LOS ANGELES — George Clooney has faulted Democrats for their timidity in the months before the start of the Iraq war, saying many party leaders muted their criticism of the Bush administration rather than risk being branded as unpatriotic.

"The fear of (being) criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war," Clooney said Monday in a profanity-laced posting on The Huffington Post blog site.

"In 2003, a lot of us were saying, `Where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11?'" Clooney wrote. "We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out."

Clooney's latest films, "Syriana," for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor, and "Good Night, and Good Luck," which he starred in and directed, have been viewed as critiques of the state of U.S. policy domestically and overseas.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" focuses on CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's battles with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the communist witch hunt in the 1950s.

In the Web posting, Clooney, 44, said, "When you hear Murrow say, `We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty' ... it's like he's commenting on today's headlines."