U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) signed on to legislation requiring authorization for a war against Iran.
Clinton, a front-runner in the race to claim her party’s presidential candidacy, announced Oct. 1 that she would co-sponsor legislation initiated by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) that bans the use of appropriated funds for war against Iran without congressional authorization.
Democrats fear that President Bush will exploit open-ended language in bills passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and before the Iraq war to launch attacks against Iran.
“Any military action against Iran will have an immediate impact on our troops serving in Iraq, our allies in the region as well as long-term U.S. strategic interests,” Clinton said in her statement. “Sen. Webb’s legislation insures that Congress will play its constitutional role of providing proper oversight over the administration’s policy toward Iran. Congressional oversight and debate can help avoid the mistakes and blunders that have afflicted U.S. policy in Iraq. We cannot allow recent history to repeat itself.”
Under the urging of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Jewish Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives successfully lobbied for the removal of similar language from the defense appropriations bill earlier this year. AIPAC advocates are keeping all options on the table as a means of pressuring Iran to end its suspected nuclear weapons program.
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