Edwards voted for the 2002 Iraq War Resolution, and was one of 16 Senators to co-sponsor an early version of that bill, Joe Lieberman's S.J Res 46, which was not brought to the floor for a vote. Three years after the war began, in November 2005, Edwards said that the decision to go to war in Iraq was a mistake. He apologized for his vote, saying that the intelligence reports which led to the decision were "deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda." He favors gradual troop withdrawal and concurrent training of Iraqi troops, as well as removing American contractors, instead awarding such reconstruction contracts to Iraqi businesses to promote the Iraqi economy and reduce unemployment in Iraq.