Clinton says she is only candidate to end war

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) made the case Monday that she is the only candidate who can be trusted to end the war in Iraq.

Clinton is attempting to return the war issue to prominence in the campaign despite early questions about whether her vote to authorize it might cost her in a head-to-head contest with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who spoke out against the war before it started. Obama responded to her criticism by rehashing that vote.

{mosads}Delivering what was billed as a major speech at George Washington University, Clinton said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has the wrong plan for Iraq and that Obama cannot be relied upon to carry out his plan to end the war.

She pointed specifically to the oft-referenced McCain comment that he would stay in Iraq 100 years if necessary, and also to the former Obama adviser who said the Illinois senator would not be bound as president by his campaign-trail plan to withdraw all combat brigades within 16 months.

“Words can be powerful, but only if the speaker translates them into action and solutions,” Clinton said, adding that, despite his speech against the war in 2002, Obama did not work to end the war once he got into the Senate in 2005.

Clinton then quoted former Obama adviser Samantha Power, who told the BBC that Obama would “not rely on some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. senator,” and that his plan was a “best-case scenario.”

Power recently left the campaign after drawing heat for calling Clinton a “monster.”

“Sen. Obama says often that words matter,” Clinton said. “I strongly agree. But giving speeches alone won’t end the war, and making campaign promises you might not keep certainly won’t end the war.”

Obama said at a press conference that he's not going to let Clinton "get away" with her accusation.

"Because of that vote, we have fought a war that has cost us thousands of lives and will cost us a trillion dollars," he said. "Because of that vote, our troops have fought tour after tour after tour of duty, and their families have sacrificed so much at home. Because of that vote, we are less safe and less respected at home. It’s not just a speech – it’s a war that should’ve never been authorized, and should’ve never been wage."

McCain’s campaign has been rebutting the 100-years charge of late, insisting that his comment is being taken out of context.

“He was speaking of a post-war scenario, not a 100-year war, when he suggested that the American people could support maintaining a military presence in Iraq should the Iraqi and U.S. governments determine it to be in their mutual interest, just as the U.S. and German, Japanese and South Korean governments did after conflicts,” McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said. “The American people deserve more than blatant mischaracterizations, and we invite Sen. Clinton to participate with us in an honest debate.”