Edwards says president should seek UN assistance

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(Host) Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is urging President Bush to seek the support of the United Nations to secure a lasting peace in Iraq. Edwards, a first term senator from North Carolina, made his comments in an interview with a group of reporters from Vermont and New Hampshire.

At a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, the president said he’s accepting responsibility for a controversial portion of his State of the Union address that suggested Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear material in Africa.

Edwards, who voted for the Iraq war resolution, says the time has come for the administration to reach out to its allies to build a strong peace keeping coalition:

(Edwards) “I’m glad the president finally took responsibility for what he said, but the bigger issue is – will he take the steps necessary to secure the peace in Iraq? And that means involving NATO and providing security involving our friends and allies, United Nations in both humanitarian efforts and establishment of the transitional government. And he’s until now stubbornly refused to do that, which compounded the problem that he didn’t have a plan – a clear plan. So I think that’s the long term question for this president.”

(Host) Edwards says it’s clear that the war in Iraq is not over and he criticized the president for declaring a “premature victory” to this conflict last month.

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