Shortly after Iraqi prime minister Allawi gave a stirring speech to Congress, John Kerry attacked him, implying that Allawi was lying.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that Iraq’s Ayad Allawi was sent before Congress to put the “best face” on Bush administration policy.

Shortly after Allawi, the interim government’s prime minister, gave a rosy portrayal of progress toward peace in Iraq, Kerry said the assessment contradicted reality on the ground.

“The prime minister and the president are here obviously to put their best face on the policy, but the fact is that the CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story,” Kerry said.

Allawi told a joint meeting of Congress that democratic elections will take place in Iraq in January as scheduled, but Kerry said that was unrealistic.

“The United States and the Iraqis have retreated from whole areas of Iraq,” Kerry told reporters outside a Columbus firehouse. “There are no-go zones in Iraq today. You can’t hold an election in a no-go zone.”

This is one of Kerry’s most shameful statements yet. When he refuses to support the legitimate leader of Iraq, recognized by the entire UN Security Council, he is implicitly aiding the murderers and mujahideen. He’s telling them that if they hold to their course, and keep killing Iraqis and coalition soldiers and spreading chaos and death, they’re going to win—and especially if he is elected.

It’s the same tactic Kerry used after returning from Vietnam War; he’s undermining his own country, and all her allies, to advance his morally bankrupt political career.

The man is a disgrace.