US Democrat Barack Obama has rejected 'any lectures' on fighting terrorism from his White House rival John McCain.
The comments follow a day-long onslaught from the Republican camp.
'Let's think about this: these are the same guys who helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9/11,' Senator Obama told reporters on his plane.
He said that in part because of their failed strategies, Osama bin Laden is still sending out audio tapes.
He added that he did not think the Republicans have much standing to suggest that they have learned a lot of lessons from the 11 September attacks.
John McCain supporters had lashed out at a call by Senator Obama for suspected extremists to be prosecuted, in light of a Supreme Court ruling last week allowing Guantanamo Bay detainees to challenge their detention in US courts.
McCain foreign policy aide Randy Scheunemann said militants had to be fought on the battlefield and not in the courts, and accused Senator Obama of 'a perfect manifestation of a September 10 mindset'.
In an interview with ABC News Senator Obama noted that the Islamist extremists behind the first bomb attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 were brought to civilian justice and are now behind bars.
Under the Bush administration's policies since 11 September 2001, 'not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world,' Senator Obama said.
The policies had 'given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, 'Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims',' he said.
Obama backers said Mr McCain was recycling the ominous rhetoric of President George W Bush's 'war on terror' that had left the US bereft of allies, embroiled in Iraq and facing new threats in Afghanistan.
