John Edwards has a lot to say on the issues this presidential primary season. Thus I’m on Part III of my The Issues According to a Candidate’s Website and I’ll probably need more. If you would like to catch up, you can read Part I and Part II.

In Part III, I’m going to look at his second (of three) categories of issues: “Restoring America’s Leadership Role In The World”.

Iraq: Edwards plan is to end the occupation of Iraq within a year. He wants to start with an immediate withdraw of 40,000-50,000 US troops. General chaos would ensue. The country would be splintered by a three-way civil war between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. The war would be prolonged by interference from Iran. And if you think for a second that Turkey will simply stand by as Kurdistan is set up on their southern boarder, think again. We would then be in the uncomfortable position of having a NATO ally at war with our best allies in Iraq. Good times. To be fair, Edwards does talk about engaging the nations of the region to stabilize Iraq.

I’m not sold on the idea that things will be better off without US troops there than with. It may be the case. We, as a nation, have to decide between bad, worse, and worst scenarios, without knowing which is which. Edwards is probably right that it is best for our country to withdraw, but we destroyed Iraq’s stability. We cannot ignore our moral responsibility to repair it to some degree.

Iran: Who’s everyone’s favorite vigilante-cum-president? Why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, of course. Edwards, like most rational people, does not want a nuclear Iran. His tools would include sanctions, isolation, engagement, and incentives. He also wants to utilize moderates in Iran who are unhappy with their government to marginalize extremists. He also wants to leverage the interests of other Security Counsel member states Russia and China, who have more sway over Iran. If Bush has proved anything, it’s that go-it-alone tactics is an ineffective means of diplomacy. I’m glad Edwards has learned that lesson.

Global Poverty: Edwards starts this section by linking poverty with terrorism, “Global poverty increases the risk to America by providing a safe harbor for instability, extremism, and terrorism.” His first method of combating poverty is education. He wants $3 billion a year to be put towards universal basic education. Another $7 billion provide education to every child currently without it. His next method is to invest in preventative medicine and clean water.

He would then focus on expanding economic and political opportunity via investing in micro enterprise (micro-lending, micro-insurance, etc), supporting the National Endowment for Democracy, and promoting labor rights. Lastly, he’d create a Global Poverty Cabinet position. The person appointed to this post would be to simplify, modernize, and coordinate aid programs.

Military: Edwards uses this issue largely as a warranted attack on the military-focused (one may even say obsessed) Bush administration. Thus he lists multiple tools other than military strength the US has at its disposal to achieve its global goals. These include strengthening alliances, improved intelligence gathering (while respecting the rule of law), and solving global poverty (remember the poverty-terrorism link in the last section?).

As for the military itself, Edwards wants it to prepare for three primary missions: deterring/responding to ‘those who wish to do us harm’, ensuring that failing states pose no emerging threat, and maintaining our strategic advantage over competing states. Refreshingly, I didn’t see ‘arbitrary, preemptive invasions’ in that list of missions. Indeed, Edwards goes on to clearly state that the military is never to be used to promote some “ideological fancy”. Lastly, He vows to review fraud and waste in the Pentagon. He believes this will create a more efficient institution.

Homeland Security: The main focus of Edwards’s Domestic Defense plan is on first responders. Basically, he wants to increase the number of first responders and give them better access to information and equipment. He also uses this issue to take a jab and Bush’s abhorrent ineffectiveness in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Next, he mentions increased monitoring of our boarders, seaports, and airports. He also identifies three categories of vulnerable targets: chemical plants, skyscrapers and arenas, and (awkwardly) the internet. He also wants to improve the terrorist alert system so that it is less confusing and so that it can be delivered via your cell phone. You can now have your needless fear and anxiety delivered directly to you!

Lastly, he mentions protecting our freedoms while pursuing homeland security. He would “prohibit surveillance of Americans’ phone calls and emails without a warrant, close down Guantanamo Bay, restore habeas corpus, and say no to torture.” It’s sad that such a statement even needs to be made in the formally freest nation on earth.

Terrorism: Oh my God, terrorists are going to come and kill us all! What are we to do? Not to fear, Edwards is here! After all, what is a 21st century presidential candidate without an anti-terrorism plan? Refreshingly, at least he recognizes that not all terrorists are brown. He talks about extremism, including home-grown extremism as the root-cause of terrorism. Oh, wait. I’m sorry. He is referring to domestic Muslim groups only. The all-white Timothy McVeighs of America can breathe a sigh of relief.

The first step he mentions is to form the anti-terrorist equivalent of NATO, the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization, or CITO. Think of it as the Justice League but instead of superheroes, it will be run by pandering politicians. The main tool that CITO would use is information sharing among member nations as well as some personnel and finance sharing. Also on the Edwards plan is improving human intelligence (greatly needed), bolstering support for foreign counterterrorism, preventing the spread of WMD materials, achieving energy independence.

He goes on to list specific plans for several terrorist hot spots such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, and Europe. (One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn’t belong…) You can visit his website if you are interested in these details.

Well, we’ve done it. We’ve made it half way through the issues listed on John Edwards’s website. It looks like Parts IV, V, and VI are in my future! If you’ve read this far, you deserve a cookie: (:.) It’s chocolate chip!