'I will end this war,' Obama says

Barack Obama said today in Fayetteville that the United States must end the war in Iraq to meet its real security challenges.

"I will offer a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past," Obama said. "Nowhere is that break more badly needed than Iraq."

"I will set a new goal on Day 1" as commander in chief, he said. "I will end this war."

Obama said his policy would finally force the Iraqis to take responsibility for the security of their country, instead of relying on an open-ended involvement by U.S. troops.

He proposed removing one to two combat brigades from Iraq each month after he would take office in January 2009, with a complete drawdown in 16 months. He said he would leave enough troops in Iraq to guard the American embassy as well as to staff a counterterrorism force to strike at al-Qaida.

He said the nation should have finished the fight against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization instead of attacking Iraq in 2003, and stressed that he would do that if elected president.

"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 is," Obama said, in a reference to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, who has endorsed President Bush's policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Standing on a stage adorned by eight U.S. flags, Obama said President Bush launched the war in Iraq "based on false premises" and said there was no evidence, when the war began five years ago, that Iraq's regime was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction or was tied to al-Qaida's attack on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

He added that the war in Iraq had emboldened the United States' real enemies and threats, including Iran and North Korea in addition to al-Qaida.

Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate and senator from Illinois, was in North Carolina for a campaign swing on the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

The morning event was an invitation-only gathering with military families and veterans at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Some supporters and local elected officials also were among about 150 invitees at the Tony Rand Student Center.

Obama was introduced by Paul William Bucha, a Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor winner from Connecticut who has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Bucha called Obama "an extraordinary American" and said Obama had the leadership ability, integrity and understanding of the world's complexities to lead the nation.

Obama will head to Charlotte for a town hall meeting at 3:30 p.m. that is open to the public. Free tickets to that event were snatched up within two hours of being made available Monday.

He will remain in Charlotte for a pair of evening fund-raisers at a private home.

Crowds of students gathered this morning outside the Rand Center hoping to see Obama.

"I think it's great to be here, even though I'm not a part of the audience," said Jeanne Cody, a student at Fayetteville Tech. "I think it's an historical event in North Carolina."

Cody, 48, said she switched her support from Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, after hearing some of Obama's speeches. She also supports his policy on the Iraq war, saying the next president should bring the troops home.

"I hope that he will win the race," she said.

Felix Trisan, also a student at the college, said it's "wonderful" that Obama is visiting Fayetteville.

"It is great," said Trisan, 26. "It's a blessing to even see him on campus."

Obama will continue to campaign around the state until the May 6 primary, said Dan Leistikow, a spokesman for his campaign in North Carolina.