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 Israela 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 militarythe Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpsa 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. A documented plan. NOT nice sounding retoric and slogans. FACTS
So STILL waiting.
I don't know too much about his distinctions politically, however Jimmy Carter rates as the worst President of the 20th century IMO.
To me, my opinion counts.
Forgot one thing.. We need to turn back the clock!!!!!!!!!
I don't know too much about his distinctions politically, however Jimmy Carter rates as the worst President of the 20th century IMO.
To me, my opinion counts.
Good grief, grow up!
Is “Lee” Sheila Jackass Lee?
You are the patient one MNJonnie!
Or perhaps way too focused or one with too much time on hand.
The later, I think not. ; )
He is a nut job! National Review had a pretty devastating article about him a month ago.
But Jimmy was honest. He was so uncorrupted by politics. He was a saintly man, just like Ron Paul. I'm sure Jimmy Carter would have voted exactly like Ron Paul did on this referendum.
Jimmy Carter and Ron Paul are like two peas in a Pod.
With respect, the attacks were not initiated by bcsco.
You both have a one hour suspension too cool off. If you continue this, the next suspension will be longer.
Sheesh...Ron Paul should be running for the independant party or for the Democrats it seems.
I would take that statement as a compliment.
Oh, to be young again... : )
Too much talk could lead to popping a vein for him IMO.
Why, yes you are. Isn’t that special.
Heh. Buh-bye, now.
ROFL!
Funny how that changed just before the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. That's when Saddam found himself totally isolated after the Gulf War and started seeing the Islamists not as a threat, but as potential allies. That's when he started building mosques (including the "Mother of All Battles" mosque), that's when he built Islamic universities and made attendance mandatory for Ba'ath party officials. That's when he added the words "Allah Akbar", written in his own hand, to the Iraq flag. That's when he started providing safe harbor to terrorists convicted of attacking the United States, like Abdul Rahman Yasin (just another "isolated" instance, I guess). That's when he opened the gates of Salman Pak to the jihadists.
Of course, you can have isolated instances where Saddam helped individual radical Muslims
Abu Musab al Zarqawi was not an isolated anything. He was a key leader of a terror network that had declared war on the United States. Saddam took him in, gave him critical medical attention and allowed him to establish 10 al Qaeda cells across the country in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
it was not his general policy as they were a threat to him and his government.
Guess who else was a threat to him and his government? America.
Now, who do you think Saddam saw as the bigger threat?
A) Al Qaeda, the terrorist network that never laid a finger on him or his regime in any way, shape or form; or,
B) The Americans, who obliterated his Republican Guard, sent him to his room like a beaten child and would ultimately topple his government, kill his sons and turn him over to a bloodthirsty mob of angry Shi'ites.
Think hard.
You forgot Forest Gump as a pea.
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.