Both wars are on course, Obama tells vets

— -- President Obama told veterans Monday that his administration is on course to end the war in Iraq, win the conflict in Afghanistan and prepare for future military challenges.

"We will do right by our troops and taxpayers," Obama said in Phoenix to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). "We will build the 21st-century military that we need."

Obama also pledged to improve health care for veterans and lamented that there has been "so much misinformation" about his proposals.

"One thing that reform won't change is veterans' health care," he said, "No one is going to take away your benefits." Obama said a health care overhaul will include new programs to improve electronic health records and reduce the number of homeless veterans.

In a speech devoted primarily to military policy, Obama said U.S. commanders will be flexible as they combat a resurgent Taliban on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. "We will constantly adapt to new tactics to stay ahead of the enemy and give our troops the tools and equipment they need."

A roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan killed a U.S. servicemember Monday, while an American civilian working for the military died after insurgents attacked a patrol in the east, the U.S. military said.

The military death brings to 22 the number of U.S. troops killed in August, as foreign and Afghan forces step up their fight against the Taliban-led insurgency raging in the country's south and east.

Obama told the veterans' group that victory in Afghanistan is essential because "those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again." He called the Afghan conflict "a war of necessity," as opposed to a "war of choice," his description for the Iraq war.

Afghans will elect a president and members of provincial councils on Thursday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is seeking a second five-year term.

On Iraq, Obama repeated his pledge that the U.S. will begin pulling out combat brigades later this year. All U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, he said.