Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards answers a question from an audience member during his town-hall meeting at a campaign stop, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo by Mark Hirsch)
Posted on 02/18/2007 9:02:29 PM PST by NormsRevenge
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for failing to engage directly with Iran to resolve problems with the Iraq war and Iran's effort to develop nuclear weapons.
"It's a huge strategic mistake not to be dealing directly with Iran," Edwards told the Associated Press in an interview before a campaign event in Dubuque.
"What we should be doing with Iran, both on the Iraq issue and the nuclear issue, is being much smarter than we're being now. We have tools available to us to engage them."
America's relationship with Iran emerged as a hot topic last week amid reports the Iranian government was shipping armor-piercing weapons to militias in Iraq.
Some intelligence reports suggested the shipments were being authorized by top Iranian officials. President Bush accused Iran of providing weapons to hostile Shiite groups, but stopped short of blaming top Iranian leaders.
Edwards said Bush's reluctance to open diplomatic lines with Iran and Syria was costing the United States in its efforts to stabilize Iraq. The former North Carolina senator said the U.S. and its European allies have the leverage and resources to enlist Iran's cooperation.
"The way for America to engage them on this issue is to use the economic tools available ... to make it clear if they are willing to give up their nuclear weapons we are willing to make nuclear fuel available to them," he told the AP.
Edwards said the United States should offer a serious package of economic incentives and make it public, "so the Iranian people, who have not been historically anti-American, know that we've made this offer ... and hopefully drive a deeper wedge between a radical leader (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and his own people."
Edwards also discussed the Senate's failure Saturday to pass a resolution opposing Bush's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq. He said it was up to Congress to find other ways to curtail America's involvement.
"That means using its appropriations authority in the Constitution to put a cap on the number of troops in Iraq so they can force (Bush) to start drawing down the number of troops," he said. The reality is the Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate and such a move would require Republican votes, and any such legislation would face a certain veto by President Bush.
Edwards also addressed criticism aimed at his campaign pledge to fight poverty in America. In recent weeks, Edwards has taken heat for his new multimillion-dollar home in North Carolina, which features a handball court, swimming pool and basketball court.
Laughing at a question about the home, Edwards said the work he and his wife, Elizabeth, have done to help less fortunate people speaks for itself.
"We've shown that commitment through our lives, not just in our public lives but in our private lives as well," he said.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards answers a question from an audience member during his town-hall meeting at a campaign stop, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo by Mark Hirsch)
Democratic presidential hopeful former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards gestures while making a point about his plan for a national healthcare program during a campaign stop at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/ Mark Hirsch)
Maybe Breck girl would volunteer to go to Iran and bore them to death.
Maybe Edwards could send some of his (former) anti-Catholic blogging staff to Tehran for some talks and Christian-bashing.
Maybe he will take Carter and Albright with him as advisors, as he heads for Iran to solve this issue....better yet, maybe they will all be taken as hostages.
Party at my house....
Edwards/Baker 2008?
" The former North Carolina senator said the U.S. and its European allies have the leverage and resources to enlist Iran's cooperation."
The Europeans have been talking to and dealing with the Iranian regime for yrs.
I really don't see how anyone could take this 'guy' seriously.....
My very low opinion of Edwards, just got lower.
Can you imagine this 1941 headline: "Wendell Wilkie Urges Talks with Nazi Germany/Imperial Japan?" Me either. Why is it that today's opposition candidates of the democratic party feel okay urging the president to negotiate with our nation's enemies? These are the people that held our countrymen hostage for 444 days and invaded the sovereign territory of the United States.
Suffice it to say that Edwards is a stupid low-life pond scum (apologies) to the acutal pond bacterium life-forms.
he is a true Clinton wanna be. I have never seen anyone that loves to hear themselves talk. This is one of the most narcissistic person I have ever seen. I have to say that 80 percent of NC does not like John Edwards...
Thank you prophet , i was about to demand an apology to the bacterium...
...all we've been doing is talking to Iran - what is this guy talking about?
Girls have it rough in Iran, with no exemption for Breck girls.
Why doesn't someone with half a brain ever ask one of these socialist retards why Iran released the hostages the day Reagan became CIC?
O, how far have we fallen, great Republic, that this thing with good hair can be considered for the top office in the world?
Are we a Clown Show, or what?
STFU Breck Boy!
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