video of Bin Laden to remind Americans that in November 2001 he was close to being captured but was allowed to escape because Mr Bush allowed Afghan fighters and not American troops to surround the al Qaeda leader.

"As Americans we are absolutely united, all of us - there are no Democrats, there are no Republicans - as Americans, we are united in our determination to destroy, capture, kill Osama bin Laden and all of the terrorists," he said yesterday.

Meanwhile, in London, there are the first signs that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, may be hedging his US election bets. About 10 days ago, the Prime Minister's pollster, Philip Gould, turned up at the Democrat campaign headquarters to meet Mr Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill.

The secret meeting is being seen by the Democrat senator's aides as an olive branch from Mr Blair.

A source close to the Prime Minister stressed that no one directly employed by the Government had been involved in the presidential election.

He added: "We have scrupulously kept out of this election. The Prime Minister is always going to have a special relationship with the US President."

- INDEPENDENT