US: Ms Madeleine Albright, the US secretary of state under former president Bill Clinton, yesterday accused some members of the Bush administration of an "irrational exuberance for this conflict" with Iraq.
Speaking before the Senate committee on foreign relations, Ms Albright said: "It is not an American trait to want war.
"And it is not a sign of sound leadership to understate the risks of war or to offer constantly shifting rationales as this administration has for undertaking such a venture," Ms Albright said.
Her comments followed a speech earlier this week by Mr Al Gore, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2000, who criticised the Bush administration for its handling of the war on terror and warned against a unilateral assault on Iraq.
Taken together, the criticism offers a rallying call for what has so far been generally muted Democrat opposition to Mr Bush's approach to Iraq.
Ms Albright yesterday urged Congress to give Mr Bush that authority, but she also called for a more restrictive resolution.
She noted that the language presented by the White House would authorise the use of force unrelated to any specific countries, threats, US interests or periods of time. Ms Albright warned against pursuing Iraq when the "more urgent threat" remains al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
"This is not the time or place for short attention spans," she said.
Also appearing before the Senate foreign relations committee was Mr Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state.
Mr Kissinger also urged Congress to give the president the authority to use military force, but he raised concerns about the Bush administration's commitment to the principle of pre-emptive military action.- (Financial Times Service)