Obama lays down an antiwar marker

Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday used the fifth anniversary of his speech in opposition to the Iraq invasion to emphasize his contention that he demonstrated sound judgment as an early opponent of the war.

Obama made the speech in October 2002, when he was an Illinois state senator contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate, the same month Congress voted to give President Bush the authority to use military force to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

“Let’s be clear: Without that vote, there would be no war,” Obama said Tuesday.

“Some seek to rewrite history. They argue that they weren’t really voting for war, they were voting for inspectors, or for diplomacy. But the Congress, the administration, the media and the American people all understood what we were debating in the fall of 2002.”

Obama tried to draw a clearer distinction between himself and his top Democratic presidential rivals, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq.

“The American people weren’t just failed by a president,” the Illinois Democrat told several hundred students and others at DePaul University. “They were failed by much of Washington.”

At his side throughout the day was Theodore Sorensen, a top aide to President John F. Kennedy, there to enhance Obama’s image as a youthful peacemaker who would only use military force when absolutely necessary.

Obama’s rivals, meanwhile, countered that he has not always acted as aggressively as he could in seeking an end to the war.

“The truth is he did support past funding requests that only helped prolong this war,” Edwards spokeswoman Colleen Murray said.

Obama later told CNN that Clinton “has been effective in trying to blur the distinctions” on their Iraq records. That drew a quick response from her campaign.

“We believe voters are focused on the future and on ending the war in Iraq,” Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said. “Increasingly, Americans think Sen. Clinton is the candidate with the strength and experience to do so.”

In his 30-minute speech, Obama also called for the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons -- but stopped short of advocating unilateral disarmament.

“We must always be prepared to use force to protect America,” Obama said. “But the best way to keep America safe is not to threaten terrorists with nuclear weapons -- it’s to keep nuclear weapons and nuclear materials away from terrorists.”

Republicans responded that Obama’s proposal was naive.

“In a world with terrorists trying to acquire nuclear technology, and with Iran and Syria threatening their neighbors, it is difficult to comprehend that a major presidential candidate wants to eliminate our nuclear arsenal,” Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz said in a prepared statement.

Obama flew from Chicago to Iowa to deliver his anniversary speech two more times.

His campaign scheduled 17 rallies in other parts of the country to mark the anniversary.

An event at noon Tuesday at the Federal Building in Westwood attracted a crowd of about 125, including state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas and veteran actor James Whitmore.

Portions of Obama’s 2002 speech were read by Tobi Moree, a Pasadena woman whose only child, an Army reservist, is slated for a tour of duty in Afghanistan next year.

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Times staff writer Robin Abcarian in Los Angeles contributed to this report.