On the eve of the anniversary of President George W. Bush declaring an end to major combat in Iraq, Democratic challenger John Kerry says the US mission there faces "a moment of truth."
"We've seen the news. We've seen the pictures," Kerry on Friday told staff and students at Westminster College. "And we know we are living through days of great danger."
The Democratic presidential nominee, who spoke from the same podium where Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this week sharply questioned his readiness to be commander in chief, kept his criticism more muted.
"We stand on the eve of an anniversary in this country - the day that major combat operations were declared over in Iraq and the president declared, 'mission accomplished,'" he said. "I don't think there's anyone in this room today or 6,000 miles away who doesn't wish that those words had been true."
Kerry was referring to Bush's flight-suited May 1 landing on an aircraft carrier where he declared major combat over beneath a banner that read "Mission Accomplished."
But chaos and the US death toll in Iraq have surged. Six months before the November 2 presidential election, polls show the issue almost as important to voters as the economy. April has been the bloodiest month for American forces in Iraq. Almost a quarter of the 534 U.S. combat deaths occurred in the past 30 days.
Bush and Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts and a decorated Vietnam War veteran, have given voters little to choose from on Iraq, adopting similar "stay-the-course" approach.
Both have endorsed plans to create a UN-appointed government to take power in Iraq on June 30, leaving its composition in the hands of UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.