Posted on 09/25/2007 11:12:13 AM PDT by MNJohnnie
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress signaled its disapproval of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a vote Tuesday to tighten sanctions against his government and a call to designate his army a terrorist group.
The swift rebuke was a rare display of bipartisan cooperation in a Congress bitterly divided on the Iraq war. It reflected lawmakers' long-standing nervousness about Tehran's intentions in the region, particularly toward Israel—a sentiment fueled by the pro-Israeli lobby whose influence reaches across party lines in Congress.
"Iran faces a choice between a very big carrot and a very sharp stick," said Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "It is my hope that they will take the carrot. But today, we are putting the stick in place."
The House passed, by a 397-16 vote, a proposal by Lantos, D-Calif., aimed at blocking foreign investment in Iran, in particular its lucrative energy sector. The bill would specifically bar the president from waiving U.S. sanctions.
Current law imposes sanctions against any foreign company that invests $20 million or more in Iran's energy industry, although the U.S. has waived or ignored sanction laws in exchange for European support on nonproliferation issues.
In the Senate, Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., proposed a nonbinding resolution urging the State Department to label Iran's military—the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—a terrorist organization.
The Bush administration had already been planning to blacklist a unit within the Revolutionary Guard, subjecting part of the vast military operation to financial sanctions.
The legislative push came a day after Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust revisionists, questioned who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks and declared homosexuals didn't exist in Iran in a tense question-and- answer session at Columbia University.
The Iranian president planned to speak Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly.
Lantos' bill was expected to draw criticism from U.S. allies in Europe. During a visit to Washington last week, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told lawmakers that France opposes any U.S. legislation that would target European countries operating in Iran. He argued that such sanctions could undermine cooperation on dealing with Iran.
So, are you saying Paul wants a bill that will do something about Iran????
Did he sponsor something?
Sheesh! Paul has truly lost his freakin’ mind. Can the GOP disown a candidate? I am ashamed that I ever had any respect for Congressman Paul.
Isn’t anyone going to step forward and try to justify this?
Ron Paul is unconscious.
Wasn't Lantos the lisping dem idiot from california that told General Petraus he was a lier before he even made his speech before the senate?
ScreamingFist did in #119.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
shouldnt you start to wonder why you always lose the argument? snickers....
maybe you arent as wideawake as you think.
Welp, I’ve actually mulled over the reasons to vote for Rupaul in the past, but this has crossed the line.
I take back every good thing I’ve ever said about him.
Yes, and even HE saw fit to condemn Ahmadenijad.
Seriously, is that your defense? L.Ron isn’t as smart as that lisping dem idiot from California.
LOL
Vandalizing for Paul.
http://www.jaxdaily.com/2007/09/25/the-source-of-those-ron-paul-revolution-signs/
Stop pinging them, Petronski, because you know their posts will get pulled if they respond. It's over, OK?
It looks like Pat Paulson just blew the Reform Party nomination.
Pray for W and Our Troops
PS - The Indians will get swept in the first round.
There are other threads too.
Check "Phht! you were gone"
Both are classic
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