WASHINGTON — The 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, who have been nearly unified in support of universal healthcare, abortion rights and alternative energy, have begun an increasingly harsh debate over an issue that will probably define the early part of the campaign: when to remove troops from Iraq.
Until recently, most Democratic presidential candidates, like the party generally, found success by bashing President Bush's Iraq strategy without offering comprehensive alternatives.
But this week, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), in a departure from his own past statements, introduced legislation that would begin a phased redeployment of troops by April and require that all combat troops leave Iraq by March 2008.
Obama's announcement set him at odds with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who has declined to specify a date for the removal of all troops from Iraq. Last week, Clinton proposed placing a cap on the number of U.S. troops and threatening Iraq's government with a withdrawal of support.
Clinton's approach, in turn, drew a caustic attack this week from Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) -- a noteworthy development in a campaign that had been marked by collegiality. Biden said Clinton's proposed strategy for Iraq would "produce nothing but disaster."
Also coming in for Biden's scorn was former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who six months ago offered a plan for withdrawal and became the favorite of many antiwar activists. Edwards called for an immediate reduction of 40,000 troops, with all forces to leave the country -- though not the region -- within 18 months.
"John Edwards wants you and all the Democrats to think, 'I want us out of there,' but when you come back and you say, 'OK, John, what about the chaos that will ensue? Do we have any interest, John, left in the region?,' well, John will have to answer yes or no," Biden said in an interview with the New York Observer. He added: "So all this stuff is like so much Fluffernutter out there."
The jockeying and jostling over Iraq in the primary campaign were displayed anew Friday as six candidates addressed an energized crowd at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in Washington. The candidates drew loud applause when they condemned the Bush administration's Iraq policy.
But Clinton was interrupted by seven antiwar protesters as she spoke. She has neither repudiated her vote in favor of the war in 2002 nor backed proposals to cut off funding for the war.
