By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer 

Posted March 20, 2008 – The presidential candidates wanting to relieve President Bush as Commander and Chief all used the fifth anniversary marking the start of the war in Iraq to make their case for why they should become the next president. 

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaking to military families gathered in Fayetteville, North Carolina, not far from Fort Bragg military base, suggested to them that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) couldn’t be trusted to end the Iraq war because of her timing in voicing her opposition.

 ”Ask yourself,” Obama told the crowd, “Who do you trust to end a war: someone who opposed the war from the beginning, or someone who started opposing it when they started preparing a run for president?”

Obama reminded folks, he opposed the invasion as a state lawmaker, and his judgment was on point when he opposed the war while a Illinois state senator.  

As small and relativity orderly war protesters marched outside to of the White House,  President Bush spoke about the Iraq war to an audience of military and defense officials  at the Pentagon.

 His message remained the same and unwavering.  The president maintained the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 was the right move and has resulted in making the United States and the world safer.

 “Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning, and whether we can win it,” he said. “The answers are clear to me. Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight that America can and must win,” Bush insisted.”

Sen. John Mr. McCain (R-Ariz), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee agrees with Bush.   McCain is visiting Iraq this week and released a statement supporting the same rationale, the United States and its allies in Iraq stand “on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism.”

But at a press conference in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday, McCain said he was concerned about Iranians “taking al-Qa’eda into Iran, training them and sending them back”.

Reporters not clear on his statement challenged his answer and he responded: “Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qa’eda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.”

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, who is accompanying him on the trip, whispered in his ear, and McCain said: “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qa’eda.”

The foreign policy gaff brought reactions from his Democratic rival, Obama. “We heard Senator McCain confuse Sunni and Shi’ite, Iran and al-Qa’eda,” he noted. “Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America’s enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades.”

McCain is able to travel and hold policy pow-wow’s while the Dems battle it out for the nomination.  This wasn’t his finest moment abroad, but the Dems won’t get a shot at any international travel as long as the nomination is still up for grabs.

Earlier this week Clinton delivered a speech on the war in Iraq. She renewed her pledge to begin bringing troops home within 60 days of becoming president.

This was Bush’s last anniversary speech on the war in Iraq, if things remain the same, the next anniversary speech will be delivered by Clinton, Obama or McCain.