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Biden: Rivals' war plans lack long-term solutions
By JASON CLAYWORTH • register staff writer • November 24, 2007
Waukee, Ia. -- Plans by top-tier Democratic presidential candidates to end the war are flawed and likely would create more violence, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden told a crowd at a house party here Friday night.
"You may not agree with my plan, but nobody else in either political party has any notion of how to end the war - Hillary, John, all my friends," Biden said.
"They all will give you a tactical thing they would do," but "ask them a two-worded question: 'Then what?' "
Biden spoke Friday night about national security, but not in the vacuum of Iraq.
The issue of security spans across political and social realms that include issues such as the stabilizing the economy, reforming health care and improving education, he said.
Many of those issues can be dealt with and paid for by ending the war in Iraq, Biden said.
That, he said, is where his Democratic peers falter. Their plans to end the war, unlike his, do not adequately address how to deal with Iraq after American troops return home.
Biden's five-point plan essentially gives feuding groups in Iraq power to govern themselves while leaving the central government in charge of common interests such as border security and distribution of oil revenues.
Biden, who has worked as a U.S. senator for 35 years, continues to garner only single-digit support from likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers, most polls show.
He said he is counting on his solid plans to win caucusgoers' support and predicted that voters will unite in his favor.
"They are just waiting for someone, I believe, who can appeal to our better angels," he said.
The top three Democratic presidential candidates in many polls - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - have all said their plans will not ignore Iraq after American troops return home.
Clinton, for example, has said she would direct aid to the hands of the Iraqi people to help stabilize the country and would support the appointment of a United Nations representative to broker peace.
Friday was the sixth day of an 11-day Iowa campaign tour for Biden.
Roughly 175 people crammed into the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway on the first floor of Randy and Lori Mordini's home.
Lori Mordini urged the people in her home to look beyond the media hype of some candidates and to look into substantive plans such as Biden's.
"We, here in Iowa, have a supreme privilege, and the media likes to not pay attention to certain people.
"As Iowans, we decide. Not the media. Not the pundits," she said.
Reporter Jason Clayworth can be reached at (515) 699-7058 or jclayworth@dmreg.com
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4americans wrote:
without a doubt biden is the smartest of the democrats ...he won my respect in the debate while i felt hillary,obama, and edwards looked like idiots. although i can't favor reform(the latino/hispanic) supremist favoritism vote : the democrat vote
11/24/2007 7:23 AM CST on Des Moines Register
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Blegilbert wrote:
So all three "top" Democrats have plans for Iraq after they pull troops out, but after briefly outlining Joe Biden's plan (an article specifically about him), the only other person mentioned (for example) is Hillary, who of all the candidates has no real plan or deadline for pulling the troops out. Poor example.
A brief note on the rest of the world's progress in dealing with Iraq; Australia just voted in a Labor Party Leader after years of the same old government. A leader whose first act is to sign the environment world treaty (Kyoto) and get the combat troops out of Iraq now. See, it can be done. Old ineffective government out, new progressive thinking government in.
11/24/2007 7:23 AM CST on Des Moines Register
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