Obama: Bush falls short as world leader

Obama: Bush falls short as world leader

By DEANNA BELLANDI

Associated Press Writer

AP PHOTO/JERRY LAI

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. addresses the Chicago Council of Global Affairs on Monday, April 23, 2007, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.

CHICAGO — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that President Bush has fallen short in his role as leader of the free world, and the 2008 election is a chance to change that.

"This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it is time to fill that role once more," Obama said in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The Illinois senator was in his hometown to deliver a foreign policy address that was rescheduled last week after the shootings at Virginia Tech.

In his remarks, Obama said the world is disappointed in the United States, but it would be a mistake to "cede our claim of leadership in world affairs" because Americans might be tempted to turn inward in the face of negative world opinion.

"America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. We must neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission - we must lead the world by deed and by example," he said.

Monday's speech is the third time in recent months that Obama has come home to deliver a foreign policy address.

In a March speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a bipartisan pro-Israel lobby, Obama blamed Bush administration failings in Iraq for strengthening the strategic position of Iran. He called for a reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq, during a November address before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

On Monday, Obama reiterated his call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and said bringing a responsible end to the war was one of the ways the country could begin to lead again if he is elected president.

Another would be to increase the overall size of the military by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines, forces stretched thin fighting wars abroad and protecting the homeland.

Obama also pledged to lead a global effort to secure nuclear weapons and materiel at vulnerable sites around the globe within four years. He said the United States must work with Russia - which he called "neither our enemy nor our close ally right now" - to make sure its weapons and nuclear materiel are secured.

Also, he said the world must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and work to eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

"If America does not lead, these two nations could trigger regional arms races that could accelerate nuclear proliferation on a global scale and create dangerous nuclear flash points," he said.

Republican National Committee spokesman Chris Taylor dismissed Obama's criticism.

"It obviously takes alot more than empty rhetoric to lead this country and that is what Barack Obama continues to give us," Taylor said.