Al Qaeda 'will be destroyed'

The man who hopes to be the next vice-president of the United States talked tough on war and terrorism today, vowing to “destroy” al Qaeda.

Senator John Edwards also told the pre-election Democratic National Convention that with Democrats in the White House, America would restore good relations with allies around the world.

Mr Edwards, from North Carolina, was addressing delegates a few hours after their presidential candidate, John Kerry, arrived in the convention city of Boston. The southern senator praised his Massachusetts counterpart as “decisive” and “strong”, asking to applause: “Is this not what we need in a commander-in-chief ?”

The youthful-looking lawyer, a married father of three, himself had tough words for al Qaeda. He and Mr Kerry had “one clear message” for the terror network, he said: “You cannot run, you cannot hide, we will destroy you.”

Referring to Mr Kerry’s service in Vietnam, for which he was decorated, Mr Edwards said: “John put his life on the line. He knows when authority is given to a president much is expected in return.

“We have got to restore our respect in our world and bring our allies to us. It is how we won the Cold War, it is how we won two world wars, and it is how we we will restore a stable Iraq.”

Stability in Iraq would also help create a “secure Israel”, he insisted. And by winning back the respect of its allies, America could work with the world to help minimise the threat of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons falling into the hands of the terrorists.

Mr Edwards — later officially endorsed by the 4,500 delegates as Mr Kerry’s running-mate — accused the Republicans of “doing all they can to take the campaign for the highest office in the land down to the lowest possible road”.

The Democrats, he promised, would bring more jobs to America, raise the minimum wage, provide wider health care and give tax breaks to parents of college students. But they would also end President George W Bush’s tax breaks for the country’s wealthiest people, in an effort to tackle poverty and pay for ambitious social schemes.

Mr Kerry, who addresses the convention tomorrow, is now virtually level-pegging with Mr Bush in public opinion polls.

On a whistlestop campaigning tour, he has been anxious to emphasise his military credentials — arriving in Boston aboard a water taxi, accompanied by former crew members from his time as a Navy Swift Boat captain in Vietnam.