Obama Struggles to Explain Iraq Stance

When asked at his hastily arranged second press conference about the Web site's claim, Obama said, "I have to say that there is nothing that that Web site says that contradicts what I've said here. I will bring this war to a close; I think it is important for us to do so strategically."

Barack Obama arrives in Iraq with the first portion of his foreign trip on track -- and helped with a boost from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which could serve to put John McCain more on the defensive than Obama.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

Obama insisted that his position on Iraq had not changed and said that suggestions to the contrary had come from the McCain campaign.

"I guess I'm just puzzled," said Obama, when asked how he would explain his change of policy to Americans. "I think what's happened is that the McCain campaign primed the pump with the press to suggest that somehow we were changing our policy when we hadn't and that just hasn't been the case. I've given no indication of a change in policy. I haven't suggested that we're moving in a different direction."

"I intend to end this war," said Obama in his second press conference. "That position has not changed. I have not equivocated on that position. I am not searching for maneuvering room with respect to that position."

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He also stressed, however, that he has always promised that the withdrawal would be "careful."

"I have always reserved the right to do what's best for America's national interest," said Obama. "I would be a poor commander-in-chief if I didn't take facts on the ground into account."

Obama's promise to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq comes with an important caveat. He has long pledged to leave an undefined number of troops behind in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al-Qaeda. He also envisions a residual U.S. force conducting training of Iraqi troops and protecting the U.S. embassy.

Obama's Thursday comments come as military experts are saying that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the U.S. to withdraw equipment out of Iraq at the pace the presumptive Democratic nominee has proposed.

The tension between Obama's plan to "continue to refine" his withdrawal plan and the more unambiguous statements his campaign has made in the past drew a sharp rebuke on Thursday from the Republican National Committee.