Speaking at Fayetteville Technical Community College to a crowd of mostly elected officials and local supporters -- and a small contingent of military members -- Obama said enemies such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, Iran and North Korea have been invigorated by the war in Iraq, a war "based on false premises."

"The war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades," he said. "I will offer a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past."

On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, the Democratic presidential candidate chose Fort Bragg's hometown to describe his plan to withdraw one to two combat brigades per month from Iraq, if he's elected. With current troop levels, that strategy would end the war in 16 months, he said.

Obama tried to distance himself from his Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Republican Sen. John McCain. He touted himself as the only candidate who could be trusted to end the war and make the country safer.

Clinton also marked the war's anniversary with a speech in Detroit. She said she would begin a troop withdrawal if elected president. Later in the day, in West Virginia, Clinton said the Iraqis have not done enough to secure their own future.

President Bush defended the war Wednesday in a speech delivered from Washington, shortly before Obama's remarks.

"Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning and whether we can win it," Bush said. "The answers are clear to me. Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight that America can and must win."

Faulty strategy

Obama praised the troops, but said leaders in Washington have them following a faulty strategy.

"From down the road at Fort Bragg, our soldiers have gone abroad with a greater sense of common purpose than their leaders in Washington," Obama said. "Beyond Iraq, our military is badly overstretched, and we have neither the strategy nor resources to deal with nearly every other national security challenge we face."

Katie Wright, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, later questioned Obama's support for troops.

"Considering he made the same promise as senator, then turned around and voted against funding, how can we trust today's rhetoric?" she said in a statement.

Obama said he would keep enough troops in Iraq to guard the embassies and to have a counterterrorist force. But America's focus should be on al-Qaida in Afghanistan, he said.

"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 goes," Obama said.

Obama called for reducing the strain on soldiers by increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps, and making sure soldiers have adequate time at home between deployments.

Standing on a stage surrounded by eight American flags, Obama delivered his 35-minute speech to a crowd of about 150 supporters and 80 to 90 members of the news media inside the Tony Rand Student Center.

Obama used his opposition to the the war five years ago to contrast himself with other candidates.

He often lumped together Clinton, McCain and Bush as supporters of invading Iraq five years ago, questioning their judgment.

"The judgment that matters most on Iraq -- and on any decision to deploy military force -- is the judgment made first," he said. "There is a security gap in this country, a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions."

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha, who has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, introduced Obama as "an extraordinary American." He said Obama's lack of experience in Washington, criticized as a weakness by Clinton and McCain, should not be an issue.

"If tenure were important, David would have never attacked Goliath," Bucha said.

Leading up to Obama's appearance, several hundred people without invitations to the event stood outside the building in hopes of catching a glimpse of the senator from Illinois.

Reaction from inside

People who listened to the speech inside said they were impressed.

State Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, said he supports Obama and thought his speech did a good job illustrating his vision on foreign policy.

"The thing was just the overall impact of his grasp of where we are in the world," Rand said. "The grasp of where we could be, the things we could do."

Carrie Heffney, whose husband died in Vietnam, said the room was charged with excitement as people waited for the speech to begin. She said she appreciates Obama's willingness to speak with leaders of countries that aren't America's allies, such as Iran and North Korea. Obama compared his strategy to those of past presidents: John F. Kennedy's with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev; Richard Nixon's with Chinese leader Mao Zedong; and Ronald Reagan's with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

"One thing that stood out is, he said he would implement diplomacy," Heffney said. "He would look in-depth into a situation before sending our troops."

Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne, who described himself as undecided in the presidential race, said Obama's speech "had substance in an area that's critically important to our city and our country."

"It was good to hear his commitment to the military and to the growth of military and Special Forces," Chavonne said.

Dr. Andre Hall, a Fayetteville Democrat who attended Wednesday's event, said anyone who thought the speech was just anti-war rhetoric didn't listen to the whole thing.

"One of the criticisms is that his speeches are all about motivation, hope, feel-good speeches that don't have substance," Hall said. "This speech laid out a specific platform for the future."

After the Fayetteville speech, Obama spent the rest of the day in Charlotte for a town hall meeting and fundraisers.

His campaign has said he may come back to Fayetteville as he campaigns across North Carolina leading up to the May 6 primary.

With the race for the Democratic nomination still tight, North Carolina has become a key state.

The Clinton campaign won't be far behind Obama. It said Wednesday that former President Clinton will campaign for his wife in Raleigh and Charlotte on Friday.

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