by Olivier Knox
CINCINNATI, Ohio, Aug 18 (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful Senator John Kerry warned Wednesday that President George W. Bush`s plan to withdraw 70,000 troops from Europe and Asia would hinder the war on terrorism and embolden North Korea.
"Nobody wants to bring troops home more than those of us who have fought in foreign wars, but it needs to be done at the right time and in a sensible way. This is not that time or that way," Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
"This hastily announced plan raises more doubts about our intentions and our commitments than it provides real answers," Kerry told the organization, which groups some 2.6 million members at about 9,000 posts worldwide.
Bush unveiled the proposal on Monday when he addressed the same annual convention of the VFW here in Ohio, a key battleground state in the November 2 election, coupling it with attacks on Kerry`s national security credibility.
The two candidates have been warring over who would make the better commander-in-chief, a reflection of the importance of national security as a political issue since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Kerry, a senator from the state of Massachusetts, argued that reducing US forces from South Korea would reduce Washington`s leverage with Pyongyang in talks to defuse the crisis over the Stalinist state`s nuclear programs.
"Why are we unilaterally withdrawing 12,000 troops from the Korean Peninsula at the very time we are negotiating with North Korea -- a country that really has nuclear weapons?
"North Korea has probably never been more dangerous than any time since the end of the Korean War. This is clearly the wrong signal to send at the wrong time," said Kerry.
The lawmaker said the withdrawal would also hurt efforts to rally more nations behind the US-led campaign in Iraq, and promised that he would "do a better job" of attracting European and Arab support to that effort.
"Every Arab country has a stake in not having a failed Iraq, but they`re not at the table. Every European country has a stake in not having a failed Iraq, in not having a civil war, but they`re not at the table," said Kerry.
Even before the speech, Bush`s campaign released a statement quoting nine senior retired military officials attacking the Democrat`s criticism of the withdrawal plan.
"He is ignoring the fact that America is no longer faced with the Cold War, but the war on terror. America no longer needs to be positioned to defend Europe, but to strike at terrorists before they attack," retired Army major general Boyd Cook said.
Kerry aides countered that he does not oppose troop redeployment from Cold War-era bases, but believes that Bush`s timing is questionable and his approach to the issue is flawed.
One adviser to Kerry said the senator believed that, in addition to the nuclear crisis, the issue of North Korea`s overwhelming conventional military edge over South Korea made announcing a withdrawal of US troops unwise.
Kerry, a VFW member, drew warm applause when he promised to defend veterans benefits and polite applause when he tackled more divisive issues like Iraq in front of the Republican-leaning audience of about 15,000.
Kerry has used his service in Vietnam as shorthand for his ability to lead the country, drawing fire from some Bush-backing veterans who say he embellished his record and from others who resent his fierce opposition to the war when he returned.
"I can remember when we came back from service in what we all know was a controversial period of time; I wish it hadn`t been," he said.
"I volunteered for my country. I volunteered to go to Vietnam. I volunteered for the duty that we had. I didn`t make it controversial; the war and the times were," said Kerry.