He made his first North Carolina stop earlier in the day in Fayetteville. He then appeared at the Grady Cole Center in the Elizabeth neighborhood for a town-hall style meeting shortly before 4 p.m.

Obama promised to withdraw troops from Iraq, use some units to hunt Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, take a more active roll in Darfur and tackle other issues.

He said, "You've never paid more for health care, you've never paid more for a college education, you've never paid more for gas at the pump."

Obama took questions from the crowd and mentioned North Carolina a few times, but only in general terms. He said, "We won't just win North Carolina, we will win this nomination, we will win the general election, and then you and I together will change this country and we will change the world."

As he has throughout his campaign, Obama stressed change as did his supporters. Louis Dishmon said, "Everybody's excited. They're glad to be here. They're looking forward to the change that this man's going to bring to our country."

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Obama Says He, Not Clinton, Can Be Trusted To End The War

Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that Hillary Clinton could not be trusted to end the Iraq war because she only started opposing it when she began her bid for president.

In a speech not far from North Carolina's Fort Bragg military base, the Democratic presidential hopeful told military families and local officials that the war has emboldened al-Qaida, the Taliban, Iran and North Korea.

"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 used the five-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion to again cast himself as the only true anti-war candidate, one who openly opposed the invasion as a state lawmaker. He renewed criticism of Clinton for voting to authorize the use of force against Iraq.

Obama also teased likely Republican nominee John McCain for a foreign policy gaffe Tuesday in which McCain, touring the Middle East, said several times that Iran was training al-Qaida in Iraq. Iran is a predominantly Shiite Muslim country and has been at pains to close its borders to al-Qaida fighters of the rival Sunni sect. After another senator on the trip, Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., whispered into his ear, McCain finally corrected himself to say Iran was training Shiite militants.

"Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no al-Qaida ties," Obama said to laughter and applause. "Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades."

In the days before she won primaries in Texas and Ohio, Clinton argued that she was better prepared to be commander in chief and broadcast a television ad that asked who could handle a middle-of-the-night crisis. Obama countered that Clinton had bungled her crisis moment when she voted to authorize military force to oust Saddam Hussein.

Obama alluded to that ad in his speech.

"What we need in our next commander in chief is not a stubborn refusal to acknowledge reality or empty rhetoric about 3 a.m. phone calls," he said. "What we need is a pragmatic strategy that focuses on fighting our real enemies, rebuilding alliances and renewing our engagement with the world's people."

He said Clinton and likely Republican McCain talk tough on national security yet they make decisions that leave the country less secure.

"This is why the judgment that matters most on Iraq -- and on any decision to deploy military force -- is the judgment made first."

Special forces from Fort Bragg were among the first soldiers in Iraq during the 2003 invasion and its paratroopers led last year's troop increase. President Bush visited the base to deliver his 2005 Independence Day speech, where he warned that setting a timetable to withdraw from Iraq would only embolden terrorists.

McCain has issued similar remarks and Obama squarely rejected them.

"These are the mistaken and misleading arguments we hear from those who have failed to demonstrate how the war in Iraq has made us safer," Obama said.

Obama also defended his contention that the United States should act on intelligence about top terrorist targets in Pakistan even if President Pervez Musharraf refuses -- a statement last year that drew criticism from Republicans.

"We have a security gap when candidates say they will follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but refuse to follow him where he actually goes," Obama said, referring to McCain's vow to chase down bin Laden.

North Carolina holds its primary May 6.