Democratic Candidates on the War on Terror, Iraq and Homeland Security

^{2008 Candidates Hope to Make it to the U.S. Capitol}

The Senate continued to huddle in Washington today over whether to follow the House of Representatives' lead and vote to oppose the troop buildup in Iraq.. Couched as the most important issue facing Americans today, there may be not only a war, but—for 2008 presidential hopefuls currently serving in the Senate--political fortunes to be won and lost in the shuffle.

Apart from really large distinctions in candidates' views on Iraq, terrorism and homeland security, it can be difficult to parse out candidates' different plans for security in the U.S. and abroad, and the general ethos each represents. John Edwards, for example, consistently looks for new technological solutions to security issues; Barack Obama has set himself apart in an interesting way by making the reduction of small conventional arms part of his platform.

Luckily, we've got almost two years to make sense of the distinct plans and projects our presidential hopefuls have in mind for protecting the U.S. from attacks. In the profiles that follow, I've gathered views and links to what four of the Democratic candidates already pledged to run have to say about the Iraq war, terrorism, the war on terror and homeland security. Republican candidate profiles (and more Democrats) on the way …

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) | Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) | John Edwards (former senator, D-NC) | Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)