WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic leaders in Congress lobbed a warning shot Friday at the White House not to launch an attack against Iran without first seeking approval from lawmakers."The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the National Press Club.
| Dubya came to Congress before we went into Afghanistan. Dubya came to Congress before we went into Iraq. What makes you think he'd go into Iran without coming to you? |
| And now Reid has undercut the usefulness of the implied threat. Thanks Harry. |
Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del., challenged the president's ability to make such a move. In a letter to Bush, Biden asked the president to explain whether the administration believes it could attack Iran or Syria "without the authorization of Congress, which does not now exist."
Meanwhile, Lee Hamilton, the Democratic co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday that the U.S. must try to engage Iran and Syria in a constructive dialogue on Iraq because of the countries' influence in the conflict. "Do we have so little confidence in the diplomats of the United States that we're not willing to let them talk with somebody we disagree with?" Hamilton asked.
The Bush administration, and several members of Congress, say they oppose talks with Iran and Syria because of their terrorist connections. Bringing the two countries into regional talks aimed at reducing violence in Iraq was one of the study group's recommendations.
| Hamilton is an idiot. We don't talk with them because talks work in our disfavor. Talking means that the Iranians continue building centrifuges and purifying uranium. Talk is exactly what the Iranians want because it allows them to stall. Look at what they've done with the EU-3, the IAEA and the UN. They'd love to talk with us, then talk, then talk some more. They'd score points off us in the Third World and with their Muslim brethen by 'speaking truth to power' and all that nonsense. Ahmadinejad would be happy to prance around the next couple of years blustering and bellowing at us at various 'conferences' and 'negotiations'. And if we ever threatened to walk away from talking with them, why, guess who would be blamed as the bad guys? Us of course, and Mr. Hamilton would help lead the charge. Talking with Iran gets us nowhere. The EU has proven that. Iran either will or won't stop their efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and it's clear that 'talking' has no influence whatsoever in their decision making. |