Loose Transcript of Barack Obama's Speech in Lancaster County on March 31, 2008

Foreign Policy
I’d like talk for a minute about foreign policy. My job as commander in chief is to keep you safe. I won't hesitate to strike at those who would do us harm. My job is to make sure we train our military personnel properly and that we maintain the military we have. We need to treat vets properly when they come home. No more waiting for hours at the VA. We also need to use our military wisely. When you get that 3 a.m phone call, you base it on good intelligence Hillary Clinton and John McCain had a chance to exercise good judgment, but didn't. This war in Iraq is unwise. It is not safe. It has piled up a mountain of debt and cost us, tragically, so many lives.

I was opposed to this war in 2002 and I will bring an end to it in 2009. I will do it carefully, precipitously. One or two brigades per month. Anyone who says that's a rush isn’t really thinking about it.

Two years from now we will have been in this war for seven years. It was supposed to last six months and cost us $50 billion. If we can't get Iraq up in two years, we won’t in 10 years or even in 100 years like John McCain said.

I don’t want to just end the war, I want to end mindset that got us into the war. I want to see an end to us using 9/11 to scare up votes. I want to initiate diplomacy. We’ve lost an understanding of the importance of diplomacy. Kenedy understood it. Reagan understood it. Eisenhower understood it. We need to meet with not just the countries we like, but countries we don’t. I was criticized for saying that. Bill Clinton criticizes me for that, John McCain criticizes me for that and Hillary Clinton criticizes me for that. The strong presidents talk to their adversaries and tell ‘em where America stands. When we do that, we're going to lead again. We’re going to lead on terrorism, we’re going to lead in helping poor countries with HIV and AIDs, we’re going to lead in the charge against genocide in Darfour, we’re going to lead in setting high standards for civil liberty and civil rights. We’re going to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and restore habeas corpus. You'll have a president who knows the Constitution, learned the Constitution and believes in the Constitution.

Q & A
I want you to know that I am so grateful that you all took the time to come here. Now for your questions. Usually we have more questions than we have time for.

We’re going to go boy, girl, boy, girl to make it fair…

OK. Ladies first.

Q:
Woman: I have a son who’s a lieutenant in the US military. I respect your position, but am not sure how to feel when you say we should not have fought this war. What do you say to the mothers of military men and women who are still serving? What do you tell them their sons and daughters are serving for?

Obama: Is he still in service?

Woman: Yes.

Obama: First, I want to thank him for his service. Is he still overseas?

Woman: Yes.

Obama: I will pray for him and keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

A:
A woman gave me this bracelet in Wisconsin. Her son was killed by a roadside bomb. I meet mothers and fathers all the time who have lost kids in Iraq. What I tell them is that their service is never in vain. Their deaths are never a waste. That's their job. Even in iraq, there have been some wonderful things that have been done. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein, that's an accomplishment. Building roads, rebuilding the economy, these are all important accomplishments. The failure that now exists is not on the part of the military. The problem is the civilian leadership. We did not think through how we went in. We did not think through how we were going to get out. My job as commander in chief is to make sure civilian leadership is as good as our military’s performance.

Whatever sacrifices are made by military and their families must be being made for a good strategy. We need to tell Iraq that we'll work with them and help them, but it’s time to stand up. We need to work on developing diplomacy in the region and refocus our attention on Afghanistan, where al Queda is.

I want to tell our military personnel that your service is being used to promote our long term national safety. I want to see our military being sustained, which it is not. We can't have military personnel doing three, four, five tours of duty. Divorce, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder rates are all on the rise. We have an obligation to our troops that we're not just grinding them into the ground. I am going to think it through and make sure we've got best strategy possible.

Q:
Man: Thanks for honoring the wishes of the American people and not taking lobbyist money. You and your wife are members of the global Center for Foreign Relations. Where do you stand on the North American Union? Ron Paul spoke on it. From what I understand it’s much like the European Union, only it would unite the currencies of Canda, Mexico and the United States into an “Amerio.”

A:
As for the CFR, I don't know if I'm a official member. I’ve spoken there before. Basically, it’s a forum where people talk bout foreign relations. There’s no card or anything, no special handshake. (laughter)

In terms of the North American.Union, this has been something Ron Paul has talked about. With all due respect, I see no evidence of this actually taking place. I believe this is something gined up on blogs and on the Internet. It is based on a highway used to facilitate more commerce between us and Mexico. No evidence that that’s taking place. NAFTA has broken down barriers. I was opposed to NAFTA. There’s no evidence of a North American Union.