Obama to visit Europe and Middle East

Barack Obama will visit Europe and the Middle East ahead of August's Democratic nomination convention, his campaign has said.

The trip to France, Germany, Great Britain, Jordan and Israel will focus on issues such as terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

Mr Obama also plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan this summer as part of a congressional delegation, but those visits were not confirmed by his campaign as part of the same trip and exact dates were not released.

In a statement, Mr Obama said: "This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security, and to consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face.

"This will be an important opportunity to have an exchange of views with leaders in these countries about these and other issues that are critical to American national security - and global security - in the 21st century.

"France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are key anchors of the transatlantic alliance and have contributed to the mission in Afghanistan, and I look forward to discussing how we can strengthen our partnership in the years to come."

The 46-year-old first-term senator from Illinois will meet with foreign leaders in an effort to build up his foreign policy credentials after repeated attacks on the issue from Republican rival John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch advocate of the Iraq war.

In January 2006, Mr Obama made his only trip to Iraq while Mr McCain, an Arizona senator, was last there in March and has visited Iraq eight times.

Mr McCain has questioned Mr Obama's ability to be commander in chief of the US armed forces and his willingness to talk to leaders of hostile foreign nations without preconditions.

He and his Republican allies have repeatedly criticised Mr Obama, who has called for the removal of US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, for failing to make a recent visit to Iraq to see conditions for himself.

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