Democratic presidential contender John Kerry accused President George W. Bush of creating a "crisis of historic proportions" as infighting over Iraq dominated the US election campaign.
Kerry's strongest attack yet on Bush's action in Iraq came one day ahead of the US president's address yesterday to the UN General Assembly, where he was again expected to seek to justify the invasion of March last year to oust Saddam Hussein.
The Massachusetts senator called for a national debate on Iraq and the war on terror.
But while repeating a hope to replace US troops with soldiers from other countries and Iraqi security forces, Kerry added no new proposals on how to handle the crisis where the US military is suffering a mounting toll.
In a speech at New York University, Kerry said Iraq had become a "profound diversion" from the war on terror "and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists."
"Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight," said Kerry, who is battling to unseat Bush in the November 2 election.
Kerry conceded that "some progress" has been made in Iraq, "but most Iraqis have lost faith in our ability to deliver meaningful improvements to their lives."
Bush has has acknowledged that miscalculations were made in Iraq, but Kerry said: "That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history ... His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment and judgment is what we look for in a president."
Bush struck back at Kerry, saying the Democrat lacks new ideas for ending deadly chaos in Iraq.
"Forty-three days before the election, my opponent has now suddenly settled on a proposal for what to do next -- and it's exactly what we're currently doing," Bush told supporters at a rally in New Hampshire.
"We're working with the international partners, we're training Iraqi troops, we're reconstructing the [country], we're preparing for elections. We're going to have elections in January," Bush said.
Bush said Kerry "prefers the stability of a dictatorship to the hope and security of democracy. I couldn't disagree more."
"And not so long ago, so did my opponent," he added, quoting Kerry as saying in December that those doubting whether the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein "`don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president.'"
"I could not have said it better," Bush said.
The president leads in opinion polls on his ability to resolve the Iraq crisis and lead the war on terror.
The two rivals agreed to face off in three televised debates to be held Sept. 30, Oct. 8 and Oct. 13.
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