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."

The Massachusetts senator said that Iraq has become a haven for terrorists since the war and he offered a detailed strategy to contain terrorism.

"George Bush made Saddam Hussein the priority. I would have made Osama bin Laden the priority. I will finish the job in Iraq and I will refocus our energies on the real war on terror," he said.

While campaigning yesterday in Lafayette, Louisiana, Vice-President Dick Cheney told supporters: "John Kerry is trying to tear down and trash all the good that has been accomplished".

A day earlier, Mr Kerry told The Columbus Dispatch that the president's actions in Iraq and elsewhere show Mr Bush masquerading as a mainstream conservative while pursuing extremist policies.

"I don't view these people as conservatives," Mr Kerry said.

"I actually view them as extreme and I think their policies have been extreme, and that extends all the way to Iraq, where this president, in my judgement, diverted the real war on terror - which was Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida - and almost obsessively moved to deal with Iraq in a way that weakened our nation, overextended our armed forces, cost us $200 billion and created a breach in our oldest alliances."

Mr Bush has solidified his advantage among men during the last month and holds his highest ratings since January on job performance, the economy and Iraq, according to a poll published yesterday.

The Republican has a seven-point lead over his Democratic challenger - 52% to 45% among likely voters - in the Associated Press-Ipsos survey less than six weeks before the November 2 presidential election.

Independent candidate Ralph Nader was backed by 1% of voters.