"I have been involved in the war on terrorism for two decades, and in my view no world leader has better understood the stakes in this global war than President Bush."

"He understands that our enemies are not confined to al-Qaida, and certainly not just to Osama bin Laden, who is probably trapped in his hide-out in Afghanistan.

"As the bipartisan 9/11 commission reported, there were contacts between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein's regime going back a decade. We will win the war against global terror only by staying on the offensive and confronting terrorists and state sponsors of terror - wherever they are.

"Right now, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Qaida ally, is a dangerous threat. He is in Iraq."

"But for the sake of honesty he should also point out that I have repeatedly said, including in all my speeches in recent weeks, that President Bush made a correct and courageous decision to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein's brutality, and that the president is correct to see the war in Iraq as a central front in the war on terrorism."

Editor's note: