With the White House up for grabs in less than two
weeks, the Massachusetts senator decided his best defense to charges from Bush
and Vice President Dick Cheney that he could not keep America safe was a strong
offense.
"The president's failures in Iraq have made us weaker, not stronger, in the
war on terrorism," Kerry told supporters in Waterloo, Iowa. "That is the hard
truth. The president refuses to acknowledge it."
He charged that Bush had "taken his eye" off the real threat to the United
States -- groups like al Qaeda blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the
United States -- and created a distraction by invading Iraq.
The White House treated U.S. allies with "contempt and disdain" in the run up
to the invasion of Iraq and in the war's aftermath, giving them an excuse to
stay on the sidelines instead of helping with security and reconstruction.
"The president didn't even try. I will lead and I believe others will
follow," Kerry declared.
Both candidates have pledged to stay the course in Iraq, bring in more U.S.
allies and train Iraqi troops to take over their own security, but Kerry has
said he will be more successful at it.
Yet countries like France and Germany, which opposed the Iraq war, have shown
no signs of changing tack even if the Democrat is elected on Nov. 2.
Kerry reserved his most scathing critique for Bush's leadership skills, his
constant "denial" about the current chaos in Iraq and his campaign
"distortions."
"He wants to make it solely a contest on national security," Kerry said. "You
know, the president says he's a leader. Well, Mr. President, look behind you.
There's hardly anyone there. It's not leadership if we haven't built the
strongest alliance possible and if America is almost alone."
SOFTENS EARLIER LINE
Kerry himself softened an earlier draft of the speech that said, "No one is
there. It's not leadership if no one follows" because an aide said he did not
want to offend those allies who joined the U.S.-led invasion and were helping
now in Iraq.
A raft of troubles in post-war Iraq, including attacks on U.S. troops,
kidnappings and beheadings that play across Americans' television screens every
day, have given Kerry an opening and new ammunition.
A strong performance in the first presidential debate helped him cut into the
Republican edge on national security although, in a race that is a dead heat
overall, polls show voters still trust Bush more on fighting terrorism.
But Kerry said a vote for Bush was a vote for four more years "of the same"
and offered his latest campaign slogan -- "a fresh start."
The United States was fighting two distinct wars, he said, the war in Iraq
where Bush's "miscalculations" had created "a terrorist haven that wasn't there
before," and the war on terror.
"President Bush likes to confuse the two," Kerry said. "He claims that Iraq
is the centerpiece in the war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion
from that war and the battle against out greatest enemy -- (al Qaeda leader)
Osama bin Laden."
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry was stuck in a "pre-9/11"
mind-set.
"He outlined a retaliatory struggle against the terrorists that mimics the
1990s doctrine of response after attack," Schmidt said. "The lesson of 9/11, and
the lesson that John Kerry did not learn, is that we must look to address
threats before we are attacked, not because they attack
us."
