Edwards Opposes Bush's Request for $87 Billion
WASHINGTON — Deepening the Democratic split over Iraq, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina on Tuesday became the party's first major presidential contender to flatly oppose President Bush's request for $87 billion that would be spent mainly in that country.
Another candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, toughened his stance on the request, saying he would oppose the bill unless changes are made. And a third Democratic contender, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, said he would back the measure.
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri is expected to support the request, which would mean that the four Democratic presidential contenders serving in Congress who backed the war with Iraq would be divided in half on the funding bill.
The votes by the White House hopefuls on the measure loom as one of the campaign's most important tests of how far they are willing to go in making Bush's Iraq policy central to their challenge to his reelection.
In a conference call with reporters, Edwards said the administration's postwar policies in Iraq had failed and that he would oppose the aid request to pressure Bush to change course.
"It is clear to me that President Bush is not going to change direction unless someone stands up to him and says no," said Edwards, who voted for last fall's resolution authorizing the war in Iraq.
Edwards said he did not want the United States to withdraw from Iraq. But he said he believed that a vote denying Bush his funding request would compel the administration to develop a new reconstruction plan that provided a larger role for the United Nations and ensure that the rebuilding "will not be exploited as a means to give sweetheart deals to [the president's] friends."
Administration officials have consistently disputed persistent Democratic charges that links to the White House have influenced the awarding of contracts for work in Iraq.
Edwards made his announcement just hours after Lieberman, campaigning in Oklahoma, said he would support Bush's funding request.
"We have 135,000 troops over there," Lieberman said. "We have to give them every dollar in support and get them home in peace."
Lieberman also voted for last year's war resolution -- as did Kerry and Gephardt.
Kerry, in a statement released Tuesday after the comments by Edwards and Lieberman, strongly suggested that he would oppose the funding request.
