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Stop the Insanity: No War With Iran
By
Gov. Bill Richardson
11/01/07 "ICH" -- -- It is a tragedy that in the midst of one
failed war in Iraq, George Bush and Dick Cheney are pushing a
second front of failure and gearing up to attack Iran. The
"unilateral sanctions" recently imposed will hurt diplomatic
progress in the region, and I find it disconcerting that so many
Democrats supported President Bush in his saber-rattling.
Senator Clinton voted to enable George Bush when she voted for
the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. Senator Obama, skipped the Iran
vote entirely.
Saber-rattling is not a good way to get the Iranians to
cooperate and work with us for peace. But it is a tried and true
method of laying the groundwork for another war -- a war that
would be a disaster for the Middle East, for the United States
and for the world. Saying that we're on a "path to diplomacy"
while imposing these sanctions and increasing the war rhetoric
only strengthens hard-line elements in the Iranian leadership
and increases the risk of violence breaking out.
Further, a policy of "unilateral sanctions will actually
diminish our diplomatic options. "Unilateral sanctions" are both
ineffective and porous, and they will undermine the effort to
get meaningful multilateral sanctions that the Iranians would
possibly pay attention to.
Diplomacy continues to be the path not taken by the Bush
administration.
Again and again, President Bush has shown a disdain for
diplomacy and our own governmental institutions. The Democratic
Congress needs to stand up to this president and prevent him
from starting another needless war, which will further isolate
us in the world and strengthen our enemies.
Bush's goal seems clear -- to keep ramping up the rhetoric and
threats until he's managed to back us into another unwanted war.
But what isn't clear to me is what Congress is going to do about
it. Haven't we yet learned the lesson that if you give this
president an inch on this aggression, he will take a mile?
I know this region. I spent 80 percent of my time as ambassador
to the United Nations on Iraq and the Middle East issues. If we
want to succeed in the region, we have to get all of our troops
out of Iraq. We have to talk to the Iranians and back that up
with global diplomacy to build strong support for tough
sanctions. That is how we will be successful, not with the
president's saber-rattling. Congress needs to stop him before he
goes too far.
Of course, Congress just had a chance to stand up to Bush with
an unequivocal "no war with Iran" vote. But they squandered the
opportunity -- just as they, time and time again, have missed
chances to stand up to Bush on Iraq.
Now is not the time for a "wait and see" attitude -- not on
ending the war in Iraq and not on starting a war in Iran.
When it comes to Iraq, I want all the troops out, now. If the
president won't do it, we need to convince Congress to stand up
-- go to
www.getourtroopsout.com to join us.
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