Gore attacks Bush on Iraq

Gore said US values were being put at risk by the Bush administration

Former US Vice President Al Gore has criticised the Bush administration for its handling of the recent Iraqi conflict, saying the American people were "misled" over the reasons for going to war.

Mr Gore, speaking to an audience at New York University in an event sponsored by a liberal advocacy group, said that US President George W Bush deserved credit for removing Saddam Hussein.

However, he condemned the aftermath of the conflict as "badly mishandled" and said allegations linking Iraq to al-Qaeda were false.

"Every single one of these impressions was just wrong," he said, in his first major policy speech since last September

"Our invasion on Iraq had no effect on al-Qaeda other than to boost their recruiting efforts."

'Troubling'

Mr Gore - who served during the Clinton administration and then lost the US presidential race against Mr Bush in the controversial 2000 election - also attacked the US president for his record at home.

"The direction in which our nation is being led is deeply troubling to me, not only in Iraq but also at home, on economic policy, social policy and environmental policy," he said.

"Millions of Americans now share a feeling that something pretty basic has gone wrong in our country, and that some important American values are being placed at risk, and they want to set it right."

Despite his attacks Mr Gore, who now works for an investment firm based in Los Angeles, said he was not considering running against Mr Bush in the 2004 elections.

However, he said he would endorse one of the candidates at a later point.

A White House spokesman later dismissed Mr Gore's statements, saying that the American people knew "the president's commitment to the security of the United States and to winning the war on terrorism and our economic security".