Washblog

"Iran must know world won't back down"
Raw Story  Ron Brynaert   January 23, 2007
Link as above

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In a speech at a conference in Herzliya, Israel, former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) took aim at Iran, warning that the "world won't back down."

Although Edwards has criticized the war in Iraq, and has urged bringing the troops home, the former senator firmly declared that "all options must remain on the table," in regards to dealing with Iran, whose nuclear ambition "threatens the security of Israel and the entire world."

"Let me be clear: Under no circumstances can Iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons,"

"Once Iran goes nuclear, other countries in the Middle East will go nuclear, making Israel's neighborhood much more volatile," Edwards said.

Edwards added, "Iran must know that the world won't back down. The recent UN resolution ordering Iran to halt the enrichment of uranium was not enough. ...To ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to keep ALL options on the table, Let me reiterate - ALL options must remain on the table."

"... If they [Iran] have nuclear weapons, other states in the area will want them, and this is unacceptable." [No mention of Israel's nuclear armament - which, unlike Iran's program, is not under the scrutiny of the IATA.]

"As to what to do, we should not take anything off the table. More serious sanctions need to be undertaken, which cannot happen unless Russia and China are seriously on board, which has not happened up until now. I would not want to say in advance what we would do, and what I would do as president, but there are other steps that need to be taken. For example, we need to support direct engagement with Iranians, we need to be tough. But I think it is a mistake strategically to avoid engagement with Iran. [Awkward transcription?  This seems somewhat ambiguous.]

"The vast majority of people are concerned about what is going on in Iraq. This will make the American people reticent [reluctant?] toward going for Iran. But I think the American people are smart if they are told the truth, and if they trust their president. So Americans can be educated to come along with what needs to be done with Iran.

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Source: Link as above

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Am I over-reacting? It seems that Edwards stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Goering - and Bush, Cheney, Rove, Norquist, Strauss.

He voted to authorize Bush to invade Iraq, siding with the neocons .  `Had I but known..."  We knew; millions of us; without paid staff to do our homework for us; we knew.  

His view on the Israeli-Palestine conflict is badly slanted.  See the full text.  He's a full-fledged partisan.  This is not the stance of a peace-maker.

And in 2004 he and Kerry mumbled when they should have shouted in defense of the Constitution.

Is this ihe kind of leadership Democrats need?

I'm open to other ideas.  Or perhaps there are corrections or clarifications? But for now - stay home, John.