The September 26, 2007 Senate vote on the amendment (Kyl Amdt. No. 3017 as Modified) to S. Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008) certainly has created a bit of a stir. This amendment was proposed by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) on September 20, 2007 and has five co-sponsors; Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
A cursory review of independent news media would certainly give the reader the impression this amendment called for nothing less than an immediate war against Iran. A few headlines follow:
"Stop the Kyl-Lieberman Iran War authorization (up today)"
"Support for Kyl-Lieberman Equals Support for Al Qaeda"
"Lieberman-Kyl Amendment seeks to Escalate Possibility of Military Action Against Iran"
Rather fascinating how they zoomed in on Lieberman, who is only one of five co-sponsors, but as usual independent media articles don’t get as much traction when the real facts are presented.
The amendment was agreed to by a vote of 76-22 with two Senators not voting. It’s interesting to note both Senators that did not vote are 2008 presidential candidates.
Looks like Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have paid attention to the game of politics – don’t vote on controversial issues, and you won’t have to explain your actions later.
The first indication I had this amendment may not be calling for War on Iran is the fact my Senator was one of the 76 that voted for it. For an amendment to be agreed to in the Senate requires a 3/5 majority vote – or 60 votes, yet it received 76 votes. Is it possible that 78% of the voting Senate thinks war is the solution?
The answer to that question is ‘no’ – this amendment is NOT calling for war on Iran.
What it is basically doing is making a statement regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The amendment is stating it is in the best interest of the United States to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from turning Shi’a militia extremists in Iraq into a Hezbollah-like force.
The amendment further states the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be designated a foreign terrorist organization and it should be the policy of the U.S. to ‘combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq‘ … using ‘diplomatic, economic, intelligence and military instruments’.
Whether or not the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is operating in Iraq with the knowledge of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not the issue – they are operating inside the borders of Iraq and there is evidence indicating they are responsible for the deaths of at least five U.S. troops.
Just like this country cannot ignore the danger that the outbreak of cholera poses to our troops in Iraq, we also cannot ignore the danger outside forces pose towards our troops.
Our world is becoming smaller and smaller and just as many of us read the foreign press, foreigners read our publications. The situation in the middle east is volatile enough. Above all else, independent news media should not attempt to aggravate the situation by adding fuel to the fire with exaggerated reports.
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