Edwards opposes Iraq funds
WASHINGTON -- Senator John Edwards said yesterday he would vote against President Bush's request for an extra $87 billion for US missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying Bush had failed to come up with a solid long-term plan for managing postwar Iraq.
"I believe we have a responsibility to support our troops in Iraq. I believe we have a responsibility to help rebuild Iraq. But our troops will not be safer and this mission will never be successful unless the president dramatically changes course," Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, said in a statement. Edwards became the second Democratic presidential candidate to pledge a vote against the package, which has only tepid public support.
Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, has called for a complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, while Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts said he would vote against the supplemental appropriations request in its current form.
"Unless this proposal is changed to better protect taxpayer dollars and shares the burden and risk of transforming Iraq with the United Nations and the rest of the international community, then I will oppose it," Kerry said in a statement.
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, another Democratic presidential candidate, said he would vote for the package.
The package is still widely expected to win approval in both the House and the Senate, although lawmakers are trying to attach restrictions on the spending and the contracting process.
Edwards said he hoped denying Bush the cash would force the president to win greater international help to patrol and rebuild the impoverished country, where US soldiers are dying on an almost daily basis. "This vote is actually a vote for the American troops, for a policy to keep them safe, and for a policy to bring in other troops from around the world to help," Edwards said.
Susan Milligan can be reached at milligan@globe.com. 