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To read the entire article go to www.bostonglobe.com
Biden slams Bush's strategy on Tehran
Touts own record on foreign policy
By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff | October 27, 2007
Joseph R. Biden Jr. called President Bush's strategy to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions "mindless" and dangerous yesterday, asserting that radical elements in Pakistan and international terrorists pose graver nuclear threats to the United States.
The Delaware senator also spoke confidently about competing for the Democratic presidential nomination despite his single-digit showing in current polls, suggested the candidacies of rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards might be fading, and warned that putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket would make the 2008 election more difficult for the Democratic Party.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a 35-year veteran of Congress who is one of his party's leaders on Iraq policy said he would benefit from voter concern about foreign policy, which he contends has never been greater. He said a military strike would only set back Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program by 18 months or two years, and would backfire by weakening US allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, radicalizing the Muslim world, and uniting the Iranian government behind their leader.
"This is a mindless, mindless approach to dealing with proliferation," he said.
Biden voted last month against a Senate resolution that declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. It passed 76 to 22, but Clinton was the only presidential candidate to vote for it. Her vote became a major campaign issue that was rekindled Thursday when the Bush administration announced stricter economic sanctions against Iran.
Biden said the resolution handed the president a justification for attacking Iran, declaring "I have zero faith" in Bush's judgment. Based on about 15 to 17 hours spent with the president, Biden said, "he is a lot brighter than most people think, but he is absolutely driven by his instincts and not by his knowledge, the knowledge base of what the hell we're dealing with."
The "saving grace" in the Bush administration, Biden said, is Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who he believes has set a "red line" against military action unless the Iranian regime attacks US forces.
Biden, in addition to touting his own foreign policy expertise, said his experience in the Senate equips him to forge consensus on major issues.
"I don't think Hillary is nearly as skilled as I am - I mean it sincerely - in getting big ideas into the mainstream of the American public," he said. "Go back and look at my record over 30 years. I'm actually one of those senators who has a record of accomplishment."
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