HE said very clearly t hat he would pull the troops out of Iraq and refocus them to fighting them in Waziristan where they are actually concentrated.
And regarding being safer because of the Iraq war is contrary to what Homeland Security said in a report release a week ago.
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Obama Would Send U.S. Troops to Afghanistan, Pakistan (Update2)
By Julianna Goldman and David S. Rosen
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would pull U.S. troops out of Iraq and send them to Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan, which he called ``the right battlefield'' in the war against terrorism.
In a speech he gave in Washington today, Obama, 45, a Democratic senator from Illinois, said he would pressure Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to act against terrorist training camps and insurgents and would use U.S. military force against them if Pakistan doesn't.
``There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans,'' Obama said. ``They are plotting to strike again.
``If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets, and President Musharraf won't act, we will.''
U.S. officials have said that Musharraf's strategy of letting tribes ensure security along the border with Afghanistan has been ineffective. Pakistani officials told the U.S. this month to refrain from any military action on its territory against suspected al-Qaeda members, saying Pakistani security forces are responsible for anti-terrorist operations.
Musharraf rejects criticism from Afghanistan that Pakistan allows Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters to train in camps in the border region and fails to stop gunmen crossing the frontier.
Sparring
Obama focused on foreign policy and terrorism in the wake of public sparring between his campaign and rival Hillary Clinton's over whether, as president, they should meet with leaders of countries hostile to the U.S. without preconditions.
Obama said in a July 23 debate that he would be willing to meet with the dictators without preconditions while Clinton said she would not. After the debate, Clinton called Obama's response ``irresponsible'' and ``naïve.'' Obama shot back, calling Clinton ``Bush-Cheney lite.''
Clinton has a 21-point lead among Democrats over Obama, or 43 percent to 22 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released today.
In today's speech Obama, who says he has been against the war in Iraq from the beginning, made reference to Clinton's vote to authorize the war.
``Congress rubber-stamped the rush to war, giving the president the broad and open-ended authority he uses to this day,'' Obama said. ``With that vote, Congress became the co- author of a catastrophic war.''
Five-Point Plan
Obama laid out a five-point plan to fight global terrorism that also called for the development of capabilities and partnerships to capture or kill terrorists and deny them weapons; dry up support for terror and extremism worldwide; and take a risk-based approach to homeland security.
The announcement places Obama on a ``solid platform that's the equivalent of the other frontrunner, Hillary Clinton,'' said Michael Greenberger, a law professor and director of the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Homeland Security in Baltimore.
``His focus on going after al-Qaeda and Taliban and other terrorist groups in their training facilities is to be commended,'' Greenberger said. ``The focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan is not only appropriate but a badly needed focus.''
Still, Obama's call for a quadrennial review of the Department of Homeland Security ``suggests a slower approach to a reform in that regard than is needed,'' Greenberger said.
Millions
Obama said the hundreds of millions of dollars given to Pakistan for military aid would be rendered conditional, and tied to progress in closing down terrorist training camps and fighting the Taliban.
``Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps, evicting foreign fighters and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan,'' Obama said.
Obama also proposed boosting non-military aid in Afghanistan to $1 billion, citing the need to build better infrastructure in the country.
To prevent other impoverished countries from becoming breeding grounds for extremists, Obama said he would create a mobile development team, using components of the State Department, the Pentagon and aid agencies.
Obama said $2 billion would be used to create a global education fund, intended to contradict radical Islamic educators, and ``America Houses'' would be opened around the Muslim world with Internet access, English lessons and cultural information on successful American Muslims.
A Cold Shoulder
The Bush administration's policy of turning a cold shoulder toward hostile countries hasn't worked, Obama said. He also said he would close Guantanamo Bay and reject the practice of torture.
His Democratic rivals, Senators Chris Dodd, Joseph Biden and former Senator John Edwards, criticized Obama's speech.
``It is dangerous and irresponsible to leave even the impression the United States would needlessly and publicly provoke a nuclear power,'' Dodd said.
``It's good to see Senator Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but this can hardly be considered bold leadership,'' Biden said.
Edwards said that while he would not hesitate to use force against terrorist elements, ``as president, I believe we must first use maximum diplomatic and economic pressure on states like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.''
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