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WASHINGTON - As the White House blamed al-Qaida Tuesday as the likely suspect for the suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, Sen. Bob Graham criticized the Bush administration for allowing the terrorist group to "regenerate."
In comments that drew a sharp response from the White House, the Florida Democrat said the Iraq war was a "distraction" that allowed al-Qaida to orchestrate Monday's attacks, which killed at least 20 people, plus the attackers.
Graham, a presidential candidate and the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the bombings "could have been avoided if you had actually crushed the basic infrastructure of al-Qaida. They would not have had the capability to launch such a sophisticated attack."
The White House and the Republican National Committee fired back at Graham, with the RNC accusing him of politicizing a tragedy.
Republican Party spokesman Chad Colby said Graham's charge "is baseless. The American people don't believe it. It's unfortunate he is using this to get votes to be president."
Colby said Graham's charge was "absolutely ludicrous."
White House spokesman Jeanie Mamo said: "We understand there is a Democratic primary under way. The only people to blame (for the attacks) are the terrorists who hate America and hate freedom."
Graham has long criticized the administration for focusing too much on Iraq and not enough on terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah that he believes are a more immediate threat. But Graham's comments Tuesday, made to reporters at the Capitol, were some of his most pointed words on the topic:
"The war on Iraq was a distraction," he said. "It took us off the war on terror - which we were on a path to win. But we've now let it slip away from us."
Graham said the administration has "allowed the basic structure of al-Qaida to continue. Yes, we've been engaged in a manhunt to find their past leadership. But we're also finding that al-Qaida has a deep farm team and that they are able to replace (terrorists) who are killed or detained."
The Bush administration has failed to learn the lessons of Sept. 11, he said. "There was information which the administration and its agencies knew before Sept. 11 that was not acted upon. That same information is available today. It's not being acted upon today."
Graham said the U.S. should "break the backbone of al-Qaida, not just pick off its toes and fingers."
Graham's comments represent a political gamble.
He is trying to establish himself as a hawkish critic of the Bush administration, which could help his standing with Democrats who vote in primary elections. But he could alienate the moderate Republicans and Independents who could be crucial for beating Bush if he gets the nomination.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, the current chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he flatly disagreed with Graham. Asked to elaborate, he told Knight Ridder newspapers: "I'm not running for president."
But Graham said politics had nothing to do with his comments: "It's the same criticism I made last fall when I voted against the resolution to go to war in Iraq."
Graham said Monday's attacks were a reminder that terrorist groups follow through with their threats.
"Over two weeks ago, in a message that allegedly came from Osama bin Laden, they said they were about to start another series of terrorist attacks aimed at Americans," Graham said. "They have now done what they said they were going to do."
He said the U.S. needs to be more aggressive.
"I believe we are not going to win the war on terror by trying to build a fortress in every neighborhood in the United States," Graham said. "We are going to win the war on terror by taking it to the terrorists and defeating them where they live, and that's what we have not been doing for the last year."