John Edwards & Foreign Policy
By Leslie on January 2, 2008 at 8:32 PM in Current Affairs
The NY Times’s Michael Gordon conducted a lengthy interview with John Edwards in Iowa, during a campaign stop. Here’s an excerpt of the transcript:
Q. How did you go from a plan that emphasized the gradual reduction of forces and training of Iraqi forces to a plan that calls for removing all of the forces within ten months?
A. Because it is now two years later. At that point, what I was suggesting was, again let me go back to the bigger picture. The question from my perspective is that I have never believed that there was a military solution in Iraq, don’t believe it today. I think the issue is how do you maximize the chances of achieving a political reconciliation between Sunni and Shia because I think that political reconciliation is the foundation for any long-term stability in Iraq. They have now, at this moment, had well over four and a half years to make some serious progress toward a political solution. They have not done it, and so what we have been doing has not worked. It clearly has not worked. And my view is that we need to shift the responsibility to them, make it clear that we are leaving. That is where the eight to ten brigades come from. Then, as aggressively as can reasonably be achieved, to continue a steady redeployment until all combat troops are out in roughly nine to ten months. Now I am not married to that specific timetable. If my military leadership came to me and said we need another month or some additional time, I would certainly take that into consideration what they are saying. But it is my job as commander in chief to set the policy parameters, which is exactly what I was doing.
Q. Under your concept you also withdraw the American trainers and advisers who have been working to build the new Iraqi army and police.
A. That’s correct.
Q. Why did you decide on that? There are some people who have been critical of the Bush administration’s approach like the Iraq Study group, which was co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, that called for withdrawing combat brigades but simultaneously expanding the training effort. What effect do you think your plan would have on Iraqi forces?
A. I’d say a couple of things about it. Number one, there have certainly been studies indicating that when an American embedded trainer is in an Iraqi unit that they become so dependent on that trainer that they do not develop their own self-sufficiency. Secondly, if we were going to actually going to do what was necessary to continue this training operation we would have to have somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 troops to support them–to protect them, support them logistically, all of the above. And to me that is a continuation of the occupation of Iraq. And now we go back to what I said at the very outset. The continued occupation of Iraq undermines everything America has to do to reestablish ourselves as a country that should be followed, that should be a leader.
There’s a lot more, and it’s worth reading. Because this interview clarifies Edwards position on Iraq and more.
One thing I agree with Edwards on regards withdrawing American troops training the Iraqi army and maintaining a police force. Atrios says it best:
You know, I’ll admit that despite the fact that I think “getting out” is the right approach I don’t personally have some comprehensive foolproof plan to do so. On the other hand, I have no idea why almost 5 years later the most important mission in Iraq appears to involve remedial education.
UPDATE: Whoops, I forgot to add the NYT interview link. It’s there now, see above.
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