Edwards Statement on Bush Administration Plans for Permanent Military Bases in Iraq

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement about today's report that the Bush Administration is planning to establish permanent military bases in Iraq.

"Today's report that the Bush Administration is planning to establish permanent military bases in Iraq on the basis of an utterly misguided analogy to the Korean Peninsula is more evidence that the Administration has completely lost touch with reality on the ground.

"The situation in Iraq couldn't be more different - in Korea, American troops are helping to preserve peace and stability; in Iraq, they are targets in a civil war. How on earth could the Administration entertain the fantasy that American troops could remain in Iraq for 54 years?

"The disconnect between Washington and the American people could not be more clear. America wants a withdrawal from Iraq, and the president is busy setting up permanent military installations. The idea that the president is considering permanent military bases in Iraq lays all too bare the consequences of backing down to him or offering non-binding resolutions.

"Congress has the power to put an end to this - it should correct its mistake and use its constitutional funding power to force an immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

"America's troops will continue to play an important role in the region after withdrawal, but the strategy should not involve permanent bases. After withdrawal, the U.S. should retain sufficient forces in the region to prevent a genocide, deter a regional spillover of the civil war, and prevent an Al Qaeda safe haven."