Hillary promises to end war if elected

Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would not have started the war in Iraq, and would end it immediately if she is elected US President in 2008.

The New York senator drew a few anti-war hecklers who shouted out during her speech, the last in a series from White House hopefuls to speak to yesterday's meeting of the Democratic National Committee. The peace activists have dogged Clinton over her vote to authorise force in 2002.

"If I had been President in October 2002, I would not have started this war," Clinton said in a forceful speech. She said if Congress does not end the conflict before January 2009, she will if she is the next President.

"Bring them home, then," said a man wearing desert camouflage that said "Iraq Veterans Against the War."

Women from the anti-war group Code Pink shouted for quicker action, too, while nearby audience members asked them to quiet down. Clinton raised her voice to be heard and said she understands "the frustration and the outrage." All of the candidates expressed their opposition to the war and their determination to bring about a resolution to the conflict, although each had their own perspective on how to achieve it.

John Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee, did not name Clinton or anyone else, but said it is "betrayal" for those in Congress not to stop President George W. Bush's troop increase in Iraq.

"We cannot be satisfied with passing nonbinding resolutions that we know this president will ignore," Edwards said. "We have the power to stop the escalation of this war."