Kerry's evolving stance on Iraq derided by Bush

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ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- President Bush yesterday ridiculed Sen. John Kerry for further muddling his position on Iraq during a radio interview, which bewildered even host Don Imus, an avowed Kerry supporter.

"The radio interviewer concluded: 'I can't tell you what he said,'" Mr. Bush told a rally here, drawing laughter and hoots of derision.

The president then said: "Let me be clear: Mixed signals are the wrong signals to send to our troops in the field, the Iraqi people, to our allies, and most of all to our enemies."

On Wednesday, Mr. Imus asked Mr. Kerry: "Do you think there are any circumstances we should have gone to war in Iraq, any?"

"Not under the current circumstances, no, there are none that I see," the Massachusetts Democrat replied.

But earlier in the interview, Mr. Imus pointed out that Mr. Kerry voted for a congressional resolution in October 2002 that authorized the president to use military force against Iraq. Last month, the senator said he still would have voted for the resolution, even knowing all of the problems of postwar Iraq.

The contradiction "doesn't make any sense to me," Mr. Imus told Mr. Kerry.

"Yes, it actually does make sense," Mr. Kerry replied. "Let me explain it to you."

He then described the war resolution as a "threat" designed to persuade Saddam Hussein to accept weapons inspectors.

"You needed that threat to be able to make certain you had the inspectors and were going through a process to hold him accountable," Mr. Kerry said.