["Look Out!" file] Edwards plans visit to NATO leaders, European itinerary includes talks on Iraq

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By JOHN WAGNER, Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON -- In a bid to bolster his foreign-policy credentials and highlight differences with President Bush, U.S. Sen. John Edwards plans to travel to Europe during the first week of December to meet with NATO officials and other allies about Iraq.

The trip comes on the heels of a foreign-policy address last month in which the North Carolina Democrat, who is eyeing a 2004 White House bid, sharply criticized Bush for not working closely enough with U.S. allies on a number of issues.

Aides said Edwards' itinerary will include daylong stops in Brussels, home to NATO headquarters, and London, the capital of the United States' most loyal ally on Iraq. The list of officials with whom Edwards will meet was not available Tuesday. In addition to Iraq, Edwards is also interested in discussing the addition of new members to NATO this month, aides said.

Edwards was among the Senate Democrats who recently backed a resolution authorizing Bush to use force against Iraq. But in last month's speech, Edwards was critical of the president for waiting too long to engage U.S. allies on the issue. More generally, he said the administration too often seemed "determined to act alone for the sake of acting alone" on foreign policy.

Meanwhile, Edwards on Tuesday delivered the second in a series of fall policy speeches, this one on the economy. In remarks delivered to business leaders attending a conference, Edwards repeated his call to roll back the upper tier of the Bush tax cut and accused the administration of "the fastest squandering of tax dollars in Washington's storied history of squandering."

Edwards also proposed a series of tax breaks for the middle class, including a $500 per family energy credit designed to help with heating bills this winter.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Lindsay Taylor dismissed Edwards' speech as "empty criticism."

"President Bush put forward a fiscally responsible budget that set priorities including education, homeland and economic security, and while the Republican House passed it, John Edwards' Senate blocked it," she said.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2002


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