Edwards Condemns Bush and Clinton on Iraq, Blackwater

The campaign of presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards condemned the Bush administration on Tuesday for granting immunity to employees of the Blackwater security firm operating in Iraq. On the same day, Edwards' campaign criticized Senator Hillary Clinton for not supporting an early withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and possibly approving of war with Iran.

According to a press release issued by the John Edwards For President campaign on Tuesday, Edwards released a statement regarding immunity granted to employees of the Blackwater private security firm by the Bush administration. The statement referred to the granting of immunity as "extremely disturbing" and spoke of a "corrupt nexus" among private security firms and politicians who support them. It also pointed out that the immunity agreements could make it impossible for investigators to gain the truth regarding Blackwater's involvement in the deaths of seventeen Iraqi civilians, and called upon Congress to investigate as to who is responsible for granting the immunity agreements. Finally, the statement requested that the Justice Department increase efforts to "investigate and prosecute" those responsible for such attacks taking place in Iraq.

Another press release issued by his campaign on Tuesday indicated that Edwards' communications director released a statement regarding Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's reasoning for continuing to station U.S. troops in Iraq. It referred to Clinton's argument for remaining in Iraq as being the same as President Bush's reasoning, including the fight against international terrorist organization Al-Queda and the training of Iraqi troops. The statement pointed out that the U.S. combats terrorism in many nations without occupying them. It went on to state that John Edwards has offered a specific plan for ending the war, while Hillary Clinton has not, and she will not accept a withdrawal time-line. It also accused Clinton of supporting war with Iran through her recent Senate vote (apparently referring to the Kyl-Lieberman amendment). The statement finished by emphasizing the different between Edwards and Clinton, saying that he would end the war by 2009.

According to the wikipedia.org entry on Blackwater USA, it was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in North Carolina. It works or has worked in a number of countries and regions, including the U.S. gulf coast, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, and Azerbaijan. Some employees of the company have been accused of weapons smuggling, negligence, corruption, and reckless behavior. It is in the process of changing its name to "Blackwater Worldwide."

Sources:

1. John Edwards For President, http://johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20071030-blackwater-immunity/
2. John Edwards For President, http://johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20071030-debate-question-iraq/
3. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA