Obama Presses for Iraqi Reforms

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during a town hall meeting, Saturday, March 10, 2007, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall - AP)

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday said the U.S. will have to withdraw its troops from Iraq, regardless of the costs, if serious reforms are not made by the Iraqi government.

"In the absence of those conditions we're just throwing money away," Obama said during a campaign stop in Dubuque.

"We have to be honest that, in the absence of these changes, if these changes aren't made, there is not much we can do" to help the Iraqi people, he added.

An estimated 2,300 people attended a town hall meeting to hear Obama on the first of two days of campaigning in Iowa that was to include stops in five eastern Iowa cities. He later attended a rally at a high school in Davenport, where 4,000 people showed up to hear him speak.

Aides said Iraq would be the focus of the trip, and members of the audience were given copies of a speech Obama gave opposing the war in 2002, when he was still a state senator.

"It's time to end this war and bring our troops home," Obama said Saturday, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd in the Loras College Field House.

He said there are no good options left in Iraq.

"We only have bad options and worse options," he said.

Obama also called for reform on funding for veterans, saying the country is not doing enough to support troops returning from Iraq.

"We need to put veterans services on equal footing with other social services in this country," he said. "A veteran shouldn't have to come hat in hand to get the services they deserve."

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NASHUA, N.H. (AP) _ Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday promised to bring America's "invisible" middle class out of the shadows, saying the Bush administration has for too long ignored working families.