Biden slams Bush's strategy on Tehran
Touts own record on foreign policy
Joseph R. Biden Jr. called President Bush's strategy to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions "mindless" and dangerous yesterday, asserting that radical elements in Pakistan and international terrorists pose graver nuclear threats to the United States.
In a 90-minute question-and-answer session with Globe editors and reporters, the Delaware senator also spoke confidently about competing for the Democratic presidential nomination despite his single-digit showing in current polls, suggested the candidacies of rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards might be fading, and warned that putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket would make the 2008 election more difficult for the Democratic Party.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a 35-year veteran of Congress who is one of his party's leaders on Iraq policy said he would benefit from voter concern about foreign policy, which he contends has never been greater. He said a military strike would only set back Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program by 18 months or two years, and would backfire by weakening US allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, radicalizing the Muslim world, and uniting the Iranian government behind their leader.
"This is a mindless, mindless approach to dealing with proliferation," he said.
Biden voted last month against a Senate resolution that declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. It passed 76 to 22, but Clinton was the only presidential candidate to vote for it. Her vote became a major campaign issue that was rekindled Thursday when the Bush administration announced stricter economic sanctions against Iran.
Biden said the resolution handed the president a justification for attacking Iran, declaring "I have zero faith" in Bush's judgment. Based on about 15 to 17 hours spent with the president, Biden said, "he is a lot brighter than most people think, but he is absolutely driven by his instincts and not by his knowledge, the knowledge base of what the hell we're dealing with."
The "saving grace" in the Bush administration, Biden said, is Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who he believes has set a "red line" against military action unless the Iranian regime attacks US forces.
Biden, in addition to touting his own foreign policy expertise, said his experience in the Senate equips him to forge consensus on major issues.
"I don't think Hillary is nearly as skilled as I am - I mean it sincerely - in getting big ideas into the mainstream of the American public," he said. "Go back and look at my record over 30 years. I'm actually one of those senators who has a record of accomplishment."
The senator said the healthcare plan he unveiled this week, which focuses on insuring children and covering catastrophic illness but stops short of mandating that every American have health insurance, is a realistic approach.
Biden said he would aggressively contend with climate change. On his first day in office, he would sign an executive order mandating that the federal government buy only vehicles that get at least 40 miles a gallon and build only "green" buildings. That would spur states to do the same, he said, and encourage the free market to develop more energy- efficient products.
As for his candidacy, Biden said that "there is a little bit of sunlight coming through the fog," and that the field was opening up so that he could emerge as the primary challenger to Clinton. "There is a sense, whether it is accurate or not, that Barack has plateaued and may be not ready," while for Edwards, "the sheen is a little off in terms of the possibility that he can make it."
Biden said the crowds at his speeches have grown from 70 people earlier this year to 300 or 400 in Iowa.
"If I come out one, two, or three," he said, "I think I win the nomination."
He said Democrats should consider whether Clinton as the nominee would hurt their chances to recapture the White House.
The question is whether the campaign will "be about the failure of the Republicans and us being able to focus on that or the issue about both the Clintons," he said. "It would be the same if Jeb Bush were the nominee to replace President Bush."
No comments:
Post a Comment