Probably no other Democrat in the last half century has challenged for the presidency with more international experience than Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for nearly two decades.

But Kerry, 60, had a tough time getting untracked in his race against President George W. Bush amid accusations he was waffling on Iraq and attacks on his vaunted Vietnam war record that stained his credibility.

In the waning weeks of the campaign, Kerry has sharpened his image, projecting himself as a commander ready to use force if necessary to protect the United States from terrorism but more eager and adept at mustering diplomatic support.

He pledged Monday to use "all of America's power -- our diplomacy, our intelligence system, our economic power, the appeal of our values -- each of which is critical to making America more secure."

Yet with polls showing Bush leading Kerry on leadership and the capacity to face down terrorism, the Massachusetts lawmaker has been forced to match the president's avowed willingness to use unilateral pre-emptive force.

"As president, I will not wait for a green light from abroad when our safety is at stake," he said in a speech in California earlier this year. "But I will not push away those who can and should share the burden."

Iraq, which has come to dominate the race ahead of the November 2 election, has left Kerry navigating between his initial vote to aurhorize the use of force against Saddam Hussein and his later opposition the war.

But Kerry now says clearly he would have never gone to war if he knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction or ties to Al-Qaeda. He vows to muster more foreign troop support and train up Iraq security forces to begin withdrawing US soldiers.

The Democrat has staked his candidacy on an all-out assault on Bush's credibility in proclamining progress in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Where the Republican sees a march to democracy, Kerry sees escalating violence, turmoil and chaos.

Kerry says he would have done better after the US-led assault on Afghanistan in reprisal for the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

"I would have concentrated our power and resources on defeating global terrorism and capturing or killing Osama bin Laden," he said Monday. "I would have tightened the noose and continued to pressure and isolate Saddam Hussein."

Kerry has also taken a harsher line with Saudi Arabia. If Bush has congratulated Riyadh for its cooperation in stemming terrorism, his rival has pledged to crack down on the sheikhdom's alleged ties to Islamic extremists.

"America cannot afford to hold its nose and play nice with a country whose actions often speak louder than its words when it comes to fighting terrorism," he said late last year.

But Kerry has not put much daylight between himself and Bush on a range of other issues, from the nuclear weapons ambitions of North Korea and Iran to the Middle East peace process.

Kerry has branded a nuclear-armed Iran "unacceptable" and soft-pedalled earlier calls for exploratory talks on other areas. He backs Bush's policy of multi-party negotiations with North Korea but says Washington should be ready for bilateral discussions as well.

The Democrat has followed Bush down the line on Israel, backing the Jewish state's right to hold on to some lands annexed in 1967 as well as its controversial move to build a security barrier against would-be suicide bombers.

On the environment, Kerry has drawn sharp lines with Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty on global warming and promised to "return America to its rightful role as a leader in the global battle against climate change, poverty and the spread of disease."

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