ARLINGTON, Va. -- Former Rhode Island governor and ex-Republican Lincoln Chafee joined the Democratic presidential race Wednesday with a long-shot campaign focused so far on one major issue: Hillary Clinton 's 2002 vote for the Iraq War .
"I enjoy challenges," Chafee said in an announcement speech at George Mason University in Arlington, Va.
A former senator himself — the only Republican in the chamber to vote against the Iraq resolution — Chafee has harped on Clinton's vote in preparing to challenge her for the 2016 Democratic nomination.
The war -- based on "false premises" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction -- killed too many Americans and cost the nation billions that could have been spent on education, infrastructure, health care and other domestic needs, Chafee said.
The result has been "destructive and expensive chaos in the Middle East and North Africa," the new candidate said.
Chafee also raised questions about contributions to the foundation started by former president Bill Clinton . At one point, he said the integrity of the Secretary of State's office -- the job Hillary Clinton once held -- has been called into question.
Clinton, who served alongside Chafee in the Senate, has expressed regret for her Iraq vote, telling reporters last month that "what we now see is a very different and very dangerous situation" in Iraq.
"I made it very clear that I made a mistake, plain and simple," she said.
The issue hurt Clinton in her 2008 campaign, as she lost the Democratic nomination fight to Barack Obama.
While not mentioning Clinton by name in his initial remarks, Chafee said that senators who voted for the 2002 Iraq resolution did not do their "homework" on the George W. Bush administration 's claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Chafee said he did study the evidence at CIA headquarters, and found the case weak.
"'Flawed intelligence' is completely inaccurate," Chafee said. "There was no intelligence. Believe me I saw everything they had."
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