Edwards changes his mind on Iran within 2 months' time
Mon Nov 05, 2007 at 04:56:53 PM PDT
It appears that John Edwards changed his mind on a specific point of Iran policy, regarding the declaration of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Surprisingly, this change took place within the span of only two months.
I found this myself after a Google archive search of several blogs, and just now realized the Politico beat me to the punch (so, credit to them for the quick research). It appears a few sentences have changed in Edwards' counterterrorism strategy from early September until now. On 9/7/07, Edwards' strategy noted that the designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization was pending, and stated he would "ensure that such steps are not just more rhetoric, but actually lead to results." And now..
Here is TalkLeft's copy of the Edwards strategy on terrorism, received from the Edwards campaign on 9/7/07:
http://www.talkleft.com/...
John Edwards' Strategy To Root Out And Shut Down Terrorist Cells
Pressure Iran to stop supporting insurgents in Iraq. Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, actively supporting terrorist and insurgent activity not only in Iraq but in other areas, such as Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Our policy must aim to stamp out state-sponsored terrorism targeting Israel, our strongest ally in the region. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard will soon be deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. As president, Edwards will ensure that such steps are not just more rhetoric, but actually lead to results. He will increase both diplomatic contact with the Iranian government and diplomatic pressure on the Revolutionary Guard to shut down its support of insurgent activity in Iraq and in other areas, such as Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. He will also work with multilateral partners to forge a coalition to apply diplomatic and economic pressure to stop Iran’s involvement in insurgent and terrorist activity in Iraq.
Here's what his website says now about the same policy, with all the rest of the text exactly the same, except the sentence in bold:
http://johnedwards.com/...
John Edwards' Strategy To Root Out And Shut Down Terrorist Cells
Pressure Iran to stop supporting insurgents in Iraq. Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, actively supporting terrorist and insurgent activity not only in Iraq but in other areas, such as Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. Our policy must aim to stamp out state-sponsored terrorism targeting Israel, our strongest ally in the region. Congress recently passed a bill to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. We saw in Iraq where such steps by Congress can lead President Bush. Edwards has announced his opposition to this bill. As president, Edwards will increase both diplomatic contact with the Iranian government and diplomatic pressure on the Revolutionary Guard to shut down its support of insurgent activity in Iraq and in other areas, such as Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. He will also work with multilateral partners to forge a coalition to apply diplomatic and economic pressure to stop Iran's involvement in insurgent and terrorist activity in Iraq.
[Edit - thanks to commenter's point - taking out a reference to another blog I thought was pro-Edwards, having only read one link. Apologies.]
By the way, here's what he said today:
"In order to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization -- something we've never done before for a government-run militia -- Bush was supported by the Senate. Many in our party opposed this vote, like Senator Dodd and Senator Biden, and I applaud them for that. Unfortunately, some supported it."
I can't seem to reconcile one copy of the strategy with the other, nor with what he spoke about today. How does he explain this?