Kucinich blasts war during Newton stop

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Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich blasted the Bush administration on the Iraq war and cautioned that a move to invade Iran would be a disastrous mistake leading to a “nightmare” for the United States. The Ohio congressman stopped in Newton as part of a trip through the state to drum up support for his presidential bid. He appeared Thursday at Park Centre during a Jasper County Democratic Central Committee meeting. A long time critic of the war in Iraq, Kucinich attacked of fellow Democrats who say they oppose the war, but continue to vote to fund it. He sees himself as the only presidential candidate who has been against the war from the beginning, noting that the Democrat-controlled congress continues to support funding for the war despite members who voice opposition. “We are now entering the era of the Democratic version of the war in Iraq and it’s 100 percent wrong. It’s wrong for our soldiers. It’s wrong for Iraq. It’s wrong for the world. It’s wrong for America’s taxpayers. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong,” he said, pounding his hand and drawing applause from the roughly 35 people in attendance. “There is no one else who has the position I have of not only having opposed the war at the beginning, but voting against each and every appropriation for the war.” Fielding questions from the audience, Kucinich touched on other topics, such as a need for a non-profit healthcare system and the possibility of impeaching President Bush. Afterward, he provided more detail on his plan for getting the U.S. out of Iraq. The first step, he said, is to cut funding for the war and have the United States announce the plan to withdraw. “That announcement opens the door for a strategy where we go to the international community and say ‘We’re leaving. We need to work together to stabilize Iraq as we leave,’” he said. “We put together a peace keeping force, security and peace keeping force, with the help of the U.N. and the governments of the region that moves in as our troops move out.” Only after U.S. forces leave, does Kucinich see the opportunity to reconcile the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds and begin the rebuilding process in Iraq. “As long as we’re occupying, we have no hope of ever bringing about peace,” he said. “How do you end the war? You end the war.” Kucinich displayed a sense of humor during the meeting when asked to move to the other side of the room. “Now I’m in the corner, a familiar place,” he joked. “It’s where I do my best work.” Indeed, Kucinich finds himself in a bit of a corner in early polls, trailing Democratic frontrunners by significant margins. Kucinich believes his track record of opposition to the Iraq war can give him an edge with Iowans strongly opposed to the war come caucus time. “On the war, I have the credibility. I was saying this four years ago and everything I said turned out to be true.” he said, noting that Sens. Hilary Clinton and John Edwards now explain their initial support of the war as them being misled, while Sen. Barrack Obama votes to continue funding the war. “Imagine this: We go to the eve of the Iowa caucuses, and there’s only one candidate who’s saying we’ve got to take a different direction in America �” no to this war, get out now, no to war in Iran, security through diplomacy, a whole new approach. Suddenly, I’m there,” he said. “I think I’ve got a great chance of winning this election. If Iowa goes for peace, this whole election could change.”