ASHINGTON, Feb. 25 — Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, unleashed a tirade today against former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont and other Democrats who oppose a war with Iraq, saying the Democrats were fast becoming "the appeasement party of the future."
Meeting with reporters in his Capitol office, Mr. DeLay said the Democrats were pursuing a "reckless strategy" in fighting the war and singled out Dr. Dean, a presidential candidate who last week accused President Bush of trying to wage a unilateral war.
"I saw his speech on C-Span, and I think it was outrageous," Mr. DeLay said. "He either doesn't know what he's talking about when he says we're going to take unilateral action, or he's seriously uninformed, or he's just misleading the American people and his party."
Dr. Dean disqualified himself for national leadership, Mr. DeLay said, by suggesting that the decision to go to war should be made by the United Nations. "If he wants to be president of the United States, but subject the United States to decisions by the U.N., he lacks the sound judgment needed for responsible national leadership," Mr. DeLay said.
Democrats lack a consensus on how to proceed in Iraq, with some strongly favoring an invasion, others ambivalent, and others opposed. Dr. Dean has been one of the loudest voices among those opposed, and last week he won a fervent ovation at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee when he opened his address by criticizing Democrats who agreed with Mr. Bush.
"What I want to know is why in the world the Democratic Party leadership is supporting the president's unilateral attack on Iraq," Dr. Dean said on Friday, joking that he represented the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."
A few days earlier, at a speech at Drake University in Des Moines, he said that many options short of war remained to be explored, and that the United Nations Security Council should continue weapons inspections as long as they were making progress toward disclosure. He added that Saddam Hussein was not the greatest danger faced by the United States, putting North Korea and Al Qaeda far ahead on the list.
Dr. Dean did not respond to a message seeking comment left with his office today. Although his positions put him on the left side of the party's presidential pack, the cheers he received on Friday drew the ire of Mr. DeLay.
"Their reaction to that just proves who the Democrat Party is," Mr. DeLay said. "They are fast becoming the appeasement party of the future."