Barack Would End Iraq War

Barack Obama, the Democratic contender for the US presidency, has said his main priority as president would be to end US involvement in Iraq.

Speaking before an international tour, Mr Obama said “our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe”.

The senator said another priority would be to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

His Republican rival accused Mr Obama of contradicting himself over Iraq.

John McCain said the US “surge” of American troops in Iraq was working, and that the same strategy should be applied to Afghanistan.

In an apparent criticism of the Bush administration, Mr McCain said the US effort in Afghanistan was “no way to run a war”.

Addressing supporters in New Mexico, he said:

“If I’m elected president, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.”

He also said he would bring al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama Bin Laden, to justice.

Mr Obama’s foreign policy speech comes ahead of a tour that will include Iraq and Afghanistan, the dates of which have not been disclosed for security reasons.

In his speech at the International Trade Center in Washington, Mr Obama said:

“This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century.”

He said the conflict in Iraq must be brought to an end as “the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was”.

Mr Obama said that as president he would take the US in a new direction, and a priority would be to finish the fight against the Taleban and al-Qaeda, which has an expanding base in Pakistan.

He said the troop surge policy had actually hurt America’s overall strategic interests, by diverting resources away from Afghanistan, just as the situation there was deteriorating.

Mr Obama said a withdrawal from Iraq would allow a much-needed redeployment of troops.

He said sustained co-operation was needed between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nato to root out al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

“It is unacceptable that almost seven years after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on our soil, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large,” he said.

Source: BBC News.