CARLSBAD —— Democratic Congressman Bob Filner on Sunday afternoon called for an international force to step in and lead war-torn Iraq, and for the U.S. pull out.

About 200 people, mostly senior citizens, came to the Women's Club of Carlsbad to hear the representative of California's 51st Congressional District speak during the Democratic Club of Carlsbad-Oceanside's annual Christmas potluck.

Before his speech, Filner encouraged the audience to support Francine Busby's congressional campaign. Busby is the lone Democratic candidate running for the 50th Congressional District vacated by former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who recently resigned after pleading guilty to bribery and tax evasion.

"We can all change the direction of this nation by making sure Francine Busby is elected," said Filner.

Filner also addressed allegations made by Assemblyman Juan Vargas —— Filner's challenger in the Democratic primary —— that his wife is illegally on his payroll as his finance director. He disputed the charge, saying although she is indeed on his campaign payroll, there is nothing illegal about it.

"Everything is fully disclosed, everything is fully legal to the nth degree," Filner said.

Filner then discussed his opinions on Iraq. He said he was opposed to the invasion of Iraq from the beginning, and that the intelligence documents that were offered to Congress, the United Nations and the American people were tenuous, at best.

"I literally thought they were a joke," said Filner, who was one of the 135 members of Congress to vote against the war in Iraq. "We got into the war, I think, immorally and in a very corrupt way."

Filner went on to say that the way the war has been conducted is very disconcerting to him. Aside from the thousands of American troops and Iraqi civilians that have been wounded and killed, Filner said he is concerned about the amount of money that is being spent on Iraq.

"I will give you one statistic," Filner told the crowd. "Every two and a half days, we spend $1 billion on Iraq."

Any domestic problem, said Filner, could be solved with a week's worth of the money that has been allocated for Iraq.

Filner praised Congressman John Murtha, who recently ignited a political firestorm by calling for a complete withdrawal of troops in Iraq.

"We have made that country the hotbed of terrorism, which it wasn't before," said Filner. "We have become the occupiers and not the liberators. Until we leave, there will be no peace."

Filner said he believes the only reasonable exit strategy would be to withdraw American troops from Iraq and give control to an international peacekeeping agency.

"For me, I think you turn this over to an international force, like the United Nations," he said.

However, said Filner, he does not see this happening anytime soon without the public demanding that the administration change its course.

"I think the status quo will probably proceed in the way it's going unless there is noise," Filner said. "Most people think they are powerless, but that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you get involved, we can change history in this nation."

Filner encouraged the audience to take action, using the example of Oceanside resident Lester Cohen, an 82-year-old World War II veteran who collected over 1,600 signatures on a petition requesting Congress to pass a resolution mandating a 12-month withdrawal of all military personnel from Iraq.

"I don't know the final answer, but you have it," said Filner. "The people have got to take the lead on this, whatever it is: gas prices, prescription drugs, the war in Iraq. Together, we will change this."

Following Filner's speech, congressional hopefuls Busby and Jenni Criscenso (who is running for the 49th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Darrell Issa) briefly addressed the crowd, piggybacking on Filner's call for Democrats to take action.

Busby encouraged people to support her Congressional campaign, saying that a Democratic victory in this traditionally Republican district could change the course of national politics.

"This is going to send a message across the country that people want change," Busby said.

Criscenzo, who organized the "Bring our Buddies Home" vigil in Carlsbad the day after Thanksgiving, said that apathy —— not Republicans —— is the challenge to the Democratic party, and urged the crowd to be politically active.

"We need to find ways to let people know what's going on, especially with this illegal invasion and occupation," said Criscenzo.

Most audience members said they were inspired by Filner's speech, but remained disillusioned with the state of the country.

"I'm so discouraged," said Pat McFarland, of Encinitas. "Our country's going down the tubes."

"I think everything that's going on in government is a problem," said Lucky Paulsen of Carlsbad. Paulsen said he doesn't believe military action is the solution to the war on terrorism.

"Instead of attacking everybody, we should try to lift them up," he said.