Sunday, February 10, 2008

Edwards and Iran

EEdles Period 3

The issue about Iran is extremely controversial. Liberals think that going to war with Iran would be disastrous for stability in the Middle East region and also for our economy and our troops who are already overseas. On the other hand, conservatives think that it would be absolutely disastrous if we did not take military action against Iran because they are capable of attacking us at home and also they pose a threat to the rest of the world.

John Edwards believes that we should not go to war with Iran, that we should recognize it as a country that could eventually pose a threat to our nations’ security. Edwards agrees that an Iran with nuclear weapons would be unacceptable and that if Iran did obtain nuclear capabilities, he would be willing to take an aggressive stance. Edwards believes that talking to Iranian leaders would be more beneficial then simply just blowing them up. It is made clear that Edwards does not want to go to war unless Iran is in possession of nuclear weapons and is a major threat. On December 3, 2007 Edwards states, “The new NIE finds that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that Iran can be dissuaded from pursuing a nuclear weapon through diplomacy. This is exactly the reason that we must avoid radical steps…” (Chapel Hill, North Carolina

http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/iran/20071203-iran-nie/)

Some believe that Edwards would be doing the right thing by not going to war with Iran, but instead having a treaty. By taking a stand on the issue with Iran, Edwards is going against both our president George W. Bush and the other people he is running against for president. “Edwards' willingness to pursue a nonaggression pact with the Iranian government could put him at odds not just with President Bush, but also with his Democratic rivals, none of whom has gone as far in advocating an alternative to the administration's increasingly confrontational stance toward Tehran.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=2905550&page=1). Later in October, Edwards still found himself at odds with the Bush Administration. He issued a statement saying, "Today, George Bush and Dick Cheney again rattled the sabers in their march toward military action against Iran. The Bush Administration has been making plans to attack Iran for many months. At this critical moment, we need strong leadership against George Bush's dangerous 'preventive war' policy, which makes force the first option, not the last." (http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/25/iran.campaign/index.html) Some of Edwards’ appeal is that he goes against the Bush Administration. He also would not be sending more troops into harms way.

However, the appeal of a “preventive war” policy is such that if Iran has the capabilities to attack the United States with weapons of mass destruction then it will be beneficial to attack Iran before they attack us. Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he, “…would consider a military blockade or ‘bombardment of some kind’ to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21488653/) Not only are the republican candidates for going to war with Iran, but Clinton, a democratic candidate, does too. She says, ‘“We must work to check Iran's nuclear ambitions and its support of terrorism, and the sanctions announced today strengthen America's diplomatic hand in that regard. The Bush administration should use this opportunity to finally engage in robust diplomacy to achieve our objective of ending Iran's nuclear weapons program while also averting military action.’’’ Clinton later realized that her vote was a mistake and that the sanctions only made tensions higher between the United States and Iran. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21488653/)

Even though Edwards would like to avoid military action he still sees that, "Iran threatens the security of Israel and the entire world," Edwards said, echoing a line peddled by many neoconservatives. "Let me be clear: Under no circumstances can Iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons." (http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=161493) Edwards sincerely believes in a more confrontational Iran policy. Edwards is also trying to win the support and money of pro-Israel supporters who would vote for him and possibly donate to his campaign. He is also trying to impress the foreign policy intelligentsia by talking tough.

Edwards still feels strongly about this issue even though he is not in the running for president anymore. His impact on the race is important because candidates are taking stronger stances on this issue.

Work Cited Section

Ari, Berman. "Edwards's Iran Problem." The Nation 29 Jan 2007 08 Feb 2008 .

Associated Press. "Edwards raps Clinton, Romney on Iran." msnbc 27 Oct 2007 08 Feb 2008 .

Edwards, John. "Edwards Statement On New National Intelligence Estimate On Iran." John Edwards 08 (2008) 1. 08 Feb 2008 .

Steinhauser , Paul . " Iran becoming new Iraq on campaign trail." CNN OCt 27 2007 08 Feb 2008 .

Terry, Moran. "Edwards: Treaty With Iran Possible." ABC News 27 Feb 2007 1-2. 08 Feb 2008 .

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