Obama attacks Bush over "appeasement" remarks

By Jeff Mason

WATERTOWN, South Dakota (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama accused President George W. Bush on Friday of "fear-mongering" for suggesting Democrats wanted to appease terrorists and vowed to meet leaders of hostile nations like Iran if elected.

In a long-distance foreign policy debate that ricocheted through the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican candidate John McCain called Obama reckless and out of touch with reality, while Hillary Clinton has defended her rival Democrat.

Obama clearly relished the clash with Bush and chance to link McCain with the unpopular Republican president. He said Bush had contributed to Iran's rise in the Middle East by launching the Iraq war, which he said had removed Baghdad as a counterweight to the Islamic republic.

The Illinois senator said McCain was as much to blame as Bush for what he termed a U.S. Middle East policy failure.

"They're trying to fool you, and trying to scare you, and they're not telling the truth. And the reason is because they can't win a foreign-policy debate on the merits. But it's not going to work," said Obama, the Democratic front-runner vying to face McCain in the November presidential election.

Obama said if elected president he would meet, with preparation but without preconditions, leaders Bush has avoided, such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, North Korea's Kim Jong-il and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"I would engage in direct talks," he told reporters after a speech.

Iran, Syria and North Korea are considered by the U.S. State Department to be state sponsors of terrorism while Venezuela has stoked anti-American sentiment in South America.