WASHINGTON  Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a "new direction" in international relations and laid out five goals that included a shift of emphasis from the war in Iraq to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan.

Obama, whose speech was delayed by President Bush's news conference, called for a "tough, smart and principled national security strategy" that would begin with "ending the war in Iraq responsibly."

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"By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe," Obama said in prepared remarks billed as a major foreign policy address. "We've been distracted from our most pressing threats, and we've pushed the entire burden of our foreign policy on to the brave men and women of our military — while neglected the other elements of American power. And we"ve alienated ourselves from the world instead of strengthening our alliances."

His remarks come only days before the Democratic senator leaves on a trip to meet with leaders in Europe and the Middle East. It is part of a media blitz by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who planned appearances on several TV news programs and released an new advertisement on ending the smuggling of "loose nuclear weapons."

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, planned a speech on Afghanistan later Friday.

Obama, in his speech, said his administration would focus on five foreign policy goals:

• Ending the war in Iraq responsibly

• Finishing the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban

• Securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue nations

• Achieving true energy security

• Rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century

"I am running for President of the United States to lead this country in a new direction — to seize this moment"s promise," he said. "Instead of being distracted from the most pressing threats that we face, I want to overcome them."

He also said he wanted to repair relations with foreign countries.

"Instead of alienating ourselves from the world, I want America – once again – to lead," he said.

Obama criticized the Bush administration, and McCain, for what he said was wrongly putting Iraq first in the war against terrorism.

"In fact – as should have been apparent to President Bush and Senator McCain – the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," he said. Instead, Obama said, he would be "taking the fight to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Obama also took a swipe at what he has said was a Pakistani policy that relied too much on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

He said the United States "must expect more of the Pakistani government, but we must offer more than a blank check to a general who has lost the confidence of his people," he said.

"It's time to strengthen stability by standing up for the aspirations of the Pakistani people," Obama said. He also announced that he would co-sponsor a bipartisan bill to triple non-military aid to the Pakistani people.

"We must move beyond a purely military alliance built on convenience, or face mounting popular opposition in a nuclear-armed nation at the nexus of terror and radical Islam," he said.