Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said today a ‘single-minded’ focus on Iraq was distracting the United States from other threats.
In a speech designed to layout his views on the war ahead of his planned trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, he promised to end the war and shift resources to fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan (read text of his full speech here).
Sen Obama, embroiled in sharp debate with Republican White House rival John McCain over Iraq, said the lengthy commitment of combat troops there diminished US security and standing in the world.
‘By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe,’ he said.
‘As president, I will make the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban the top priority that it should be,’ Obama said. ‘This is a war that we have to win.’
The future of Iraq promises to be a central issue in the November election battle for the White House between Sen McCain, a staunch advocate of the war, and Sen Obama, an early opponent of the US invasion.
Mr Obama also promised a renewed effort to seize nuclear materials from terrorists and ‘rogue’ nations, and said he would be willing to use ‘all elements’ of US power to pressure Iran on its nuclear program.
Sen McCain has suggested his opponent is wavering on his pledge to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, pointing to Obama's recent comment that he might ‘refine’ his policies on Iraq based on consultations with military commanders.
He also criticized Sen Obama for giving a speech on Iraq before traveling there.
‘In my experience, fact-finding missions usually work best the other way around: first you assess the facts on the ground, then you present a new strategy,’ said Sen McCain.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Monday found Americans evenly divided on the candidates' positions on Iraq with 47% of those polled saying they trust Mr McCain more to handle the war, and 45% having more faith in Mr Obama.
The poll showed the public split on whether Sen Obama could serve effectively as commander in chief with 48% saying he would be an effective leader of the military and 48% saying he would not.
Sen Obama has proposed adding two US combat brigades, about 9,000 troops, to the 36,000 troops already in Afghanistan and said this would be made possible by a drawdown of troops from Iraq.
He also called for changes to US policy toward Pakistan, saying President Bush had offered a ‘blank check’ to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the form of U.S. military aid.
Many Taliban and al-Qaeda militants are believed to be hiding in Pakistan along the rugged border area near Afghanistan. Mr Obama called for tripling nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and said he would co-sponsor a bill to do so.
