WASHINGTON - US presidential hopeful John Edwards, who lags behind Democratic rivals Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, managed to grab the nation's attention thanks to a misquote about Israel.
On February 19, an article in Variety.com
quoted Edwards as saying, at a campaign event, that "perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities."
According to Variety.com, the comment resulted in a "chill" on the room and the end of the event. The statement was also reattributed to Edwards by Wolf Blitzer, a few days later during his show, CNN's the Situation Room.
Thanks to the quote, Edwards was used by the Republican Jewish Committee (RJC) to illustrate the excess liberalism among the Democratic presidential candidates.
According to the Associated Press, Edwards denies the statement. His spokesman, Jonathan Prince called the Variety.com story "erroneous" and was quick to correct it.
"Senator Edwards did not say nor does he believe that the greatest short-term threat to world peace is the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Senator Edwards said, as he has in the past, that Iran
acquiring a nuclear weapon is one of the greatest short-term threats to world peace," Prince explained.
Edwards is considered the most photogenic Democratic candidate, but by far the least experienced in foreign affairs. Last month, Edwards appeared at the Herzliya Conference by video and stated clearly: it's unacceptable to allow Iran to get hold of nuclear weapons.
At the conference, Edwards said it had been a mistake to allow the Europeans to handle the Iranian issue, and emphasized that it's important, in such a scenario "to keep all the options on the table."
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