The Iraq war has left America less safe and has emboldened al- Qaida, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban, US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said last night.
The Illinois senator criticised the stance of his Republican rival John McCain and said the US needed to end the war in order to confront the emerging national security challenges of the 21st century.
He said the "central front in the war against
terror is not Iraq, and it never was" and said his presidency would shift the focus to "the battles that need to be won...against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan".
In a significant speech about the war on its fifth anniversary, Mr Obama said: "The war in Iraq has emboldened Iran, which poses the greatest challenge to American interests in the Middle East in a generation, continuing its nuclear programme and threatening our ally, Israel.
"Instead of the new Middle East we were promised, Hamas runs Gaza, Hezbollah flags fly from the rooftops in Sadr City, and Iran is handing out money left and right in southern Lebanon."
He went on: "The war in Iraq has emboldened North Korea, which built new nuclear weapons and even tested one before the administration finally went against its own rhetoric, and pursued diplomacy.
"The war in Iraq has emboldened the Taliban, which has rebuilt its strength since we took our eye off of Afghanistan.
"Above all, the war in Iraq has emboldened al-Qaida, whose recruitment has jumped and whose leadership enjoys a safe haven in Pakistan – a thousand miles from Iraq."
His speech came two days after his Democratic rival, former first lady Hillary Clinton, restated her position. She criticised Mr Obama for not starting his "aggressive" anti-war campaign until running for president.
She said she would start pulling troops out of the country within 60 days of taking office.
Mrs Clinton said counterterrorism forces would be left in Iraq to fight al-Qaida and added that she would press the United Nations to play a "central role" in addressing troubles in the area.
The two Democrats both support withdrawing US troops. They are looking to the only remaining major battle in the race for the Democratic nomination, which will take place in Pennsylvania on April 22.
