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.
Neither are a very appealing scenario.
Have a delightful evening...
LOL - thanks I needed that
If anyone wishes to jump off the cliff after him, be my guest, I'm all for personal freedoms.
Looks like they are getting it now...
OK, you stay right there.
Your guess was correct. Here are the 16 who voted against.
I was wondering this, too. The fools, too clever by half.
Yeah, color me shocked, Mr. Paul voted nay.
No, I doubt you have the slightest idea what the last 100 posts were about....please, prove me wrong...
Damn, we are good. Guess the memo has yet to reach RNC headquarters...
STILL waiting? ANY facts ANYWHERE about how and what a Paul Administration would do?
Documented facts? Some time today?
STILL waiting? ANY facts ANYWHERE about how and what a Paul Administration would do?
Documented facts? Some time today?
Elaborate with quantifying your statement if you would.
I know how you feel. I’m embarrassed that I ever defended him.
They are not, nor would a Paul Presidency be, though that's a very remote possibility.
Guess you’ll have to wait and see. You’re doing such a fine job of it, don’t go getting all impatient on us.
Fantastic statement by Hunter.
Eloquent, firm, controlled, understated.
“The idea that the University would lend its prestige to this man, is unacceptable.”
Thanks for posting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0370DeS6PU
Jim Robinson for President!!! : D
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