Edwards Campaign Press Release - Edwards Campaign Statement On Senator Clinton's Remarks To Veterans Of Foreign Wars Convention

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – In response to remarks by Senator Hillary Clinton at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City yesterday, John Edwards for President campaign manager Congressman David Bonior, issued the following statement.

"Senator Hillary Clinton's view that the president's Iraq policy is 'working' is another instance of a Washington politician trying to have it both ways. You cannot be for the President's strategy in Iraq but against the war. The American people deserve straight talk and real answers on Iraq, not double-speak, triangulation, or political positioning.

"Our military's hard-won progress in Al-Anbar province should not distract us from the fact that pouring more military resources into Iraq is no substitute for the comprehensive national political solution that will ultimately resolve the situation in Iraq. President Bush's failed strategy has led to increased terrorism in Iraq, as we saw with the bombing of the Iraqi Parliament months ago in the Green Zone and the recent horrendous bombings in northwest Iraq that killed over 250 people. And despite the surge, the Al-Maliki government is disintegrating before our eyes. Even worse, President Bush's mistakes in Iraq have only helped make terrorism worse in the world. As the National Intelligence Estimate recently found, Al Qaeda is as strong now as it was before 9/11.

"As Senator Clinton has observed, words have consequences – and she was right. Suggesting that the surge is working completely misrepresents the facts about Iraq. By cherry-picking one instance to validate a failed Bush strategy, it risks undermining the effort in the Congress to end this war.

"The only answer to the conflict in Iraq is a political solution involving all Iraqi and regional parties. Senator Edwards hopes that Senator Clinton will reconsider her ill-advised statement and reaffirm her dedication to using Congress' constitutional funding power to end this war and help achieve the political solution that would establish stability in Iraq and bring our brave soldiers home to the heroes' welcome they deserve. Senator Edwards has called for an immediate reduction of 40,000 to 50,000 troops to stop the surge and get all regional parties to begin to find a political solution, for a diplomatic offensive with all regional parties, and for all combat troops to be withdrawn within the next year. With these steps, we can finally put Iraq on the path to stability."