ENGLEWOOD, Colorado, Oct 7 (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, stepping up his attacks on George W. Bush, accused him Thursday of serious errors and a "pattern of deception" on Iraq that has undermined the overall war on terror.
"The president of the United States and the vice president of the United States may well be the last two people on the planet who won't face the truth about Iraq," Kerry told a news conference on the eve of his second debate with Bush.
The Massachusetts senator, running neck and neck with the Republican less than four weeks before the November 2 election, ran down a litany of criticisms of Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq that came out this week.
"The result is that President Bush's serious errors in judgment have left us more vulnerable and less safe as the terrorists continue to murder school children and target our brave soldiers," he said.
Kerry accused Bush of a "pattern of deception" on Iraq and other issues, and of ignoring criticism such as a new official report that said Saddam Hussein had years ago gotten rid of the weapons of mass destruction used to justify the war.
He also picked up again on comments Monday by Paul Bremer, the former US civilian overseer in Iraq, that the administration had not deployed an adequate number of troops to keep order after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003.
The Democrat said Bush "left our troops more vulnerable, left situation on the ground in chaos, and made the mission in Iraq much more difficult to accomplish. That is the truth."
Kerry again accused Bush of "not being straight with Americans," diverting attention from Al-Qaeda terrorists to Iraq, ducking responsibility and launching "dishonest" attacks on his White House rival's positions.
"For President Bush, it's always someone else's fault, denial, and blaming someone else," the senator said. "The truth is, the responsibility lies with the commander in chief."