By Kay Henderson

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 10 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battled over Iraq on Tuesday, with Clinton urging an early pullout of U.S. troops and Obama questioning his opponents' shifting stances on the war.

In simultaneous appearances blocks apart in Des Moines, capital of the crucial early voting state of Iowa, the top rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination vowed to end the increasingly unpopular war if they win the White House in November 2008.

"We've dug ourselves into a pretty deep hole, haven't we?" Clinton, a New York senator, asked the crowd. "But I am confident we can dig ourselves out."

Appearing nearby, Obama reminded Iowans he opposed the Iraq war from the start. Four of his rivals -- Clinton, former Sen. John Edwards, and Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joseph Biden of Delaware -- voted in 2002 to authorize the war but now oppose it.

In an apparent reference to those rivals including Clinton, who has refused to apologize for her 2002 vote but now supports a Senate vote to repeal authorization for the conflict, Obama said the war offered a test of leadership.

"Being a leader means that you'd better do what's right and leave the politics aside, because there are no do-overs on an issue as important as war," said the Illinois senator, who was not yet in the Senate when the initial vote was taken in 2002.

"There are no do-overs for the families who have borne the burden," he said.

Clinton has led national polls of the Democratic presidential field all year, with Obama running second. But Obama has proved a formidable competitor, raising more money than Clinton in the last three months.

Both candidates trail Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, in polls of Iowa Democrats. The state's presidential contest kicks off the nominating race in just more than six months.

OPPOSITION TO WAR

All of the party's White House contenders have been increasingly outspoken about ending U.S. involvement in Iraq, as polls show big majorities of Americans, and even bigger majorities of Democrats, oppose the war.

Clinton, offering a plan to end the conflict, said in her first 60 days in office she would direct the nation's military leaders to come up with a detailed plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq.

She said she would focus efforts on stabilizing Iraq and would convene a regional stabilization group composed of key allies, other global powers and states bordering Iraq.

The Senate reopened debate on Iraq on Tuesday, with a variety of Democratic proposals to end the war expected in the next two weeks. Clinton and Obama both left Iowa after their appearances to return to Washington for the debate.

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