Barack: I was first on Iraq!

The junior senator from Illinois takes the opportunity do a little delineating between himself and the competition. Obama sent out a little e-reminder that he NEVER wanted war in Iraq....unlike a certain other potential presidential candidate- who also happens to be a former first lady.

From: barackobama.com

"As the New Year approaches, we are told that the President is considering the deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq in the desperate hope of subduing the burgeoning civil war there.

This is a chilling prospect that threatens to compound the tragic mistakes he has already made over the last four years."

"In 2002, I strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq (Unlike unsaid senator who voted to send troops into Iraq) because I felt it was an ill-conceived venture which I warned would "require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undermined cost, with undetermined consequences." I said then that an invasion without strong international support could drain our military, distract us from the war with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and further destabilize the Middle East."

And there's more...

"As I said more than a month ago, while some have proposed escalating this war by adding thousands of more troops, there is little reason to believe that this will achieve these results either. It's not clear that these troop levels are sustainable for a significant period of time, and according to our commanders on the ground, adding American forces will only relieve the Iraqis from doing more on their own. Moreover, without a coherent strategy or better cooperation from the Iraqis, we would only be putting more of our soldiers in the crossfire of a civil war."

This missive also comes after former North Carolina senator John Edwards - who has just officially announced he's running for president- staked his position on the Iraq issue.

Getting more interesting.