Obama says Iraq war distorting US foreign policy

The war in Iraq has distorted America8217;s foreign policy, cost it thousands of lives, tarnished its image and emptied its treasury, Senator Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

The war in Iraq has distorted America8217;s foreign policy, cost it thousands of lives, tarnished its image and emptied its treasury, Senator Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

He said that as president he would swiftly end the Iraq war and reorient the American approach to the world to address the challenges of terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change and energy dependence.

8220;What8217;s missing in our debate about Iraq, what has been missing since before the war began, is a discussion of the strategic consequences of Iraq and its dominance of our foreign policy,8221; Obama said in a 38-minute speech at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. 8220;This war distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize. 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. By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe.8221;

In a series of interviews, statements, advertisements and speeches over the past week, Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, has been laying out a broad vision of America8217;s role in the world in an Obama presidency. He has spoken of reducing American combat forces in Iraq and adding as many as 10,000 more troops to battle al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has emphasised the application of soft power8212;the use of diplomacy and economic aid over the use of force.

And he said that as president he would try to mend alliances that have frayed in the seven years of the Bush-Cheney administration.

After laying out his broad vision of American foreign policy, Obama plans to make his first overseas trip as a presidential candidate at the end of the week, visiting Iraq and Afghanistan with two like-minded senators, Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska. Obama, an Illinois Democrat, will then move on to Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Germany, France and England.

In a news conference this morning, President Bush approved of Obama8217;s travels, saying it would help him understand the realities on the ground, and he encouraged him to listen intently to the generals in charge of American operations.