Biden: Richardson used to like my plan

[gateley]

Source: politifact.com

By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 03:02 p.m.

New Mexico's Richardson and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware may be lagging behind the Democratic frontrunners, but they recently got into an interesting tussle over their positions on Iraq.

A little background first:

Richardson has tried to break away from the Democratic front-runners by positioning himself as the most aggressive candidate on withdrawal from Iraq. One of his campaign web sites –www.getourtroopsout.com – is devoted to promoting his position for a fast withdrawal, leaving behind no residual troops. It even features a chart comparing himself to other Democrats who want a slower approach.

On October 12, 2007, Richardson released a statement attacking Biden's plan for Iraq. The centerpiece of Biden's proposal is a negotiated peace between Iraq's Sunnis, Shias and Kurds that includes a decentralized government so each group has a measure of autonomy within their regions. Richardson attacked that point along with Biden's proposal to leave about 20,000 troops behind to help manage things. Richardson's statement said in part:

"No settlement or political agreement can be reached until we get all our troops out of Iraq, with no residual forces left behind. Senator Biden's plan to leave troops in Iraq means his plan has very little chance to succeed. … Hastily devised, foreign imposed partitions have had catastrophic results in the past."

Read more: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2007/oct/17/biden-richardson-used-to-like-my-plan/

[Skink]

1. Richardson/Biden08

Nothing wrong with that.

[gateley]

2. Oooh So close! Just a little mix-up there! Plus, we need Richardson for the

SOS so Biden knows it's in good hands and can focus on the other stuff. Really, they'd make a great pair.

[Skink]

3. Cabinet appointments.

For Kucinch of course.

[gateley]

4. Absolutely! And I'd like have Gravel around to kick some butt and keep

everybody in line.

[Skink]

5. Gravel embodies partisan spirit....

He like Tip O'niel would not be afraid to compromise.

[Think82]

6. Richardson is copletely pandering to the left against which I believe to be his better judgment

One cannot have negotiations if all the different factions are at WAR with each other. In order to have a political solution, you cannot have that country descend into chaos while negotiations are happening. You need as much stability as possible or a cease-fire. Also, Biden's plan is not a "foreign imposition" as Richardson is mischaracterizing it. The iraqis call for federalism in their constitution and Biden is looking for a way to bring people to the table in order to implement it. There have also been successful federal models in The UAE, Bosnia, and Spain, which Richardson doesn't mention.

Richardson also says he can get the troops out in 6 months which no one in the military says is feasible.

I don't mean to alienate Richardson fans, I like him for the most part, but this intellectually dishonesdt political rhetoric really bothers me, especially when it comes to something as important as Iraq. It's no wonder Richardson has been losing endorserments (and voters) to Biden recently.

[PatSeg]

7. Richardson's proposal bothers me

as his knowledge on foreign affairs is better than many of the candidates. He of all people, should know that such a plan would be a disaster.

[Froward69]

8. I agree.

[murbley40]

9. kick