COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democrat Wesley Clark says military experience is essential in the White House amid the threats of terrorism and nobody in the race for the presidency can compete with the retired four-star general.

"There's only one of me in the race," Clark said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm the only person who's had the military experience and the foreign policy experience."

Clark, on a two-day swing through this crucial first-in-the-South primary state, touted his experience as NATO's supreme allied commander, who oversaw the war in Kosovo, and the diplomatic finesse required in dealing with multiple governments.

"I don't think there's ever been anybody in this race who's ever been under as much pressure as I've been under in my career," he said.

Despite his late entry into the race in September, Clark says his campaign is gaining ground in early voting states and has picked up key endorsements from black leaders such as former Atlanta mayor and civil rights activist Andrew Young and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

"A lot of people have said we've changed the race already," Clark said.

A South Carolina poll released Monday showed Clark tied with the Rev. Al Sharpton for second place with 12 percent of likely voters. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean led with 16 percent. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, had the support of just 2 percent of likely South Carolina primary voters.

Clark criticized President Bush's failure to concentrate on the terrorist threat at home and led America to war in Iraq instead.

"Saddam Hussein wasn't a threat to us," Clark said. "We should have had our eyes firmly fixed on our priorities. Get Osama bin Laden dead or alive."

If elected, Clark pledged to capture bin Laden "by putting together the right kind of forces and having enough courage to commit myself to it."

He also said he wants to bolster the funds spent for homeland security. For example, Clark said the Port of Charleston, one of the nation's largest, needs more resources.

"We need to be checking containers where they are loaded in ports around the world," he said. "We need to pre-clear them. We need to seal them. We need to track them and make sure there's no substitutions or openings or anything added to them."

Clark said he would rearrange the military forces to ease the burden on National Guard members and reservists, some of whom have served more than a year's duty since Sept. 11, 2001.

He also said he would consider increasing the size of the Army, which has been stressed by the deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

"This is awful. ... I think you have to rearrange the foreign policy. The president took us into a war we didn't have to be in. Now we're stuck in Iraq. I'll get us out as soon as possible," he said.

Despite his military career, Clark said he could not promise the outcome of base realignments or closures.

"I believe we should have just enough defense that is necessary, but not any extra. I have to rely on the experts to evaluate the bases and say which ones we need and which ones we don't need," he said.