H. Con. Res. 362 and S.R. 580
By ANDREW WIMMER
There are now 238 members of the House signed on as cosponsors of House Concurrent Resolution 362 “expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital national security interests of the United States by Iran’s pursuit of http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4287."
On Wednesday, William Lacy Clay, Jr. of Missouri’s 1st District became the first and only member to withdraw his sponsorship. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of fifteen of us visited Clay’s St. Louis office and spoke with him for 30 minutes via teleconference. While we would like to claim that our conversation with him and our subsequent refusal to leave his office at closing time were key to his reversal, this isn’t the time for tallying political wins.
House Concurrent Resolution 362 and its companion, Senate Resolution 580, pave the way for open war with http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4909. It is that simple, and we must be equally clear and bold in our opposition.In a series of “whereas” clauses, the two resolutions make a bogus case against Iran. They repeat the big lie, accusing Iran of twenty years of covert, illicit nuclear activity aimed at the production of nuclear weapons. Iran’s compliance with the protocols of the NPT and the IAEA is ignored. Iran is flatly accused of being intransigent and unwilling to negotiate. Claims the administration has been unable to substantiate about Iranian activity in Iraq are repeated as fact. The failure of diplomatic efforts and U.N. sanctions to halt Iranian nuclear ambitions is asserted as a way to justify further aggression by the United States.
Representative Clay began his conversation with us with us this way: “Look, I’m sure that we all agree that we need to send a clear message to Iran that they cannot continue building nuclear weapons and killing our soldiers in Iraq.”
“No,” we replied, “that is precisely what we do not agree on because neither of those claims has been substantiated and repeating them only propagandizes for war.” The fifteen people sitting around the table Tuesday were not a naïve bunch. It included young and old, veterans and veteran activists, teachers and students. We’re not naïve about the history of U.S. aggression and war making nor do we harbor any illusions about how a self-described liberal, anti-war Democrat like Lacy Clay can be as much a part of the war machine as anyone.
What caused me to sit bolt upright was not anything new or shocking in what he said, but rather the banal familiarity of his words. “I don’t know what atmosphere you all live in,” he said, “but I http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=5107." “Iran is a threat that needs to be dealt with, but don’t worry, the president cannot start a war with Iran without Congressional authorization, and I for one will not vote for that.”
The United States is already at war with Iran.
http://www.counterpunch.org/wimmer07122008.html