Kerry, Bush Tangle On Terror

Democratic candidate John Kerry accused President Bush of encouraging terrorist recruitment with policies that have made the world angry at the United States, a criticism that Mr. Bush dismissed as a "ridiculous notion."

On the day that Mr. Bush announced he would create a national intelligence czar and counterterrorism center to help prevent another terrorist attack, Kerry said the self-described "war president" was not acting fast enough to protect Americans.

Kerry said Mr. Bush should immediately call a special session of Congress to implement the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, and he said he would interrupt his campaigning to be there for debate and voting "when necessary."

Re-adjusting his plans in the battleground state of Michigan, shifting his message from jobs to terror, Kerry said Congress should interrupt its recess to implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, CBS Correspondent Jim Axelrod reports.

Said Kerry, "September 11, 2002, came and went. September 11, 2003, came and went. September 11, 2004, is almost here, and only finally are we doing some of the things some of us have been calling for all that period of time."

He added, "If we're at war and it's so urgent, we shouldn't be waiting. We ought to get Congress back and get the job done right now and make America safer."

Kerry has embraced all the recommendations to improve homeland security suggested by the Sept. 11 commission, including a cabinet-level intelligence director that would oversee and coordinate all intelligence functions. Mr. Bush said he wants the intelligence chief to be outside White House authority.

"I will hire the person and I can fire the person," Mr. Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. "I don't think that the office should be in the White House, however, I think it should be a stand-alone group to better coordinate."

A new CBS News poll finds a majority of voters say they have confidence that both Mr. Bush and Sen. Kerry will make the right decisions when it comes to protecting the country from a terrorist attack. However, 41 percent of voters say they have "a lot" of confidence that Mr. Bush would make the right decisions on terrorism, compared to 28 percent who have "a lot" of confidence in Kerry on this matter.

But only 37 percent of Americans - and 39 percent of voters – think the U.S. is currently winning the war against terrorism.

Polling numbers like that may explain why Kerry took the debate a step further today, blaming the President for policies that actually encourage the recruitment of terrorists.

Said Kerry, "The policies of the administration, I believe and others believe very deeply, have resulted in an increase of animosity and anger focused on the United States Of America. The schools that are teaching terror, the people that are training terror, are using our actions as a means of recruitment."

Mr. Bush said, "It is a ridiculous notion to assert because the more the United States in on the offense more people want to hurt us."

Mr. Bush challenged Kerry, who voted to give him the authority to send troops to Iraq, to agree with him publicly that ousting Saddam Hussein was the right course of action. However, Kerry has repeatedly said that ousting Saddam was right.

"I find it interesting in the political process that some (say), 'Well, I voted for the intelligence,' and now they won't say whether or not it was the right decision to take Saddam Hussein out," Bush said. Aides said the president was referring to Kerry's vote in fall 2002 to authorize force against Iraq and his sharp criticism of the handling of the war since then.

Kerry says he does not regret his vote for the war resolution, but he regrets that Mr. Bush "rushed to war" without support from more allies and without a plan to win the peace. The Kerry campaign said the president's statement was misleading.

"It was not a mistake to remove Saddam," Kerry spokesman Phil Singer said. "What was a mistake was the fact that George Bush went to war without our allies, without properly equipping our troops and without a plan to win the peace."