In Fargo, Obama renews promise to get U.S. out of Iraq

FARGO - Barack Obama brought his traditional values tour to North Dakota on Thursday, but ended up struggling to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. troops from the war.

A dustup over war policy -- one of the clearest issues separating the Illinois senator from Republican John McCain -- overshadowed Obama's town hall meeting here with veterans to talk about patriotism and his plans to care for them.

Republicans seized the chance to characterize Obama as altering one of the core policies that drove his candidacy. He denied equally forcefully that he was shifting positions.

Arriving in Fargo, Obama hastily called a news conference to discuss news of a sixth consecutive month of nationwide job losses, but the questioning turned to Iraq policy and his impending trip there.

"I am going to do a thorough assessment when I'm there," he said. "I'm sure I'll have more information and continue to refine my policy."

He left the impression that his talks with military commanders could refine his promise to remove U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office.

Less than four hours later, after the town hall meeting, Obama appeared before reporters to "try this again."

He blamed any confusion on the McCain campaign, which he said had "primed the pump with the press" to suggest "we were changing our policy when we haven't."

"I have said throughout this campaign that this war was ill-conceived, that it was a strategic blunder and that it needs to come to an end," he said. "I have also said I would be deliberate and careful about how we get out. That position has not changed."

He said that when he talked earlier about refining his policy after talking with commanders in Iraq, he was referring not to his 16-month timeline, but to how many troops may need to remain in Iraq to train the local army and police and what troop presence might be needed "to be sure Al-Qaida doesn't reestablish a foothold there."

The political skirmish blurred the Obama campaign's planned focus for his visit to a Republican bastion on the eve of Independence Day -- the importance of honoring and caring for the nation's military veterans.

A 'head fake' in N.D.

"We need to give thanks to our troops and veterans. Keeping faith with those who served has got to be at the core of America," Obama told a crowd of about 1,000, including a couple of hundred veterans, who ringed an outdoor stage for the presumptive Democratic nominee's second visit to a state that is one of the most reliably Republican in the nation.

"It's pretty mind-boggling," said Mark Jendrysik, chair of the political science department at the University of North Dakota. "You've got to be impressed he's even coming here."

Obama's rally in a state that has backed the Democratic nominee only once in the past 70 years was a potent symbol of his campaign's stated goal to pursue a 50-state strategy, directly challenging John McCain in GOP strongholds. His plan to attend a July 4th parade today in Montana sends the same signal.

Jendrysik is skeptical of Obama's chances in North Dakota, despite what he called the campaign's "impressive operation at the grass roots."

"I think it's more of a head fake" he said. "He's not going to win this state, but by coming here, it forces the Republicans to invest here and spend resources they wouldn't otherwise have to."

Earl Pomeroy, North Dakota's sole member of the U.S. House, warmed up the crowd Thursday with some partisan red meat. "The Republican candidate always takes us for granted and then proceeds to work against us," he said. "The Democrats, they write us off, despite a long winning record by your congressional delegation. [Pomeroy and the state's two U.S. senators are Democrats.] Barack Obama's a different kind of candidate."

Obama said the federal government has failed in its commitments to veterans "after the guns fall silent and the cameras are turned off. During the last eight years, we have often fallen short of that responsibility."

Despite the litany of things he says have gone wrong with the Iraq War, "caring for our veterans is one thing we can still get right," Obama said.

The Veterans Administration, he said, must do a far better job of eliminating bureaucratic red tape, doing away with means testing and diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Obama invoked the memory of his grandfather, who served in the Army during World War II and reaped the benefits of the original GI Bill. He also praised the recent passage of an updated bill. "We should give every veteran the same opportunity my grandfather had -- a real chance to afford college."

During a question and answer session the candidate seemed playful amid a crowd full of fans. He elicited boos when he said McCain's plan to extend President Bush's tax cuts would disproportionately help the wealthy.

"How many of you are making $2.8 million a year?" he asked. "We're still fundraising and we need to know who you are."

The war policy dispute produced a more tense mood.

In his second press conference, Obama reaffirmed his intention that U.S. forces would be totally out of Iraq in 16 months if he were elected. But he said it is possible the 16-month timeline could slip if withdrawal needs to be slowed to ensure troop safety.

Obama has gone from the hard-edged, vocal opposition to Iraq that defined his early candidacy to more nuanced rhetoric. He has said that if Al-Qaida builds bases in Iraq, he would keep troops either in the country or the region to carry out "targeted strikes."

Republicans, who have claimed Obama needs an update on the situation in Iraq, e-mailed a midday broadside.

"There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the national Republican Party. "Obama's Iraq problem undermines the central premise of his candidacy."

A 16-month timeline

But Obama insisted that his position has not changed at all. He pointed out that he has always said, "We need to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in." This means, he said, that his 16-month timeline "was always premised on" not endangering either U.S. troops or Iraq's stability, which he had previously been told by commanders was possible.

"I continue to believe that it is a strategic error for us to maintain a long-term occupation in Iraq at a time when conditions in Afghanistan are worsening, Al-Qaida is continuing to establish bases in areas of northwest Pakistan, resources there are severely strained and we are spending $10 to $12 billion a month in Iraq that we desperately need here at home, not to mention the strains on our military," Obama said.

And he intends to visit Iraq and Afghanistan this summer as part of an official congressional trip, Obama said. It would be his second trip to Iraq.

McCain was an early supporter of increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq as President Bush did last year. He has said he's willing to see some U.S. troops stay there as long as 100 years but not if they are being wounded or killed in combat.