Earier versons of this were earlier published on MyDD ( http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/10/16/124053/54 )
and Daily Kos ( http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/16/124838/25 ). This version is revised from those two different versions.
On September 26th, Senator Clinton voted for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment, which designates the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. She was the only Democratic Presidential candidate who voted for the resolution.
Jim Webb the day before:
“Those who regret their vote five years ago to authorize military action in Iraq should think hard before supporting this approach, because in my view, it has the same potential to do harm where many are seeking to do good. The constant turmoil that these sorts of proposals and actions are bringing to the region is counterproductive.
Crooks and Liars (September 25th, 2007)
Come around after the fold for a video with questions for Clinton about war.
Jim Webb on September 25:
Webb said that amendment’s attempt to categorize the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as “a foreign terrorist organization” would, for all practical purposes, “mandate” the military option against Iran. “It could be read as tantamount to a declaration of war. What do we do with terrorist organizations? If they are involved against us, we attack them.”
Think Progress (September 25, 2007)
The Real News Network asks Clinton why she voted for an amendment that could be used as support for attacking Iran. This is well worth watching. Jim Webb’s statements about the bill are in it:
Questions for Clinton:
- Now that you know now what you did not know then, why did you provide Bush with a pretext for another war?
- Didn’t this resolution declare the entire state of Iran a terrorist organization?
- Given that the intelligence leading to the Iraq war was manipulated in favor of a war policy, why do you believe it now?
- Why are you supporting an amendment drafted and supported by the same forces that got us into the Iraq War?
(showing the overlap between the membership of the Committee on a Present Danger and PNAC).
Today, the CPD includes over 100 former White House officials, Ambassadors, Cabinet Secretaries, academics, writers, and other foreign policy experts. Its Co-Chairmen are the Honorable George Shultz, Secretary of State under President Reagan, and R. James Woolsey, Director of the CIA under President Clinton. Senators Joe Lieberman and Jon Kyl serve as Honorary Co-Chairs.
The Committee on the Present Danger
John Edwards learned a completely different lesson from 2002 than Clinton:
“Unlike Senator Clinton, I have apologized for my vote in support of that bill. This war has become one of the greatest disasters of American foreign policy. In light of the terrible mistruths that permitted this president to guide our nation to war, voters have a right to honest answers and straight talk from those running for president. That is why I have made it clear that I oppose the Iraq war, why I have offered a specific plan on how I will end this war as president, and why I have made my position very clear on Iran.
“Unfortunately, political rhetoric aside, Senator Clinton has no specific plan to end the war in Iraq. Instead, she refuses to commit to a specific timeline for withdrawal and has made it clear that she will continue ‘combat missions’ in Iraq. The Washington Post reports today that Senator Clinton has described multiple missions that would require us to keep combat troops in Iraq–from protecting the Kurds to countering the Iranians to training Iraqi troops to protecting oil to a vague need to ‘protect our interests.’ These missions would just be excuses to justify continuing George Bush’s failed strategy in Iraq.
“Now, we are again facing another challenge: whether to let the president go to war with yet another country, Iran. Evidently, Senator Clinton and I learned two very different lessons from the Iraq war. I learned that if you give President Bush even an inch of authority, he will use it to sanction a war. As the New Yorker recently reported, the administration is actively preparing plans to attack Iran. Despite this clear evidence, Congress recently passed a bill to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, a bill Senator Clinton supported and that takes this nation one step closer to war. While Senator Clinton tries to argue both sides of the issue, the truth is her vote opens the door for the president to attack Iran. I believe we must not allow the president to use force against Iran when so many other diplomatic and economic options are still available.”
Now, Barack Obama has been very critical of Clinton’s vote for Lieberman-Kyl, even though he was only one of two senators to missed the vote.
What is even more befuddling is that he COSPONSORED a bill that would have “designate[d] the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a Foreign Terrorist Organization” in spring 2007!
From Spring 2007:
Title: A bill to impose sanctions on Iran and on other countries for assisting Iran in developing a nuclear program, and for other purposes.
Co-sponsors include Obama and Dodd.
Sen Obama, Barack [IL] – 4/24/2007
More from the text of the bill, specifically Section 3: Sense of Congress:
(8) The Secretary of State should designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) and the Secretary of the Treasury should place the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 186; relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism).
Was Obama for the designation of “the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a Foreign Terrorist Organization” before he was against it? And was he against it only after Clinton voted for it?
It’s time to say no to war with Iran!