CORAL GABLES, Florida, Sept 30 (AFP) - George W. Bush and John Kerry clashed over Iraq in a televised debate Thursday, with the Democrat accusing the president of a "colossal error of judgment" and the incumbent lashing out at his rival for dangerous inconsistencies.
The two candidates in the November 2 election used their 90-minute session at the University of Miami to claim they were most capable of keeping the country safe from terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But they quickly went on the offensive against each other.
Kerry, the senator from Masschusetts, said the United States had to wage a "smart" war on terror. "And smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking it off to Iraq."
"This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment. And judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States of America."
He said the United States needed strong alliances and repeated his pledge to hold a summit on Iraq if elected.
"I`ll never give a veto to any country over our security, but I also know how to lead those alliances. This president has left them in tatters across the globe."
Bush came back to his familiar complaint that Kerry voted in the Senate to authorize the use of force in Iraq and then opposed the operation.
"I don`t see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. What message does that send our troops? What message does that send our allies?"
"What message does that send the Iraqis? No, the way to win this is to be steadfast and resolved and to follow through on the plan that I just outlined."
The two men also clashed over a timetable for eventually withdrawing the nearly 140,000 US troops from Iraq.
Bush said "artificial deadlines" could not be set to bring home US forces and that Iraqi security forces had to be stronger. He said US troops could not return "for the sake of bringing them home."
"When our generals on the ground and ambassador (John) Negroponte tells me that Iraq is ready to defend itself from these terrorists, that elections will have been held by then, that there`s stability and that they`re on their way to a nation that`s free. That`s when."
Kerry said: "I believe those troops deserve better than what they are getting today."
"I believe our troops need other allies helping. I`m going to hold that summit. I will bring fresh credibility, a new start, and we will get the job done right."