Edwards Derides War On Terror

In an address to the Council on Foreign Relations, Edwards calls war on terrorism a "bumper sticker:"

The war on terror is a slogan designed only for politics, not a strategy to make America safe. It's a bumper sticker, not a plan.

[. . .]

By framing this as a 'war,' we have walked straight into the trap that the terrorists have set -- that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war against Islam.
In an interview with CNN, Edwards said President George W. Bush and his administration were responsible for Osama bin Laden still being at large.

My response to Edwards' severe case of denial is threefold.

First, 9/11 was not a bumper sticker. Mr. Edwards should sit down and contemplate the planes flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the struggle on board flight 93. He should think about the horror of people deciding they had to jump to their deaths from the towers and the fear of New Yorkers running for their lives as the towers disintegrated into that burning pile of rubble.

Second, Edwards should think about what he said in October 2001, when he predicted unity with President Bush on the War on Terrorism:



Finally, Edwards ought to recall what he said upon accepting the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nomination:

None of us will ever forget where we were on September the 11th. We all share the same terrible images, the towers falling in New York, the Pentagon in flames, a smoldering field in Pennsylvania. We share a profound sadness for the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost.

And as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know that we have to do more to fight the war on terrorism and keep the American people safe. We can do that.

[. . .]

We will do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, to make sure this never happens again in our America.

[. . .]

We will always use our military might to keep the American people safe.

And we, John and I, we will have one clear unmistakable message for Al Qaida and these terrorists: You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you.

Edwards seemed to think the war on terror was more than a bumper sticker in 2004. Instead of John's two Americas we have two John Edwards. One saw a war on terror in 2004. The other sees a bumper sticker in 2007.