US: In a forceful critique of White House policy on Iraq, Mr Al Gore has accused President Bush of weakening the war on terrorism by making President Saddam Hussein of Iraq the focus of US reaction, writes Conor O'Clery, North America Editor.
"In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, more than a year ago, we had an enormous reservoir of goodwill and sympathy and shared resolve all over the world," the former vice-president told an audience in San Francisco.
"That has been squandered in a year's time and replaced with great anxiety all around the world, not primarily about what the terrorist networks are going to do, but about what we're going to do."
Mr Gore was careful not to minimise the threat posed by the Iraqi leader, but his speech carried high risk for the former vice-president, who will declare in December whether he will seek the Democratic nomination for president against Mr Bush in 2004.
His words stood in stark contrast to the fervent support given to Mr Bush by the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair,
This was picked up by former Republican speaker, Mr Newt Gingrich, who criticised Mr Gore on Fox News yesterday for inconsistency.
In 1991 Mr Gore was one of the only Democrats in the Senate to vote for a resolution authorising President Bush Snr to go to war against Iraq and in February he argued that the war on terrorism would not be completed without a "final reckoning" with Saddam.
Now, by throwing down the gauntlet to the administration, Mr Gore has again become a voice of dissent among leading Democrats.
Two other possible Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Joseph Lieberman and John Edwards, along with the House minority leader, Mr Richard Gephardt, have strongly supported Mr Bush on Iraq.
The Senate majority leader, Mr Thomas Daschle, has toned down initial opposition.
In his speech, which could become a rallying cry for anti-war Democrats, Mr Gore said he believed Mr Bush was rushing too quickly to take on Iraq, and that without broad international support the consequences for the United States and the world could be disastrous.
"I am deeply concerned that the policy we are presently following with respect to Iraq has the potential to seriously damage our ability to win the war against terrorism and to weaken our ability to lead the world in this new century," he said.
"By shifting from his early focus after September 11th on war against terrorism to war against Iraq, the President has manifestly disposed of the sympathy, goodwill and solidarity compiled by America and transformed it into a sense of deep misgiving and even hostility," the former vice-president said.
The former Democratic president, Mr Jimmy Carter, also expressed deep concern about White House policy, which he said was a radical departure from 50 years of US diplomacy and represented "a great danger to our country".
The Republican National Committee spokesman, Mr Jim Dyke, dismissed Mr Gore's speech as crafted "for a political hack" to "appease a certain segment of the Democrat Party."