Last night, right after Bush asked for another 20,000 lives to risk in Iraq, John Edwards took to the air to stop him. Edwards has been among the most intense Democratic opponents of Bush's attempts to escalate the war - click the picture to sign his
petition against escalating the war.
I've transcribed some of his appearance on the Tonight Show last night. Here it is:
Leno: Bush has called for this surge of 20,000 more troops. What do you think of this?
Edwards: I think he's dead wrong. Dead wrong.
Edwards: I think the last thing we need is to escalate this war. I think this is something Senator Mccain has been pushing for some time. He's been advocating this approach, and the problem is, the underlying issue in Iraq is not a military issue. The issue is, the Shia will not let the Sunnis have a serious role or representation in the government, and therefore we have this violence, and this fighting that's been going on really, for centuries. We've been there for a few years, but this has been going on for centuries.
I'm always happy to see a Democrat talking about the Shia-Sunni division in Iraq. That's the real problem in the country, and it cuts through the Bush administration's BS about how it's us against the terrorists. No foreign military will ever be able to force the Sunni and Shia to live together in peace -- the necessary political consensus has to come from the Iraqis themselves. When people see that we're not in some head-to-head battle that 20,000 extra troops will win, but rather a mission that requires an internal agreement between Iraqis as a precondition of success, it's much easier for them to understand why escalating the war makes no sense at all. This has been a big part of Edwards' message, and he was hammering it in New Orleans.
Here's more of Edwards on the Tonight Show:
Leno: But I mean, you've got troops essentially pinned down over there. Saying, look, we don't have enough men, or armed forces to support this. We need some help. I mean, it's... suddenly it's the Alamo. Do you send more troops in, I mean...
Edwards: There are multiple problems. First of all, where do the troops come from? Second, there are a lot of people who believe, including military commanders who have served in Iraq, that sending more troops sends exactly the wrong signal, about the Iraqis taking more responsibility for themselves. And then a third problem is, the military itself believes that it would take about 100,000 troops -- just in Baghdad -- to be able to squelch the violence and get security on the ground. So basically what we're doing is, we're sending 20,000, a fifth of what's probably needed, when ultimately, the only way this can work -- or have any chance of working, that's the more honest way to say it -- is for us to make sure that the Iraqis take responsibility for themselves.
Leno: Now you initially supported the resolution to go to war, right?
Edwards: I did. I did.
Leno: Mistake?
Edwards: I was completely wrong. I should not have voted for this war, and I take responsibility for that. That's not somebody else's responsibility. I'm not saying it tonight for the first time, I've said it many times in the past.
Having made his mistake in 2002, Edwards is doing everything he can to undo it, and to keep Bush from expanding it. He's been pretty good about pressing the point in a way that shifts the "escalation" / "surge" framing in our favor:
Edwards: I am not for providing additional funds for escalating this war.
If you haven't yet, sign the anti-escalation petition.
