WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (AFP) - Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said Monday that President George W. Bush has committed multiple errors, beyond his admitted "miscalculation" on the war in Iraq.
"After months of saying he'd done everything right on Iraq and foreign policy, the president acknowledged just the other day that he miscalculated the way in which he waged the war in Iraq," Edwards said at North Carolina University's Wilmington campus.
"He believes that he may have won the war too quickly and that was a 'miscalculation.'
"I want to talk to you about the other ways in which this president has 'miscalculated.' The Bush administration miscalculated by rushing to war without a plan for the peace," Edwards said, according to a transcript provided by his campaign.
"The Bush administration miscalculated by deciding to go it alone without strong allies.
"The Bush administration miscalculated when they waited three years after September 11 to start to reform our intelligence," Edwards said.
"The Bush administration miscalculated by turning its back on Afghanistan ... by failing to listen to the 9/11 Commission ... by standing on the sidelines while North Korea and Iran advanced their nuclear programs," Edwards said.
Edwards also told NBC that Bush lacked clarity in fighting his "war on terror."
"After months of listening to the Republicans base their campaign on their singular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says we can't win the war on terrorism," Edwards said.
"This is no time to declare defeat," he said.
Bush had earlier told NBC television, "I don't have a definite end" to the war on terror, on the eve of his nomination to a second four-year presidential term at this week's Republican National Convention in New York.