"Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world,” said Senator Barack Obama.

Humility aside, Barack Obama, appeared before a crowd that hours earlier rushed for a front-row view and saw tens of thousands pack in behind them, a column of humanity stretching from the Column of Victory to the Brandenburg gate, a symbol of Cold War division that served as a backdrop for memorable speeches of Presidents Kennedy and Reagan.

The scene, unprecedented in contemporary European politics was unlike any a U.S. presidential nominee ever had the audacity to expect or the celebrity-like candle power to attract.

But to the upbeat throngs, estimated by Berlin police in excess of 200,000, Obama did not sing a sweet song of hope and change.

Instead, he zeroed in on the threats of terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

"This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it,” said Obama.

That means Germany and other NATO nations must throw more into the battlefield in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban and its terror-plotting Al Qaeda allies have launched increasingly lethal attack

As for Iran and its head-long pursuit of nuclear weaponry, Obama said while Europe may welcome his call for direct, unconditional talks, Europe must back such an initiative with a heretofore missing commitment to using all economic and diplomatic tools to isolate and punish Iran if it proves intractable

"My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions,” said Obama.

Senior Obama advisers say Obama conveyed the same messages to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and later Germany's foreign minister, just latest world figures to welcome Obama and fulfill the campaign goal of elevating the sense in the U.S. that Obama already looks like a president.

After hitting war themes, the presumptive democratic nominee circled the globe with vows to lead a united campaign against global warming, genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, and AIDS in Africa.

One other note, the campaign said although they were considering it, the campaign will not go to Landstuhl Air Base to meet wounded American service personnel.

The campaign said it would be inappropriate to do so, on a journey funded by his presidential campaign.