Barack Obama laid the foundations for a new US foreign policy yesterday ahead of his trips to Europe and the Middle East, promising to work with allies to tackle the threats of the 21st century with a push comparable to the Marshall plan.

In his biggest speech on the matter since entering the presidential race in 2007, he said the US had “paid the price for a foreign policy that lectures without listening”.

He set out five goals for his presidency: ending the war in Iraq; finishing the war with al-Qaida and the Taliban; ending US oil dependency; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; and rebuilding US alliances.

“As president, I will pursue a tough, smart and principled national security strategy – one that recognises that we have interests not just in Baghdad, but in Kandahar and Karachi, in Tokyo and London, in Beijing and Berlin,” Obama told an audience at the Ronald Reagan building in the heart of Washington DC.

An ambitious plan and with a realistic eye, he may be able to definitely accomplish one, two are ify at best and two are so out reach that they are pie in sky promises.  If elected, Obama should be held to this plan to the letter.