Although Kerry has said he won't break confidences by naming any of the overseas leaders, Bush told reporters, "If you're going to make an accusation in the course of a presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts."

For the second day in a row, Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Kerry at a Republican fund-raiser. "We are the ones who get to determine the outcome of this election, not unnamed foreign leaders," Cheney told donors at a benefit for Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo.

In a speech to be delivered Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, Cheney will try to draw a contrast between Kerry and Bush in national security terms. "The American people will have a clear choice in the election of 2004 — at least as clear as any since the election of 1984," Cheney says, according to an advance text of his speech.

Howard Dean, Kerry's former rival, said it was "silly" for the Bush administration to suggest Kerry reveal names, "given the proclivity of this administration to threaten those both home and abroad who are candid."

"If I were Senator Kerry I wouldn't name those names because this administration would clearly make their lives difficult," said Dean, a former governor of Vermont.

Joining Kerry in Huntington were seven members of swift boats he commanded in Vietnam, service that won him three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. At the same time, the Bush campaign released a television ad accusing Kerry of being "wrong on defense" by not supporting bills that would have ensured troops had body armor and higher combat pay and given reservists and their families better health care.

"Few votes in Congress are as important as funding our troops at war. Though John Kerry voted in October of 2002 for military action in Iraq, he later voted against funding our soldiers," the ad says.

Kerry labeled the ad "another distortion," arguing that he would have supported funding for the troops if Bush had eased his tax cut to avoid exploding the deficit.

"I'm not going to worry about the misleading," Kerry said. "I'm going to keep pounding away at the truth. We're going to build an army of truth-tellers."

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt rejected Kerry's argument, charging Kerry with abandoning troops.

"While he falsely attacks the president over veteran's funding, John Kerry authorized our troops to liberate Iraq and then voted against funding for body armor, increased combat pay and health care to support them," Schmidt said.

By winning the Illinois primary, Kerry boosted his delegate total to at least 2,252, well past the 2,162 needed to secure the nomination at the Democratic convention in July.

Kerry was returning to Washington on Wednesday for a speech before flying to Ketchum, Idaho, to begin a five-day vacation.