Edwards criticizes Clinton on Iran vote

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By Quad-City Times Des Moines Bureau | Friday, October 26, 2007 12:27 AM CDT | () comments

Democrat John Edwards had harsh words Thursday for rival Hillary Clinton after the Bush administration announced it would impose sanctions on Iran.

Edwards has criticized Clinton for voting to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Edwards believes the Bush administration has been making plans to attack Iran for months.

“I learned a clear lesson from the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2002: if you give this president an inch, he will take a mile — and launch a war,” Edwards said in a statement. “Sen. Clinton apparently learned a different lesson. Instead of blocking George Bush’s new march to war, Sen. Clinton and others are enabling him once again.”

Edwards has called for diplomatic measures to deal with Iran.

Clinton, in a statement, said the country should use all the tools at its disposal to deal with the challenge presented by Iran, including diplomacy, economic pressure and sanctions.

“We must work to check Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its support of terrorism, and the sanctions announced today strengthen America’s diplomatic hand in that regard,” Clinton said. “The Bush administration should use this opportunity to finally engage in robust diplomacy to achieve our objective of ending Iran’s nuclear weapons program, while also averting military action. That is the policy I support.”