EUGENE (AP) — U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith is highlighting his opposition to the Iraq war in a new TV ad.

The commercial is a montage of news clips from December 2006, when the Oregon Republican delivered a stinging criticism of the war. Left unmentioned is that Smith initially favored the war, and didn’t switch sides until after the fall 2006 elections, when Democrats knocked off several pro-war Republicans to gain control of the U.S. Senate.

Smith campaign spokeswoman Lindsay Gilbride said the commercial isn’t intended to deliver a comprehensive accounting of Smith’s history on the issue.

“What it does is highlight Gordon Smith’s independence and sharp break with the Republican Party on the war,” she said. “In this ad, we are reaching out to voters of all parties who are frustrated with the failed strategy.”

Political analyst Jim Moore says Smith takes a risk with the spot that started running this week.

On the one hand, Moore said, a big edge in campaign money allows Smith to run ads that may define him in the minds of voters as someone who stood up to President Bush.

But, he added, Smith is giving opponent Jeff Merkley an opening.

“Merkley and the national Democrats have made the argument that Smith is a johnny-come-lately to the issue — that even though he has converted to being against the war, he keeps voting for funding the war. So it leaves him open for attacks or clarifications,” Moore said.

Merkley on Monday said Smith failed to “any due diligence before supporting the war” in 2002, and “his entire record on Iraq has been one of political opportunism.”

When Smith delivered his strongly worded critique of the war in late 2006, he cited the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and the nearly 3,000 American deaths at that time.

“I for one am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way, being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that anymore.”