Biden Addresses (and Readdresses) Partition in Iraq

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I wrote before Joe Biden was picked for VP that his endgame for Iraq appeared fundamentally at odds with Obama’s. That has changed: Biden has softened his support for a plan to partition Iraq into three sect-based regions and has embraced Obama’s plan to withdraw combat troops in 16 months. A Biden insider told Politico, “There’s no daylight between these guys on Iraq now. None.”

But things are not so simple in Joe Biden’s brain. Asked to comment on the one-time disagreement, Biden spoke for 13 minutes and 20 seconds. ABC News has the full response. It’s really something to behold, and touches on almost every aspect of the war in Iraq. The overarching point that Biden makes is, “Withdrawal by itself doesn’t work. Partition by itself doesn’t work. Staying the course by itself doesn’t work. The situation is complex. I understand the complexity.”

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

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