Obama takes anti-war stance to U.S. war veterans

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday told U.S. military veterans who largely back the war in Iraq that he is committed to pulling the troops out -- something his Democratic presidential rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, played down when she spoke to the group earlier.

Some among the thousands at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City gave the Illinois senator high marks for confronting the issue loudly and up-front, even if many didn't agree with his stand.

Obama, 46, praised U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq as having performed brilliantly, but reiterated a call to withdraw combat troops, saying "there is no military solution in Iraq."

"One reason to stop fighting the wrong war is so that we can fight the right war against terrorism and extremism," focusing instead on fighting terrorist roots in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama told the group.

Clinton, the Democrats' front-runner in national opinion polls, spoke to the same veterans' group on Monday, but played down any discussion of troop redeployment, mentioning only in closing remarks her anti-war stance while focusing on her ideas for improving benefits and services for veterans.

A USA Today/Gallup poll two weeks ago found Clinton leading Obama 48 percent to 26 percent in the race for the nomination. While the former first lady, 59, aspires to be the country's first woman president, Obama aims to be the country's first black president.

Obama also laid out plans to ramp up funding and services for veterans, but in comparing the two, some veterans gave Obama higher marks for tackling the divisive issue head on.

"He knew it was going to be unpopular but he said it anyway. That takes guts," said Larry LeFebvre of Kansas City, who was among a group of veterans jockeying for pictures and handshakes with Obama following his speech. "We need somebody who is going to be commander in chief who has guts."