Barack Obama says the Iraq war has left the United States less safe yet has emboldened al-Qaida, the Taliban, Iran and North Korea. The Illinois senator said only he could be trusted to end the war in Iraq because he opposed it from the beginning, not simply once he began running for president.In a speech not far from North Carolina's Fort Bragg military base, the Democratic presidential hopeful told military families and local officials the war must end.
"Ask yourself," Obama told the crowd, "Who do you trust to end a war: someone who opposed the war from the beginning, or someone who started opposing it when they started preparing a run for president?"
Obama criticized both Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee. Obama says they talk tough on national security yet make decisions that leave the country less secure."This is why the judgment that matters most on Iraq — and on any decision to deploy military force — is the judgment made first."
Wednesday is the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. The Illinois senator repeatedly notes that he opposed the war from the start, speaking out against it when he was a state lawmaker.
Obama also belittled Republican rival John McCain on Wednesday for confusing Iraqi extremists, saying he "fails to understand" the war has emboldened U.S. enemies.
McCain, the 71-year-old Arizona senator who touts his national security experience as a main reason why he should be elected, gave Democrats a line of attack to use against him on Tuesday.
On a Middle East and Europe swing, he got tangled up in Jordan on which Islamic extremist group in Iraq that Iran is accused of supporting.
At a news conference, McCain said Iran has been supporting the Sunni group al Qaeda in Iraq, until he was corrected by a colleague. U.S. officials believe Iran has been backing Shi'ite extremists in Iraq, not a Sunni group like al Qaeda.
It was the first stumble of note that McCain has made since clinching the Republican presidential nomination early this month.
"Just yesterday, we heard Senator McCain confuse Sunni and Shi'ite, Iran and al Qaeda," Obama said.
"Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades," the Illinois senator said.
He also mocked McCain's oft-stated to vow to follow Osama bin Laden to "the gates of hell" if elected, arguing the U.S. focus should have been on Afghanistan and Pakistan instead of Iraq.
"We have a security gap when candidates say they will follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell but refuse to follow him where he actually goes," Obama said.
