The Iran Debate
As far as I'm concerned anyone who voted for Iraq who is willing to vote blindly for the Lieberman-Kyl legislation didn't learn anything from their vote. Of course I'm talking specifically about Senator Clinton. We'll get to the 2013 issue later today.
Edwards nailed it last night.
Clinton's vote yesterday to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as “a foreign terrorist organization” was a blunder of monumental proportions. She evidently thinks she's got the nomination locked up and it's off to general election mode. It started last Sunday. But the hubris involved in blithely signing on to the Lieberman legislation shows she doesn't think people are paying attention.
Thank the heavens for Senators Biden and Dodd, along with James Webb who got this one right a long time ago.
The urgency of rebutting this slowly sliding bomb Iran narrative has been front and center for months. But that hasn't kept the right-wing from pushing the talking point further and further, which Lieberman, with the help of Democrats, pushed forward another inch yesterday. The neocons are not deterred by Bush's incompetence. This coming weekend Fox "News" channel will do their part by running a special, "Iran: Ticking Bomb," which Sean Hannity happily touts and is eager to promote.
All this saber rattling comes as Secretary Gates asks for $190 billion more for war funding, with former general Casey issuing dire warnings about our military forces.
Anyone voting for the Lieberman-Kyl legislation, regardless of the non-binding nature, is simply ignoring what Bush has done with the authority Congress gave him on Iraq. Haven't Democrats learned anything? It's stunning that Clinton would look beyond the facts to posture so egregiously, either to make herself look tough, or to support our Israeli friends. It's irresponsible and dangerous and also ignores reality. There are plenty of liberal Israelis who want to stop the cycle we've been on in the Middle East and really work for peace. It's obvious Lieberman isn't after peace and anyone following his lead is deluded to think he's got the answer for the Middle East. All he offers is more war, death and destruction. With the Lieberman-Kyl non-binding legislation we've reached a whole new level. The fact that Clinton was willing to go along with it is worthy of magnifying, especially considering her Iraq vote and what's transpired in between
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates asked Congress yesterday to approve an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the Bush administration's 2008 war funding request to nearly $190 billion -- the largest single-year total for the wars so far.
The move came as Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff and former top U.S. commander in Iraq, warned lawmakers that the Army is stretched dangerously thin because of current war operations and would probably have trouble responding to a major conflict elsewhere. "The current demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply," Casey said yesterday. "We are consumed with meeting the demands of the current fight and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential contingencies." ... ..
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