Obama promises US Iraq troop withdrawal
Updated
United States presidential contender Barack Obama has promised to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months and redeploy them to Afghanistan, if elected.
In a major speech on foreign policy, the Democrat Senator described Iraq as a distraction from America's real security interests and said the war is diminishing the resources needed to confront the challenges of the 21st century.
But the Republican candidate, John McCain, says the troop withdrawal would be viewed as a surrender to militant forces.
"Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq," he said.
"But he has it exactly backwards, it is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan."
