Obama to give major speech on Iraq, national security in Fayetteville, NC March 19

Sen. Barack Obama will speak Wednesday morning about the war in Iraq and national security during an invitation-only gathering with military families and veterans at Fayetteville Technical Community College.

Only about 150 people — some supporters and local elected officials were invited in addition to military folks — will be allowed to attend the 10:15 a.m. speech at the Tony Rand Student Center.

A spokeswoman for the Obama campaign had said Monday that the event would be public.

Today, Dan Leistikow, who is the spokesman for Obama’s campaign in North Carolina, said the speech is indeed a public event, “but there’s very, very limited space.”

“I think the goal here is to be able to have a more intimate setting that will allow him to share his views on matters of the war in Iraq and national security,” Leistikow said.

The public will not have a chance to see or meet Obama before or after the speech, he said.

A news release sent out by the campaign at 2:30 p.m. today described it as a “major speech” that will include how ending the war in Iraq is necessary for the U.S. to meet “national security challenges of the 21st century, and to advance American interests throughout the world.”

Later in the day, Obama will hold a town hall meeting in Charlotte that is open to the public. Free tickets to that event were snatched up within two hours of being made available Monday.

The Democratic presidential candidate is making the first of what several stops in North Carolina in the coming weeks.

.....