Is truth casualty in Iraq debate?

WASHINGTON — Truth may be the ultimate casualty in the Iraq war, with President Bush and Sen. John Kerry standing accused of distortion and evasion in their debate over the bloody takeover of a nation.

The Democratic challenger says Bush oversold the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and is now underplaying the dangers left lurking in Iraq.

The Republican incumbent says Kerry has shifted positions with the political winds and has no alternative to the administration's strategy.

They're both right — and wrong, with war-weary voters left to wonder: Can either guy fix Iraq?

Polls show most voters favor Bush over Kerry on that question, perhaps in part because the commander in chief has told them that the fight in Iraq is part of the greater effort to combat terrorism.

But Bush's re-election bid is threatened by escalating violence in

Iraq, where more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have already been killed and more than 7,200 wounded.

The administration's main rationale for war — finding weapons of mass destruction — has been undermined by their absence. Reconstruction is spotty. Election plans are in doubt. Troops are stretched thin, with citizen-soldiers comprising 40 percent of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Bush plans a vigorous election-season defense of his strategy, trumpeting what he says is immense progress on the ground. "Freedom is on the march," he tells voters at every campaign stop.

The president's schedule this week includes a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and a trip to the United Nations, where his war plans were met with cold shoulders two years ago.

Ignoring that reality, Bush previewed his U.N. visit with barely a mention of Iraq in his weekly radio address. "America and many nations are . . . building a better world by standing with the liberation of peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan," he said Saturday.

Kerry will be in New York ahead of the president to spell out his plans for Iraq. Democrats acknowledge this may be the nominee's last chance to explain his evolution on Iraq while offering a succinct, persuasive alternative to Bush's policies.

Kerry, a four-term Massachusetts senator who voted against the 1991 Persian Gulf War, consistently favored using diplomatic pressure against Saddam — with military action a last resort.