Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, who has fought against sending more U.S. troops to Iraq, has officially joined the crowded field of Democratic contenders seeking to win the 2008 White House race.

“I respectfully suggest to you that the Democrats out there understand I am the only person out there with a plan that can get us out of Iraq,” he told reporters Wednesday.

“There is no possibility of a solution in Iraq that is military,” added Biden, pictured (left) with colleague and fellow 2008 candidate Christopher Dodd.

“There is no need to have a long-term stationing of troops in Iraq.”

According to Reuters, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged that the international community be tapped to help bring an end to violence.

Biden sponsored a non-binding resolution approved last week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposing President George W. Bush’s wildly unpopular plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

Biden, 64, and a six-term senator, is the eighth Democrat to enter the 2008 White House race, often polling in the low single digits behind Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and 2004 V.P. nominee John Edwards.

Biden plans to campaign on Monday in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary-style election in the nominating process. His trip will follow Clinton’s planned travel in the state over the weekend.

Biden acknowledged he would quit the race if he did not place well after the first four states - Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

“It’s clear that not all of us are going to be standing after South Carolina. If I’m not in it at that point, I’m out,” he said.

It’s interesting that despite the overwhelming Obama-Clinton-mania gripping the party, Senators such as Dodd and Biden aren’t willing to turn this into a coronation just yet. Is there resentment among these Senate icons that they are being shoved to the side? Are they hoping to tout their foreign policy credentials and position themselves for the V.P. spot on the Democratic ticket? It’ll be interesting to watch.