Obama: Swift End to Iraq War Will Strengthen Security

Barack Obama will promise a swift end to the Iraq war in a major speech today, arguing that the ongoing conflict “distracts us from every threat that we face,” according to excerpts obtained by Politico. As president, Obama would take the fight to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “The central front in the war on terror is not Iraq,” he says, “and it never was.”

“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,” the speech reads. Obama says he will focus his strategy on "five goals essential to making America safer: ending the war in Iraq responsibly; finishing the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; achieving true energy security; and rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century.” (More Iraq stories.)