Cheney tempers criticism of Kerry

Cheney said his comments had been misinterpreted

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has backed away from comments that warned of the risk of another terror attack if John Kerry is elected president.

Earlier this week Mr Cheney said a vote for the Democratic candidate could make an attack on the US more likely.

But in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer he said he wanted to clarify the remarks, made at a rally in Iowa.

Mr Cheney said that what he meant was that Mr Kerry would fall back on a "pre-9/11 mindset" on foreign policy.

The vice-president instead praised President George W Bush's policy of pre-emptive action against militant groups and their supporters since the 11 September attacks three years ago.

"I did not say if Kerry is elected, we will be hit by a terrorist attack," Mr Cheney told the newspaper.

"Whoever is elected president has to anticipate more attacks. My point was the question before us is: Will we have the most effective policy in place to deal with that threat?"

Mr Kerry on Friday accused the Bush administration of "trying to scare Americans" over the war on terror.

The Massachusetts senator told an election rally in St Louis, Missouri: "It is real, we've got a war, we've got a problem but we should do more than just talk about it, try to scare people about it and make it a political issue."

The latest opinions polls show Mr Kerry slipping behind President Bush in the race for the White House.