Edwards Outlines New Strategy For Iran Based On Lessons Learned From Iraq

Issue Position

Edwards Outlines New Strategy For Iran Based On Lessons Learned From Iraq

Today, Senator John Edwards outlined his strategy to contain Iran during a major foreign policy speech in Iowa City, Iowa. Based on the lessons learned from Iraq, Edwards offered a comprehensive plan to deal with the threat of Iran, beginning with the repudiation and replacement of President Bush's "preventive war" doctrine.

"The war in Iraq isn't even history yet, but the Bush Administration is repeating the march to war with Iran - and they're getting help from people who should know a lot better," said Edwards. "George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the neocon warmongers used 9/11 to start a war with Iraq and now they're trying to use Iraq to start a war with Iran. And we have to stop them.

"As a nation, we stand today at a fork in the road with Iran. We have a real choice about the direction we'll take. One path will replay the last seven years. It leads toward a dark future of belligerence, aggression, and war. We need a new direction—one that will defuse the Iran threat, rather than aggravate it, one that will make America safer, not make the world more dangerous.

"There is a difference between doing everything in our power to keep America safe and a reckless, belligerent policy that actually makes us less safe. The preventive war doctrine was a stunning departure from the policy that had kept America safe during both world wars and during the Cold War. It is wrong on the merits, wrong on the morals, and wrong for America."

Edwards outlined his comprehensive five-point strategy to contain Iran and force the country to give up its nuclear ambitions and its support of terrorism and insurgent activity:

* First and foremost, end the preventive war doctrine.
* Second, use tougher and more targeted economic sanctions to force Iran's leaders to understand that they cannot continue to buck the will of the international community without destroying their ability to be a modern, advanced nation.
* Third, use incentives to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and re-join the world community.
* Fourth, reengage with Iran using a new multi-level diplomatic approach.
* Fifth, reengage with other major nations like Russia and China on the challenges facing Iran.

Today, Edwards is also focusing on the bravery and conviction of the men and women in our armed services as part of "American Heroes Week." During the week, which lasts from Thursday, November 1st through Wednesday, November 7th, Edwards is highlighting his commitment to fighting for the real heroes of America - the men and women whose hard work makes our country great, but who have no voice in Washington. As president, Edwards will stand up for true American heroes, like Emmett Vanveen, from Ottumwa, Iowa, and his son, a soldier currently serving in Iraq. Edwards believes we need to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home to the heroes' welcome they deserve.

For more information on Edwards' strategy to contain Iran, please see the policy below.
Learning the Lesson of Iraq:
A New Strategy for Iran

"Just as George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the neocons used 9/11 to get into Iraq five years ago, they're trying to use Iraq today to get into Iran. And we have to stop them. We owe our American heroes—the men and women in our armed services who are fighting so bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan today—no less. . . . This is a critical moment. As a nation, we stand today at a fork in the road with Iran. We have a real choice about the direction we'll take. One path will replay the last seven years. It leads toward a dark future of belligerence, aggression, and war. We need a new direction—one that will defuse the Iran threat, rather than aggravate it, and that will make America safer, not make the world more dangerous." - Senator John Edwards

There's no doubt that Iran is an extremely dangerous country. Iran supports terrorist and insurgent activity, threatens Israel, rejects U.N. Security Council resolutions, and appears to be trying to produce fuel for a nuclear bomb. We should take Iran very seriously. As commander-in-chief, if John Edwards ever learned that any nation, including Iran, is threatening an imminent attack, he will do what's necessary to protect America. But there is one thing Edwards believes must not be done—and that is to make America less safe by launching another so-called "preventive war," when the U.S. and the community of nations possess a strong arsenal of diplomatic and economic options that have not yet been used.

George Bush's "preventive war" doctrine was crafted by a radical group of neoconservative Bush administration aides. The doctrine holds that America should shoot first and only ask questions later. It rejects the historic grounding principle of America's national security policy, which is that military force should always be an option of last resort. This radical doctrine was a stunning departure from the policy that kept America safe during both World Wars and during the Cold War. The doctrine led directly to the disastrous war in Iraq and is driving the Bush-Cheney approach today to Iran, including Senator Joe Lieberman's resolution declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

As president, Edwards will get rid of the dangerous "preventive war" doctrine and instead rely on proven national security strategies including overwhelming deterrent strength and retaining every option to address imminent attacks. Unlike Senator Hillary Clinton, Edwards strongly opposed the Lieberman resolution, which will ratchet up tensions and provide Bush and Cheney with the excuse they need to attack Iran. Edwards instead believes that a new multilateral strategy of tough new sanctions and new incentives will defuse Iran and force President Ahmadinejad, the Ayatollah Khameini, and the mullahs to realize their nuclear ambitions and support of terrorism will only put the Iranian nation on a fast track to isolation. Senator Edwards' plan for Iran has five principles:
#1: End the "preventive war" doctrine

We need to ensure that the preventive war doctrine goes where it belongs—the trash-heap of history. As commander-in-chief, John Edwards will reinstitute a national security policy based on building overwhelming deterrent strength and always retaining and planning for the option of using military force whenever we have actionable intelligence of an imminent attack that cannot be deterred through other means—in short, the use of force as a last resort. As president, Edwards will ask his National Security Advisor to remove President Bush's explicit endorsement of "preventive war" from his National Security Strategies. And he will ask his Joint Chiefs of Staff to form military plans in accordance with the national security strategies that we know can keep us and our allies safe—not discredited and dangerous ideological fancies. This strategy will retain every option for keeping America and our allies safe, while showing the world we are once again a strong country that can always win war, but that prefers peace over war.
#2: Use bolder and more targeted economic sanctions

Edwards believes we must use diplomatic "sticks" to force Iran's leaders to understand that they cannot continue to buck the will of the international community without destroying their ability to be the modern, advanced nation they so desperately want to become. First, we must fully enforce the Iran Sanctions Act, a law Congress passed to let the president punish companies that do business with Iran's extremist regime. Second, we must work multilaterally—most importantly, with our Western European allies—to strengthen economic sanctions on Iran. Third, we must completely shut down all Iranian access to the American financial system.
#3: Use incentives

Edwards believes we should also use "carrots"—diplomatic measures to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and support of terrorism. Iran, which right now cannot even process its own oil and imports the majority of its fuel, needs greater energy resources. We should draw Iran into compliance through incentives including increased refinery capacity. We should also lead a multilateral effort to create a regional fuel bank that Iran could use for peaceful purposes. Finally, we should use the possibility of bringing Iran into multilateral economic organizations, including the WTO, to draw Iran's elites into pressuring the regime to change course and abandon its nuclear ambitions.
#4: Reengage with Iran

We should chart a new course for diplomatic relations with Iran by expanding low-level talks between government officials on both sides in a neutral country. The goal of these talks should be to find a path out of the log-jam created by the Bush administration and, ultimately, to achieve full diplomatic relations. But Edwards believes we must always negotiate from a position of strength. Any higher-level meeting should only happen if we verify that the meetings will promote America's national security interests and will not be used for propaganda or other improper purposes.
#5: Reengage with other major nations on the challenge of Iran

We must work with China and Russia on the problem of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Both nations have economic relationships with Iran on trade and energy. But both nations also have a strong interest in stability in the Middle East. And neither nation wants the nuclear club to expand. In place of the wayward and ad hoc diplomacy of the Bush Administration, we need more effective and strategic reengagement with both China and Russia. We need to make Iran a top-level priority in our bilateral relationships with both countries. We must work with both Russia and China on how they can achieve their economic goals through alternatives that will not assist Iran's military nuclear capability. In the first year of his administration, Edwards will convene a conference with his Secretary of State and representatives from the "E.U. 3"—Great Britain, France, and Germany—Russia, China—and Iran. At this conference, we should discuss a way out of the stalemate caused by the Bush administration.

Source