LOMBARD, Ill. — Iraq war veteran L. Tammy Duckworth, a helicopter pilot who lost her legs in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, formally announced her candidacy yesterday for the congressional seat of retiring Republican Rep. Henry Hyde.

The Hawai'i-born former Army major is one of about a half-dozen Iraq war veterans running for office as Democrats, lending their military backgrounds to the party's argument that it can be strong on defense and national security, even as its leaders criticize President Bush's handling of the war.

"I looked around and I became very dissatisfied in the mistakes and bad decisions that were being made," Duckworth, 37, told The Advertiser yesterday.

During the two months she spent in the hospital, she began thinking about ways she could make a difference, she said.

She said Bush "hasn't come up with a new plan to leave Iraq." She said she does not favor an immediate pullout, but instead endorses a plan for setting "benchmarks" that would guide a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

"We should have been fighting the enemies that attacked us at home on 9/11," Duckworth told ABC's "This Week" yesterday. "We should have been out there trying to catch Osama bin Laden."

Duckworth is a graduate of McKinley High School and the University of Hawai'i, but has lived in Illinois the past 15 years. She is a member of the Illinois Army National Guard.

Duckworth told The Advertiser she was inspired by World War II veterans, including Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and former Sen. Bob Dole, who came back from World War II determined to make a difference in the political landscape. She said she spoke with Inouye — who lost his right arm in World War II — and that he gave her his support as a fellow wounded veteran.

Duckworth says she wants to focus on healthcare, education and the economy in her campaign, though she knows the war will be a big issue.

Duckworth and her Democratic opponents in the March primary face an uphill battle in the western suburbs of Chicago's 6th District. The conservative Hyde represented the area for 32 years.

Her Democratic opponents — businesswoman Christine Cegelis and Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott — have had a head start on fundraising because Duckworth had to delay her candidacy until her release from active duty, granted Wednesday. State Sen. Peter Roskam is the only Republican candidate for Hyde's seat.

"I am getting a lot of support," Duckworth told The Advertiser. "I have been encouraged by both the senators in my state," she said.