IOWA CITY, Iowa - Former Army Gen. Wesley Clark edged away Friday from his statement Thursday that he "probably" would have voted to authorize war against Iraq last autumn if he had been in Congress, saying that he "never" would have voted for war.

Clark's initial statement on Thursday drew headlines that undermined his image as an ex-military leader willing to base his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination largely upon his strong stand against the war in Iraq, which has become the central issue in the Democratic race.

Clark's effort on Friday to distance himself from his initial remark opened him to potential criticism as a flip-flopper and underscored the difficulty he faces in trying to mount his first campaign for public office amid the intense attention that attends a presidential race.

"I would never have voted for war," Clark said in a speech at the University of Iowa. "I've seen that killing begets killing and hatred begets hatred, and it's no way to solve problems and resolve disputes." He called the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath a "major blunder."

All year long Clark has consistently criticized the war, but in remarks Thursday to a handful of reporters in Florida, he said he "probably" would have voted to authorize President Bush to go to war if he had been in Congress last fall, but then he faulted Bush's decision to go to war and his management of post-war Iraq.

He acknowledged Thursday that his position mirrored that of several other Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. It also put him at odds with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose uncompromising opposition to the war has vaulted him to the lead in the race.

On Friday the retired four-star general tried again to explain his position on the war-authorization question.

"What I would have voted for is leverage. Leverage for the president of the United States to internationalize the challenge of Iraq � leverage for the United States to avoid a war. That's what we needed from that resolution. We didn't get that," Clark said.

Clark said Iraq never presented "an imminent threat" to the United States, which he said sent too few troops and was ill prepared to face a chaotic aftermath.

"It was a mistake. It was a blunder and I think it was a major blunder by the United States of America," he said. "I hope that clarifies the sound bite" from his Thursday remarks, he said.

Friday's speech was Clark's first foray into Iowa since announcing his intentions to run for president earlier this week. Iowa, where presidential campaigns can begin or end, will hold the nation's first party caucuses on Jan. 19.

Clark, 58, relaxed and speaking without notes about his experience as NATO supreme commander in the late 1990s, criticized the Bush administration's approach to international affairs, portraying it as go-it-alone and macho.

"We're not the sort of `you're with us or against us' kind of a people," he said, referring to Bush's warnings to other nations in the war on terror. "We're a `come and join us' kind of people."

Clark's campaign is only beginning to take shape; despite his reputation as a favorite among Internet devotees, Clark is the only major Democratic candidate with no presence on the Iowa Democrats' Web site, and state party officials said no Clark aides have reached out to them.

"We have not been in touch with anybody from their shop," said Iowa Democratic Party spokesman Mark Daley. "We've got a couple of calls into them."

Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University, said Clark can take heart that many Iowa Democrats remain uncommitted. "Nobody's locked this up yet. That's what leaves the possibility for someone like Clark to come here," Goldford said.

Undecided Iowa Democrat Linda Carrill, 50, said she's just looking for a winner. She left the speech Friday night still undecided.