Break Down of the Issues - Part 1

Foreign Policy

In this and a series of post following (Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7) I will attempt to detail each leading Democratic candidate's position on a number of topics. For all of the information, I am pulling directly from each candidate's website (where information is available) and links will be provided to the relevant page. Where information is not available, I will pull information from recent (within the past few months) legislative action or speeches made by the candidates.

Hillary Clinton	John Edwards	Barack Obama
Iraq
Link	Link	Link
Troop Involvement
Work with Joint Chiefs of Staff to determine troop draw down rate Start pullout within 60 days Some troops left (unclear where) to deal with Al-Qaeda	40,000 to 50,000 troops removed immediately 100% (almost, see below) withdrawn by January 2010 3,000 to 5,000 left to protect US embassy and humanitarian workers	Withdraw 1 to 2 brigades (1,500 to 7,000 troops) removed per month 100% (from Iraq, see below) by mid 2010 No permanent bases in Iraq Some special forces troops left in Middle East to target Al-Qaeda
Diplomatic Efforts
Form coalition of our allies, other global powers, and Iraq's neighbors to: Keep Iraq's neighbors from interfering with the Iraq civil war Work with the UN to mediate between the Iraqi factions Collect money to rebuild Iraq	Bring all involved nations together to stop sectarian violence Convene a regional peace conference	Press Iraqi leaders to work together by showing we aren't going to stay Work through the UN to secure agreements on Iraqi federalism and oil revenue sharing Work with Iraq's neighbors to secure the borders, reconcile Iraqi factions, and fund rebuilding
Miscellaneous
Fund unspecified agencies to stabilize and rebuild. Get money from the UN to help Iraqi refugees	"Clarify the Lack of Legal Foundation for the War" (to Congress)	Form an international group to get $2 billion to help countries in the region handle the millions of Iraqi refugees and protect them in Iraq.
Iran
No specific information on her site Most direct references on the site only deal with Iranian leaders' anti-semitic comments Recently supported a bill to declare the Iranian National Guard a terrorist organization	Link Speak directly to Iran's leaders while working with a multi-national coalition Increase threat of targeted sanctions Offer incentives to start open talks Direct talks with Russia and China to increase their pressure on Iran	Link Condemns Iran's leadership's anti-semitic stance Stop constant threats against Iran (voted against declaring IRG a terrorist organization) Begin direct talks with Iranian leadership without preconditions Offer incentives for ending the nuclear program, but increase sanctions if they don't
General Diplomacy
Link Long involved in international affairs while in White House and Senate Strongly pro-Israel	Link Strengthen non-proliferation agreements; replace with an even stronger treaty Continue working with North Korea through the six party talks Encourage Russia to work with us on a number of the current international issues Push for UN and NATO intervention in Darfur and Uganda	Link Pushes for a two state solution in Israel/Palestine (Re)Open consulates and embassies worldwide, specifically in Africa Double funding to fight global poverty Strengthen NATO Secure loose nuclear material Strengthen non-proliferation treaties through automatic sanctions