A bipartisan group of US senators is pushing a resolution declaring that if Israel attacks Iran “in self-defense,” the United States will join in the military assault on Israel’s behalf.
The chief sponsors of the resolution are Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Graham said the resolution will be non-binding and is neither a declaration of war nor an authorization to use military force. Non-binding resolutions are supposed to express the sentiment of Congress, as opposed to actually legislate policy. This one seems tied to placating the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which holds its annual conference in DC this weekend.
Leaving aside the fact that under no reasonable definition of “self-defense” could Israel conceivably justify an attack on Iran, the resolution is both an illustration of Congress’s fealty to Israel, as well as their aggressiveness towards Iran.
The consensus in the US intelligence community, as articulated repeatedly by officials in the highest echelons of the US government for years now, is that Iran has no active nuclear weapons program and has not made the decision to go for nuclear weapons. Iran has done nothing to threaten, rhetorically or militarily, the United States, despite the fact that Washington has had Iran militarily surrounded for the past decade.
If Iran had passed a resolution or ruling anywhere close to how threatening the Menendez-Graham measure is, there would be hysterical uproar in Washington over how reckless and belligerent the Islamic Republic is.
“This could have several negative implications,” Alireza Nader of the RAND Corporation told Ali Gharib at The Daily Beast. “First, it could be interpreted as endorsing an Israeli preventive strike against Iran, which runs counter to US strategy. The US intelligence community judges that Iran has not made the political decision to create nuclear weapons. An Iranian nuclear weapons capability is not imminent, hence an Israeli military strike against Iran at this moment is not necessary or justified.”
The resolution “could also send the message, not only to Iran, but also the wider international community, including major powers like China and Russia, that the United States is not serious about solving the nuclear issue peacefully,” Nader also told The Daily Beast.
All hype right now. The US and Israel know not to mess with Iran. The US knows that Israel is not a real ally in the Middle East and as such, the US won't extend itself anytime soon. There is nothing to be gained in waging war against Iran, no matter what the neocons and super right wing factions think or spew. The general US public knows that and won't support any Congressional candidate that guides us into war. The truth is, AIPAC knows this as well.
Again, "They hate us for our freedom" comes to mind.
Lindsey has become such an embarrassment I have started telling people I'm from Alabama.
The part of the headline that says "bi-partisan group" is incorrect. All of these Senators are a part of the "Israel First" party.
Yes ,hang him high! thisSenator Lindsey Graham / with rest of traitors/ peter czech
Lets do it.., to hell with democracy the diplomacy and viva la apartheid regime of Israel.., viva la resist regime of Israel, viva la Neo fascism.., to hell with the world viva la old and the Neo fascism. Lets get it on senators the world wont accept nothing less then war from you warmongers.
Let each one of these peons put up there children or themselves on the line first or hang for the suggestion!
You guys are nuts! If you want to go to war with Iran, be sure it's your kids or grandkids first in line. I don't think I'd ever support a belligerent state like Israel to go to war against Iran. Count the US troops and its dollars out of your made-up war. Iran doesn't want war, Israel once again looking for war. Do it yourself or don't do it.
I am with you on that . It should be our policy that no Government official is allowed to vote on war matters unless they have a loved one serving in the front line . I bet you we would become to most pacifist nation within one generation !!!!
There is no nuclear issue in regards to Iran.They are signatories to the NPT and they have no nuclear weapons program. We do however have a nuclear issue with Israel who is not a signatory to the NPT and has hundreds of nuclear warheads? Which of these countries should really have sanctions applied?
Never forget that its all based on a lie. The IAEA inspectors constantly find that there is no diversion of nuclear materials away from civilian uses. Even US intelligence constantly says Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. And remember, the weapons inspectors were right about Iraq.
If the American people fall for this latest lie, then they'll get to see Obama making jokes at a WH Correspondents dinner, looking under chairs for missing nuclear weapons, while thousand of Americans lose their lives in another fake war started by lies.
Why not encourage those Senators that signed on the Resolution to just volunteer themselves into the Israeli military if they feel that strongly about their loyalties to Israel.
A Bloody Good Idea.
But like all sensible comments this too will be ignored by "the dogs of war" and idiots who back Isreal..
The whole United States Senate(???) should be shipped off to Isreal
better yet, i think they or their children should go fight for israel rather than send somebody elses poor kid
And go serve in the Knesset if they want to serve the Israeli people over the American people
The US Congress, and Senate are self aggrandizing war criminals. They live beyond any moral compass, and only pay heed to AIPAC, and any lobby/corporation funding their treasonous behavior against the American people, and world at large. The Knesset works in concert with these craven monsters. China, and Russia have stated they will stop any attack on Iran, and with deadly force if necessary. Let's hope that for all of our sake's that they mean it.
We need to take this vote and compare it to the vote on Hagel.
Yet another war for israel's benefit! Don't any of the constituents of "our" Senators ever confront their lordships in public about this insane support for the zionist enterprise? Totally disgusting.
Are they serious? Not a declaration that an attack on Israel would trigger a US response. No, that's not good enough. No, instead, it's if Israel is forced to attack first in self-defence. If those scheming Iranians force Israel to break international law and attack them unilaterally, the US Senate pledges that the US would fight on their side.
It's actually an interesting end-around the problem of an alliance with Israel. The US has no mutual defence treaty with Israel, in fact, because Israel won't say where its borders are, so there's no way to decide what territory has to be attacked to trigger a treaty. But this idea gets around that problem.
If the Iranians continue to abide by international law and fulfill their obligations under the NPT, and thereby force Israel to attack them, the US will come to the aid of Iran.
What did Golda Meir say about those dastardly unarmed Palestinians who forced brave Israelis to shoot them?
Dont worry the Super Anti WAR Nobel Peace Winner will neutralize the whole mentally deficient senate on his trip to the Middleeast !!
how can you attack some one in self defence?
see South Vietnam for an example.
You can do anything if you're 'scared' enough. Ask Pistorius.
Any bets on how Rand Paul will vote?
Issue these traitorous, treasonous Senators rifles and parachutes for themselves and their children, take away their US citizenship and send them over to join the mighty IDF like Rahm Emanuel. Good riddance.
We all knew this will be done. We knew it from the moment P5+1 talks with Iran turned to be little less belligerent and acidic and sounded like really mentally stable adults were talking to each other. Netenyahu and Israel's Lieberman got froth at their mouths to which immediately reacted Israel's fifth column in US. Washington Post run editorial "US is kowtowing to Iran". Congress' Israel-Firsters do their bidding. AIPAC is calling on America to rather die from hunger then cut Israel's moneys. It is going to be fun…
This will break america`s back already flat broke and floundering.
Indeed, if you study how empires fall, and they always do, this is what you find. Policies that please a group of courtiers around the King, but which destroy the nation. Hubris that makes Kings and courts believe they are mighty and invincible and that they can do things that on the surface seem certain to destroy the nation. They think reality can't stand before their might, but reality always wins in the end.
As all americans now live in a virtual police state after trading liberty for security dissent is severly curtailed and nipped in the bud plus the zionist have taken over with your eyes wide open.
Notice: there is at least one Democrat on board. No surprise to me but it must be remembered if and when the bullets fly.
Menendez and Graham, eh? That's a bipartisan coalition of asininity.
And remember, if you voted to put any of these Senators into office, then its at least partially your fault. You may have felt that it was a 'lessor evil' of some sort. You may have been fooled by propaganda that somehow there were only two choices and that the other would have been worse. But still, you walked into a voting booth and voted for people who want to start a horrible war.
There are always alternatives. In most places, there are usually other names on the ballot that wouldn't want to spend your tax dollars and your children's blood on a war for Israel. Please stop voting for these people.
A majority of Americans will tell pollsters that they don't want this. But about 97% of American voters voted for a Presidential candidate that wants a war with Iran. And if you looked at these Senate races, you'd probably find the same thing. 97, 98, or 99% voting for candidates that would support this, while only a small pct voting for the Greens or Libertarians or Independent candidates that would reject this policy.
Maybe a 'humanitarian' attack on Iran would be a more politically correct turn of phrase.Easier to define and more justifiable, too.
I suppose this is for when they run out of Arab preteens to 'defend' themselves against.
ALL of the Zionist NeoCon warmongering Israel-first TRAITORS to America need to be put on a leaky boat for a one way sail to Israel.
Put them on an old wwii liberty ship and the idf will attack it in international waters. Ask the survivors of the USS liberty if it hurts
This is actually good news for all those who were worried to death thinking that Israel would one day single-handedly provoke a big war in the Middle East by attacking Iran on her own.
This resolution says it all: Israel has given up the idea of the US starting a war with Iran, while Israel itself stays out of it just like it was in the case of Iraq; and that Israeli leaders are themselves now convinced of the futility of attacking Iran. In other words they are telling the world that the scenario of Israel attacking Iran on its own is now dead and buried..
'In self-defense' ? Anything Israel does is instantly labeled 'self-defense'. If they launched a nuclear weapon at NYC it would be labeled 'self-defense' by these idiots.
AIPAC should now be called IPAC – the Israel Political Action Committee – they don't give a hoot about the US, seeing the Americans as just a set of suckers feeding them great quantities of money. Register IPAC as an agent of a foreign power, along with all the people who donate to it and receive payments from it.
ALL OF THIS MASS MURDERING LUNACY CAN END VERY QUICKLY IF THE MASSES IN AMERIKA WOULD GET OFF OF THEIR SORRY DUFFS AND VOTE AGAINST ANY AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE DEMOCRAT AND REPUBLICAN WINGS OF THE WAR PARTY:
The United States Congress (both House and Senate) is a complete disgrace! The idea that these traitorous thugs vote on the interests of a foreign power and not American interests is the quintessential definition of TREASON. PERIOD. SENTENCE. PARAGRAPH.
Graham looks like giant devil horns will emerge from his addled skull at any time. Maybe he has a "Retract o Matic" device for photo ops ?
Time to prosecute them for violating their oath of office ,
sent them to jail for a long time and/or strip them off their citizenship and
deport them to their beloved Israel.