Kerry Says President Is Weak on Defense

In an address at UCLA days before the California primary, the front-runner for his party's presidential nomination derided what he termed the administration's "armchair hawks." And he said, "George Bush inherited the strongest military in the world. And I know and members of the military know

By questioning the president's leadership in Iraq and in the battle against terrorism, Kerry aimed to weaken one of Bush's central arguments for reelection: that America is at war and the president is the only man who can be trusted to lead the nation to safety.

Kerry's speech, presented before a crowd of several hundred students and faculty in the Freud Playhouse, also highlighted his strengths in the contest for the Democratic nomination. Heading into critical Super Tuesday -- when 10 states, including California, will weigh in on the race -- Kerry positioned himself as an experienced player in national security matters, an area where rival John Edwards has less experience.

Kerry criticized Bush's handling of unrest in the Middle East, calling the peace process "paralyzed," and he accused the president of shortchanging U.S. troops in Iraq.

"Far too often, troops have been going into harm's way without the weapons and the equipment they depend on

Kerry charged that American forces had Osama bin Laden in their grasp more than two years ago at Tora Bora, but that "George Bush held U.S. forces back, and instead called on Afghan warlords with no loyalty to our cause to finish the job."

The Massachusetts senator said that "it will be a great step forward" when Bin Laden is captured, but that it would not be the end of the war on terrorism.

He also sought to counter recent criticism by the Republican Party that he is soft on defense.

"I don't fault George Bush for doing too much in the war on terror," Kerry said. "I believe he has done too little

The Bush campaign was quick to fight back Friday against Kerry's allegations in a conference call with reporters and in e-mails before and after the address. Bush representatives questioned Kerry's dedication to a strong military and called the talk a "political speech filled with defeatist rhetoric and factual inaccuracies."