Manchester – The leading Democratic candidates for President said in a nationally broadcast debate last night they would take military action to destroy Osama bin Laden, with or without the permission of Pakistan, if they had reliable intelligence that the terrorist leader is in a specific location there.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson were the four candidates invited to take part in the debate, sponsored by ABC, WMUR-TV and Facebook.

Others who have been at past debates fell short of ABC's criteria for support in the Iowa caucus or in opinion polls.

The four participants also agreed on the need for a quick end to U.S. involvement in Iraq, saying that although a surge of U.S. forces has quelled violence, the Iraqi government has failed to act to stabilize the country. That was the whole reason for the surge, they said.

Clinton said she would start pulling troops in 60 days. Richardson said he would have troops out within a year of taking office.

Obama said the U.S. is back where it was two years ago, before a surge in violence prompted the 2007 troop surge. "We've come full circle," he said.

Edwards said he'd get troops out and leave no permanent military bases behind.

On bin Laden

Coming off a decisive victory in last week's Iowa caucuses, Obama was first to address the hypothetical question on al-Qaida posed by the debate moderator, ABC's Charles Gibson.

Obama said the U.S. should press Pakistan to act first if there were credible evidence of bin Laden's whereabouts.

"If they could not or would not, then we should strike €¦ We have to make sure we do not hesitate to act when it comes to al-Qaida," he said. "My job as commander in chief will be to make sure that we strike anybody who would do America harm when we have actionable intelligence to that."

Edwards agreed, "I'd go get him. Period."

Clinton said it's important to remember a terror attack on U.S. soil is likely to come from renegades, not an organized state with leaders and easy targets. If the U.S. were to attack Pakistan, it would have to make sure that its leaders knew the attack was coming from the U.S. and not India, a neighboring nuclear power with which it has an uneasy peace.

Richardson agreed that if there were reliable information, it would be time for an attack. But he urged a surge in diplomacy to stabilize Pakistan while the hunt for bin Laden goes on.

"Change" is the by-word

Health care, the economy, readiness to lead and the influence of special interests and lobbyists also came up during the 90-minute debate, held at St. Anselm College. The event came with less than three days to the New Hampshire presidential primary.

Energy efficiency, and end to tax breaks for the wealthy, better tax policy for the middle class also came up for discussion, but the discourse was least civil each time the "change" issue was raised.

Change is the by-word of this Democratic campaign, and the ability of each candidate to change business as usual in Washington D.C. The candidates argued over whether changing Washington is best done by those with experience inside the system, or by those who have not yet been corrupted by special interest money and lobbyist influence.

Clinton said that she's worked for change throughout her 35 year career, and added, "I think I am an agent of change. I embody change. Being the first woman president is a huge change."

Edwards boasted he will be free of special interests and lobbyists because he has never accepted their campaign donations. He said he took on the insurance industry with work on a bipartisan bill to establish a patients bill of rights.

Obama said he took on the special interests with a bill that blocks member of Congress from accepting gifts and expensive meals from lobbyists.

Clinton called for a "reality break," noted that the patients bill of rights never became law, and pointed out that Obama's New Hampshire campaign chair is a lobbyist for the drug industry.

Clinton set off an early and spirited exchange by attacking what she said are Obama's changing positions on health care, saying, he "could have a pretty good debate with himself."

Obama responded that Clinton should not be distorting his record. Edwards joined in, implying that Clinton is beholden to special interests who contribute to her campaign. He speculated that Clinton was on the attack because she fears a second loss in New Hampshire after coming in third in Iowa.

"You didn't hear these kinds of attacks from Sen. Clinton when she was ahead," Edwards said.

All this led Richardson to remark, "I've been in hostage negotiations that are a lot more civil than this."

Richardson repeatedly stated that the best way to solve domestic problems is to end the Iraq war and free up the money it costs. A former Secretary of Energy, he said he would focus on improving energy efficiency

Limited field

ABC set strict criteria to select out candidates who did not show enough voter support, restricting the stage to the top four finishers in the Iowa caucus and those who drew 5 percent support in a national or state poll. Chris Dodd and Joseph Biden withdrew from the race after poor showings in Iowa. Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel finished at the bottom of the heap in Iowa and did not break the 5 percent mark in polls.

ABC's decision to bar some candidates was criticized by in-state media and the state's Republican and Democratic parties, on the grounds that network executives' decision should not interfere with voters who want to choose among all candidates.

Kucinich filed a complaint about his exclusion with the Federal Communications Commission. ABC argued that its criteria were "highly inclusive."

Polls in the past month saw Clinton's once commanding lead over Obama and Edwards steadily narrow. It was Obama who took the top slot and seized the political momentum by winning the Iowa caucus by more than 8 points over Edwards and Clinton. In New Hampshire, where Clinton hopes to bolster her fading numbers, a new CNN-WMUR poll last night showed she and Obama are tied at 33 percent each, with Edwards at 20 percent.