US President George W. Bush, determined to put an optimistic face on deadly turmoil in Iraq, said that the CIA was just guessing when it said the country was in danger of slipping into civil war.
"The CIA laid out several scenarios. It said that life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better. And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like," Mr Bush told reporters during a picture-taking session with Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Democratic presidential candidate Mr John Kerry assailed Mr Bush's judgment, asking a rally in Orlando: "Ladies and gentlemen, does that make you feel safer? Does that give you confidence that this president knows what he's talking about?
"This is the president of the United States today standing in New York City where he was answering questions about Iraq and his speech to the United Nations," Mr Kerry told thousands of supporters in a basketball arena. "And this what the president of the United States of America, in the midst of a war at a moment of danger, said."
Mr Bush and Mr Allawi met for 45 minutes on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The CIA, which has been blamed for spectacular intelligence lapses involving the September 11, 2001, attacks and prewar Iraqi weapons capabilities, gave Mr Bush a report last July that presented a bleak outlook for Iraq.
The classified document, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, predicted three possible scenarios ranging from a tenuous stability to political fragmentation and civil war.
But Mr Bush said he was confident Iraq would emerge as a peaceful democratic nation because of the determination of the Iraqi people to build a free society.
He said he expected Mr Allawi's visit to the United States would help convince Americans not to be discouraged by disturbing news reports from the country.
"The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions," Mr Bush said.
"The American people have seen horrible scenes on our TV screens. And the prime minister will be able to say to them that in spite of the sacrifices being made, in spite of the fact that Iraqis are dying, and US troops are dying as well, that there is a will amongst the Iraqi people to succeed."
Mr Allawi told reporters his interim government and its US-led allies were winning against the insurgents but that progress was being ignored by media coverage.