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.
FACTS? NOT slogans. FACTS. Where oh where are the Paulbots facts oh where oh where can they be?
ping...(at your own risk)
Good for Harry!
Th OSS demonstrated the necessity of intelligence, we've made mistakes along the way, but yes, I think we need an intelligence agency.
I presume you disagree?
To really go places you need the tongue and nose jewelry. And that's only on body parts that can be seen:) And tattoos. Don't forget those!
Just kidding:):) The military won't put up with that because it's easy identification to the enemy.
LOL! Keep screaming....shill
So I’ll just keep on keepin’ on...
Easy there. You’re asking for facts from hypotheticals. That’s not an easy thing to come by.
Tammy Baldwin must either have a supreme case of denial or be a self-loathing lesbian.
The ol' single finger way... :)
Waiting on your answer...bigmouth
I won’t tell you what single finger I am using...
Naivete? More like evil.
Who the hell would vote no on condemning the nutjob?
Did the Senate vote on this or just the House?
Just delivered...
Bartlett?????!!!!
That’s a surprise.
No you wouldn't. There are rational people posting here, unfortunately for you, you no speak English?
The reason the USA is involved in the ME is because we are economically dependent on the free flow of oil from that region. We cannot allow any one nation, like Iran, to dominate that region.
Iran is building up it military forces and seeking nukes so that it can dominate that region. Once it gets nukes can simply bully their neighbor oil rich region into following it’s lead on oil policy.
If we were to follow Paul's Neo Isolationist dogmas, the USA be seen by the local powers as an unreliable ally would could be counted on to run away the minute the Iranians rattled their sabers. The region nations would simply make a accommodation with Iran at the USA's cost
So what would Dr Paul do to reduce our dependence on Foreign Oil. DO NOT tell me what YOU think he will do. Post FACTS with links that document what Dr Paul says he would do. Not what OTHER people claim Paul would do. What PAUL has said.
Wake up, there’s a war on...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.