US presidential candidate Mr John Kerry turned up his criticism of President George W. Bush's leadership in Iraq today, accusing him of "colossal failures of judgment" that have turned the country into a haven for terrorists and made America more vulnerable.
The Democrat argued in a speech at New York University that the US-led invasion had weakened national security.
"The president's policy in Iraq precipitated the very problem he said he was trying to prevent," Mr Kerry said. "Iraq is becoming a sanctuary for a new generation of terrorists who someday could hit the United States."
Against a backdrop of rising casualties, fears of civil war and questions about whether elections can be held in Iraq in January as scheduled, Mr Kerry has tried to make the conflict a key barometer of Bush's record in office.
"The president misled, miscalculated, and mismanaged every aspect of this undertaking," Mr Kerry said, accusing Mr Bush of making "catastrophic decisions" and surrounding himself with ideologues who provide "stubborn incompetence."
"The president now admits to miscalculations in Iraq," Mr Kerry said. "His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment -- and judgment is what we look for in a president."
"George Bush has no strategy for Iraq. I do, and I have all along," Mr Kerry said.