Edwards' Double Speak

Robert "Mike" Duncan, Chairman, RNC: The leading 2008 Democrat presidential candidates all seem to agree on one thing: the United States should immediately begin to withdraw from Iraq. The Democrats' eagerness to abandon the mission in Iraq - the central front of the War on Terror - is puzzling, since they all claim to be committed to rooting out terrorism wherever it exists.

In May of this year, Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards said it is "obvious" that al Qaeda is trying to establish a base in Iraq that they can use to plan future attacks.

• CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "But do you dispute that al Qaeda has a presence in the al-Anbar province, in other provinces in Iraq, that they're trying to establish a base there from which to do their evil deeds?" Edwards: "No, of course I don't dispute that. That's obvious." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 5/2/07) [Video]
• In June, he pledged to fight terrorists abroad so we would not have to fight them at home. [Video]
• Edwards: "As President of the United States I will do absolutely everything to find terrorists where they are, to stop them before they can do harm to us, before they can do harm to America or to its allies." (Former Sen. John Edwards, CNN/WMUR/Union-Leader Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Manchester, NH, 6/3/07)
• Edwards' recent remarks echoed his 2004 Vice Presidential nomination speech, where he said that he and John Kerry would send an "unmistakable message" to terrorists. [Video]
• Edwards: "[W]e will have one clear unmistakable message for al Qaeda and these terrorists: You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you." (Former Sen. John Edwards, Remarks At The 2004 Democratic National Convention, Boston, MA, 7/28/04)

Barack Obama has also voiced concerns of a terrorist threat. [Video] Obama: "We have genuine enemies out there that have to be hunted down. Networks have to be dismantled." (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Candidates' Debate, Orangeburg, SC, 4/26/07)

Even Hillary Clinton agreed that those who have attacked us must be destroyed . [Video] Clinton: "[L]et's focus on those who have attacked us and do everything we can to destroy them." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Candidates' Debate, Orangeburg, SC, 4/26/07)

If Democrats acknowledge that al Qaeda is in Iraq, and say that we should destroy terrorists wherever they are, why are they willing to risk Iraq becoming a safe haven for our enemies? Keeping our nation safe requires more than words. It requires principled leadership and a commitment to fighting terror that these candidates simply do not demonstrate.

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