September 8, 2008

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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