Kerry ‘will weaken US and put world at risk’

US PRESIDENT George W Bush, in biting criticism of his Democratic challenger, said yesterday that John Kerry has “a strategy of retreat” for Iraq and an economic programme that would imperil America at home.

Mr Bush addressed hundreds of applauding supporters on his 38th trip to the swing state of Pennsylvania as he worked to overcome last week’s shaky debate performance and new controversy over the White House’s handling of the war in Iraq.

The president said: “My opponent’s endless back-and-forth on Iraq is part of a larger misunderstanding. In the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing policies and doctrines that would weaken America and make the world more dangerous”.