Obama responds to the NIE:
“By reporting that Iran halted its nuclear weapon development program
four years ago because of international pressure, the new National
Intelligence Estimate makes a compelling case for less saber-rattling
and more direct diplomacy. The juxtaposition of this NIE with the
president’s suggestion of World War III serves as an important
reminder of what we learned with the 2002 National Intelligence
Estimate on Iraq: members of Congress must carefully read the
intelligence before giving the President any justification to use
military force,” said Barack Obama.
John Edwards on the NIE:
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement on the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran:
“The new National Intelligence Estimate shows that George Bush and Dick Cheney’s rush to war with Iran is, in fact, a rush to war. The new NIE finds that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that Iran can be dissuaded from pursuing a nuclear weapon through diplomacy. This is exactly the reason that we must avoid radical steps like the Kyl-Lieberman bill declaring Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, which needlessly took us closer to war. And it’s why I have proposed that we pursue a comprehensive diplomatic approach instead.”
Chris Dodd on the NIE:
“The NIE on Iran contains some very important findings by the intelligence community. Taken together these findings make a strong case for pursuing robust diplomacy to resolve our differences with Iran and for an end to the reckless talk by the Administration and reckless votes by some members of Congress.”
Hillary Clinton on the NIE:
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton questioned rival Barack Obama’s political courage on Monday, accusing him of dodging difficult fights and ducking the Senate’s recent vote on a resolution to get tough on Iran.
Ratcheting up her attacks one day after a newspaper poll showed Obama moving narrowly ahead in the state, Clinton said Obama voted “present” in the Illinois state senate on seven abortion-related issues and twice on issues of gun violence, rather than take a stand.
“A president can’t dodge the big fights, can’t find political cover, or have words speak louder than actions,” she said at a campaign stop in Clear Lake, Iowa.
“I’ve heard a lot of talk about turning the page,” she said, using one of Obama’s slogans, “but what about the action to back it up?”
Clinton also ridiculed his criticism of her Senate vote to label an Iranian military unit a terrorist group, which Obama has called a way to clear the path for a rush to war on Iran. Clinton, a New York senator, noted Obama did not return from the campaign trail to cast a vote on the resolution.
“He decided to play politics and claim that the vote he missed, a vote for diplomacy, was really a vote for war,” she said. “Well if he really thought it was a rush to war, why did he rush to campaign and miss the vote?”
If you vote for her, you are just not paying attention.