WASHINGTON, July 22 (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Thursday warned that failure in Iraq would be "dangerous" for the entire world.
"Having a failed Iraqi state is dangerous not just in the context of the war on terror, it would be dangerous to the Middle East, it would be dangerous to Arab countries, dangerous to Europe," Kerry told CBS television.
"They haven't been brought to the table, and it's because of the arrogant way" in which President George W. Bush's administration "got itself into the war and pushed other people away," Kerry said.
"We need a new president to clear the air, to restore America's credibility, to restore our alliances," he said.
Kerry also denied ever having waffled on Iraq, as opponents have charged.
He recalled that he voted to "hold Saddam Hussein accountable in order to make sure he disarmed." But he said he backed military action in Iraq with the stipulation that Bush "would build an international coalition (and) go to war as a last resort after exhausting the remedies of the UN.
"He did none of the above."
Still, Kerry said that "just to run or leave would be a tragedy."
But he added: "I learned in war that if things are going wrong, you'd better fix it. ... That's a pledge I made to myself when I came back from Vietnam."
Kerry promised, if elected, to pull US troops out of Iraq once the country is stable.