Michael Buchanan BBC correspondent in Washington

The recent terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco have not just been a reminder to the world of the carnage that al-Qaeda and similar groups can cause.

The Casablanca blast refocused the war on terror

They have also finally aroused the Democratic presidential contenders to attack President George W Bush on his strongest asset, the war on terror.

Senator John Kerry, the presumed front runner in the nine candidate field, led the charge.

"Al-Qaeda never went out of business," said the Massachusetts senator, "and I think that the triumphalism of this administration....about al-Qaeda on the run has really exceeded reality.

"What's happened is we broke the beehive, but we didn't kill the bees and we certainly haven't killed the queen bee."

Wrong focus?

The queen bee is of course Osama Bin Laden, and Democrats believe the Bush administration's failure to capture him, or to confirm his death is one of their strongest attack lines.

Kerry attacked "triumphalism" of the president

Another contender, Senator Bob Graham of Florida, has consistently said the president should have continued to focus his attentions on al-Qaeda rather than going after Saddam Hussein.

"They (the administration) have conducted an ideological war in Iraq... and at the same time they have stopped the war against terror," said Senator Graham.

"We have let al-Qaeda off the hook."

The former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, similarly accused the Iraq war of being a diversion.

"We have a president who talks tough on homeland security," said Dr Dean, "but (he) is strangling the city and the towns and not giving them the money that is necessary to protect them.

"We're not safer today than we were before Saddam left."

'Stumble and fumble'

Homeland protection was also highlighted by Rep Dick Gephardt of Missouri.

Bush has won high ratings for his handling of the war on terror

"We are vulnerable to future attacks because this administration has not done its job and has not increased our ability to have homeland security," he said.

Senator Joe Lieberman, who supported military action in Iraq, wrote in an opinion article in the Boston Globe that "in Iraq, shock and awe is giving way to stumble and fumble".

The attacks appear to be a realisation by Democrats that they can't hope to defeat the president next year unless they chip away at the public's confidence over Mr Bush's handling of the war on terror.

Their hope is that by creating vulnerabilities on national security they can they score major points on the issues they want to discuss, especially the sluggish economy and healthcare.