Edwards was 'wrong'

The Washington Post published an essay by former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards on Sunday. The essay began, “I was wrong.” Edwards wrote that he—and other public officials—was misled by the Bush administration's presentation of what he called manipulated military intelligence on Iraq's WMD capabilities. He also wrote that America is lacking is true moral leadership under Bush. He went on to describe what such a moral leadership would look like. He wrote:

“First, we need to remove the image of an imperialist America from the landscape of Iraq. American contractors who have taken unfair advantage of the turmoil in Iraq need to leave Iraq. If that means Halliburton subsidiary KBR, then KBR should go. Such departures, and the return of the work to Iraqi businesses, would be a real statement about our hopes for the new nation.

We also need to show Iraq and the world that we will not stay there forever. We've reached the point where the large number of our troops in Iraq hurts, not helps, our goals. Therefore, early next year, after the Iraqi elections, when a new government has been created, we should begin redeployment of a significant number of troops out of Iraq. This should be the beginning of a gradual process to reduce our presence and change the shape of our military's deployment in Iraq. Most of these troops should come from National Guard or Reserve forces.

That will still leave us with enough military capability, combined with better-trained Iraqis, to fight terrorists and continue to help the Iraqis develop a stable country.

Second, this redeployment should work in concert with a more effective training program for Iraqi forces. We should implement a clear plan for training and hard deadlines for certain benchmarks to be met. To increase incentives, we should implement a schedule showing that, as we certify Iraqi troops as trained and equipped, a proportional number of U.S. troops will be withdrawn.

Third, we must launch a serious diplomatic process that brings the world into this effort. We should bring Iraq's neighbors and our key European allies into a diplomatic process to get Iraq on its feet. The president needs to create a unified international front.”

This essay would suggest that Edwards is still eying the White House. Many pundits have speculated about Edwards plans for the future now the he is no longer holding a public office. He is currently director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity. The Center's goals are to restore working American's chances at achieving the 'promise of America.' Other indidcations of his intentions to run can be found in his 2004 concession speech in which he said, “You can be disappointed, but you cannot walk away. This fight has just begun.”
Edwards could find himself to be at a considerable disadvantage in the 2008 election because he is the only potential candidate to date that is not currently holding an elected office—though Mark Warner will be joining him in that category soon. However, his willingness to admit he was wrong could strike a good chord with the growing number of Americans who are beginning the question the Bush administration's intentions in Iraq.