Bipartisan Resolution on Iraq - Biden

Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, will join Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to introduce a bipartisan resolution against the escalation plans for Iraq.

Biden issued a statement saying that "The resolution we are introducing today is responsible, forward-looking, bipartisan and constructive" and "It is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating U.S. troop presence in Iraq."

This resolution should send a strong message to President Bush and the GOP that this issue wont be going away any time soon. And given that Biden is running for President, his role and experience on the Foreign Relations Committee will not harm his chances in attempting to secure the nomination.

Joe Biden will also be appearing on Fox tomorrow (Sunday) with Levin to discuss what the Democrats will be doing in Congress. Former Speaker of the House, and possible GOP candidate for the Presidential Nomination, Newt Gingrich will also give his perspective on the escalation plans. The State of the Union speech by President Bush next Tuesday is also sure to be discussed.

In other news The Congressional Quarterly has written an extensive piece on Biden's foreign policy credentials, saying he has considerable expertise. He also has an in depth understanding of the situation on the ground in Iraq, and "...he can speak knowledgeably about the allegiances of different Iraqi tribes, the shifting demographics in the northern city of Kirkuk, and the finer points of the Iraq constitution."

While Iraq is at a crucial juncture, CQ suggests that "Biden is also the only Democratic presidential aspirant with a detailed exit strategy for Iraq at a time when the country is desperately seeking a way out of the war."