Kerry claims pursuit of Saddam weakened war on terror

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate John Kerry said yesterday it was a mistake for US President George Bush to pursue Saddam Hussein instead of Osama bin Laden.

Mr Kerry said this choice had made defeating terrorism more difficult.

"The invasion of Iraq was a profound diversion from the battle against our greatest enemy, al-Qaida," Mr Kerry said in a speech at Temple University in Pennsylvania. "There's just no question about it. The president's misjudgement, miscalculation and mismanagement of the war in Iraq all make the war on terror harder to win."