LITTLE ROCK, Nov 18: Former president Bill Clinton on Thursday slammed the handling of the invasion of Iaq by his successor George Bush, saying the conflict had alienated the United States from the world.

"I supported giving the president the authority to take action against Saddam Hussein if he did not cooperate with the UN inspectors or if he was found to have had weapons of mass destruction he wouldn't give up," Mr Clinton, at the inauguration of his presidential library here, told ABC television.

"I do believe that the administration made a mistake going to war when they did, and that's what alienated the world. And most Americans still haven't focused on this," he said.

Speaking on the same programme, his wife Hillary Clinton told ABC she planned to run for re-election in 2006.-AFP