TIPTON, Iowa, Oct 5 (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Tuesday praised the former US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, for admitting US errors in Iraq and urged President George W. Bush to "acknowledge the truth."
Paul Bremer said Monday the United States "never" had enough ground troops there to establish firm control, contradicting assertions by Bush and top Pentagon officials that the US military had what it needed to win the war.
On the campaign trail here Kerry said "just today we have learned that America's top official who was responsible for managing the coalition provisional authority has acknowledged two big mistakes.
"I hope tonight (in a scheduled debate between the vice presidential candidates) Mr. Cheney can acknowledge those mistakes, I hope Mr Cheney can take responsibility."
He added: "Remember the secretary of defense talking about looting? Remember his attitude? 'Oh well, looting happens.'
"You run down the list of mistakes. There was 850,000 tonnes of ammo in an ammo dump. Did they guard it? No," Kerry said.
"Our kids are being shot at -- today from the ammo and weapons and ammo dump they didn't guard. There is a long list of mistakes and I am glad that Paul Bremer has finally admitted at least two of them. And the president of the United States needs to tell the truth to the American people."
"I don't know whether the president is constitutionally incapable of acknowledging the truth," Kerry said.