House Republicans call for U.S. green light to Israeli strikes on Iran
As N&S contributor Warren Strobel reported in February, the Brookings Institution think-tank ran a war game to assess the consequences of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and the results weren't pretty. Iran responded by hitting Israel directly and through its Lebanese and Palestinian proxies, mining the Strait of Hormuz, the world's main petroleum artery, and battling U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.
On June 28, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would "be incredibly destabilizing" to the region.
And earlier this week, a British research organization, the Oxford Research Group, published a report that said the Iranian regime would respond by withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, launching an all-out nuclear weapons program and engaging in "a long war (with Israel) with potential regional and global consequences. Iran could . . . take many other actions, including operations to affect world oil markets and to increase instability in Iraq and Afghanistan," where the lives of U.S. troops and diplomats would be at stake.
The report "concludes that military action against Iran should be ruled out in responding to its possible nuclear ambitions," according to the executive summary.
These forecasts and other similar warnings, however, didn't deter 46 Republicans in the House of Representatives - nearly one-third of the GOP membership - from signing up as co-sponsors of a resolution introduced on Thursday by Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas that would give a U.S. go-ahead to an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear factories and laboratories.
H. Res. 1553 expresses U.S. support for Israel's "right to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force if no other reasonable solution can be found within reasonable time against such an immediate and existential threat." The measure doesn't define what constitute "a reasonable solution" or "reasonable time."
The resolution caught the attention of the National Iranian American Council, an organization representing Iranian Americans opposed to Iran's theocratic rulers, which urged its members to call on House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Oh, to "denounce this resolution and oppose a third war in the Middle East."
The council's policy director, Jerome Abdi, traced the genesis of the resolution to a column by the Bush administration's former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton that was published earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal. In the op-ed, the neoconservative said, “Having visible congressional support in place at the outset [of an attack] will reassure the Israeli government, which is legitimately concerned about Mr. Obama's likely negative reaction to such an attack.”
This, of course, is the same John Bolton who was among the leading proponents of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the deadly consequences of which the U.S. intelligence community warned about in numerous pre-war forecasts that top Bush administration officials ignored.
Hmmmm. Do we detect a pattern here?
Giving a green light to attck Iran by Israel is to be seen as "Isralei Perpetrated" American Byllysim which will be more danngerous than expected. It is quite marvellous to note that, even though the Jews crucified the Greatest Jesus Christ, the American piliticians and congressmen are giving full support to them for their economic gains
Posted by: Abubaker | August 09, 2010 at 02:37 AM
Same shit different year. The bankers wreck the economy and to cover their collective asses they will march us off to war.
Insane psychopaths with only one thing in mind...power.
Down with the central banks!
Down with fractional-reserve banking!
No more foreign political alliances!
No more money for foreign powers while American infrastructure collapses!
Posted by: flek | July 25, 2010 at 12:05 PM
US Congress is to give the green light for Israel to attack Iran.
Nearly one third of the Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives has introduced a resolution giving Israel a green light to attack Iran. H.Res.1553 declares unwavering support for Israel to “use all means necessary,” to “eliminate nuclear threats” posed by Iran.
The game plan of these Members of Congress was spelled out by John Bolton in the Wall Street Journal just two weeks ago: “Having visible congressional support in place at the outset [of an attack] will reassure the Israeli government, which is legitimately concerned about Mr. Obama's likely negative reaction to such an attack.”
This is the first step necessary to enable war with Iran.
The Obama Administration quietly resisted Congressional efforts to pass unilateral economic sanctions for over a year, before ultimately giving in to Congressional pressure. Now that “crippling” sanctions have been put in place, the far-right wing and Iran-hawks have begun openly advocating for what has always been their ultimate objective: war with Iran.
As we begin to debate war in earnest, we cannot let history repeat itself.
Numerous credible studies have concluded that such strikes would suck the US into the conflict that would engulf the region in war and put so much at risk.
Please allow all civilized member of our society to know about this Un-American Act.
Posted by: Saint Michael Traveler, San Diego, Ca, USA | July 23, 2010 at 09:07 PM