Washington ? Former President Clinton said Thursday that neither the Iraq situation nor the war on terrorism should interfere with efforts to strengthen the economy and fix a health care system that leaves 41 million people uninsured.

“No one really thinks these terrorists are going to win a military victory over us, even if God forbid we see another terrible incident or two in our country,” Clinton said. “The only way that we can be vanquished is if we respond to this in a way that compromises the future of our children and the character of our nation.”

Speaking to a conference sponsored by a health care reform group, he criticized the administration’s plan to cut taxes, saying it would benefit the wealthy at a time when the poor are losing government medical benefits and middle-class workers face spiraling health care costs.

On Iraq, Clinton said President Bush must reserve the right to go to war without the approval of the United Nations, but “it’s important to let these inspectors do their work” of looking for forbidden weapons.