Hillary Clinton lashed out at both Barack Obama and John McCain on Monday, saying each presidential rival has the wrong approach to the Iraq war.

In a speech billed as a major policy address, the Democratic presidential candidate claimed her primary rival only followed through on his 2002 speech opposing the war in Iraq when he started to run for president. Likewise, the presumptive Republican nominee continued the "Bush-McCain" Iraq strategy and suggested keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 years.

"One choice in this election is Senator McCain, who is willing to keep this war going for 100 years. You can count on him to do that. Another choice is Senator Obama, who has promised to bring combat troops out in 16 months, but according to his foreign policy adviser, you cant count on him to do that," she said.

"In uncertain times, we cannot afford uncertain leadership," Clinton continued, repeating her pledge to be the commander in chief who is ready on day one.

"Bringing lasting stability to the region will take a president with the strength and determination, the knowledge and confidence to bring our troops home; to rebuild our military readiness, to care for our veterans, and to redouble our efforts against Al Qaeda. If you give me the chance, I will be that president," she said.

Countering that oft-repeated speech, Obama told reporters it's "not enough to stand up and say you're ready on day one, you need to be right on day one." He added that Clinton voted to authorize war and so has lost the authority to complain about its execution.

Clinton laid out policy additions to her Iraq plan, which include adding U.N. force, tactical strike teams to continue fighting Al Qaeda after major combat forces are withdrawn and a regional stabilization group that would include Iran and Syria.

"Under my plan, withdrawing from Iraq will not mean retreating from fighting terrorism in Iraq. That's why I will order small, elite strike forces to engage in targeted operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq. This will protect Iraqi citizens, our allies, and our families right here at home," she said.

As Clinton spoke, Vice President Dick Cheney visited Iraq to mark five years since the U.S. first invaded the country to oust Saddam Hussein. Since then, a new government has been established through a popular vote, and a 30, 000-strong surge of U.S. troops has provided calm to areas torn by sectarian violence.

Cheney warned against losing the gains the surge has produced, as Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki noted that one point of progress has been work on a "status of forces agreement" to determine the legal rights and obligations of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"There is still a lot of difficult work that must be done," Cheney said, unfazed that the Bush administration is out of office in 10 months. "But as we move forward, the Iraqi people should know that they will have the unwavering support of President Bush and the United States in consolidating their democracy."

Back in Washington, Clinton repeated her arguments that besides the cost of war in terms of blood and treasure, the surge has only decreased violence but has not led to the Iraqi government making any sort of political strides to increase security, provide for its citizens or end the sectarian strife.