PHOENIX – Republican candidate John McCain is defending his staunch backing for the war in Iraq as well as an aggressive role for the U.S. around the world.

McCain told military veterans in Phoenix on Tuesday that he welcomes a debate on those topics as the fall campaign unfolds.

“America must stand firmly on the side of freedom and justice,” McCain told a convention of the American Legion, a friendly audience for the former prisoner of war.

McCain contended that Democratic rival Barack Obama's high-profile speech in Berlin missed the point about the role of the United States in the world.

“He was a picture of confidence, but in some ways confidence in one's self and confidence in one's country is not the same,” McCain said.