New '08 Iran Rift: Obama Refuses To Sign Dem Letter To White House

Thirty senators sent a letter to the White House on Thursday warning President Bush not to take offensive military action against Iran without the consent of Congress. Noticeably absent from the list of signatories is presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL.

According to its authors, the letter was designed to clarify the ambiguity of the recent Kyl-Lieberman amendment designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Obama has been critical of that amendment as well as the Bush administration's aggressive rhetoric towards Tehran. Yet the senator from Illinois turned down a request to sign on to the White House letter.

"I was surprised and disappointed," John Isaacs, president of the Council for a Livable World and one of the catalysts behind the letter, told the Huffington Post. "I contacted virtually every office and to me it was a no-brainer that Obama and [Sen.] Biden [whose name was also not on the list] would both sign on. Neither did."

The letter, which was spearheaded by Sen. Jim Webb, D-VA, was signed by presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, who voted for the Kyl-Lieberman provision, and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CT, who opposed it. It reads:

"We are writing to express serious concerns with the provocative statements and actions stemming from your administration with respect to possible U.S. military action in Iran. These comments are counterproductive and undermine efforts to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomacy."

Sources knowledgeable with the crafting of the letter said there were two general arguments offered by those who did not sign on in support: that Congress already has the power to declare war, and that the text was too vague about defensive and/or covert action against Iran. Notably, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also declined to attach his name.

UPDATE: Responses from Obama and Biden campaigns:

"Senator Obama admires Senator Webb and his sincere and tireless efforts on this issue. But it will take more than a letter to prevent this administration from using the language contained within the Kyl-Lieberman resolution to justify military action in Iran. This requires a legislative answer and Senator Obama intends to propose one."

+++

"Sen. Biden voted against the amendment urging the designation of the Iranian Rev. Guard as a terrorist group. He strongly opposed it because he believed it could be used by this President to justify military action against Iran. He has also made clear many times his view that the President lacks the authority to use force against Iran absent authorization from Congress. He didn't need to clarify that position - he's been clear from the start," said Biden spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander.

A list of the signatories is below.

Dear President Bush:

We are writing to express serious concerns with the provocative statements and actions stemming from your administration with respect to possible U.S. military action in Iran. These comments are counterproductive and undermine efforts to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomacy.

We wish to emphasize that no congressional authority exists for unilateral military action against Iran. This includes the Senate vote on September 26, 2007 on an amendment to the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. This amendment, expressing the sense of the Senate on Iran, and the recent designation of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, should in no way be interpreted as a predicate for the use of military force in Iran.

We stand ready to work with your administration to address the challenges presented by Iran in a manner that safeguards our security interests and promotes a regional diplomatic solution, but we wish to emphasize that offensive military action should not be taken against Iran without the express consent of Congress.

Sincerely,

Story continues below

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1. Webb

2. Akaka

3. Baucus

4. Boxer

5. Brown

6. Byrd

7. Cantwell

8. Carper

9. Casey

10. Clinton

11. Dodd

12. Dorgan

13. Durbin

14. Feinstein

15. Harkin

16. Johnson

17. Kerry

18. Klobuchar

19. Kohl

20. Leahy

21. McCaskill

22. Mikulski

23. Murray

24. Reed

25. Rockefeller

26. Sanders

27. Stabenow

28. Tester

29. Whitehouse

30. Wyden

Comments

[ljsfolly]

Hil calls introducing a resolution playing politics when Obama would not sign a letter to the white house. What a joke! An none binding resolution vs a real resolution vs a letter to the white house. Which one carries any teeth?

[rixhex56]

freespeach,

You have it right - Kucinich's introduction of a bill to force an up or down vote on articles of impeachment SHOULD be newsworthy, SHOULD be GOOD NEWS. What is the deal with the downplaying of the importance of the impeachment procedure? Especially on THIS Website? I don't get it -- there has never been an administration more deserving, or even as deserving, of impeachment as this one.

This letter is just another one of those "non-binding" types of political posturing - it has no real meaning. As Biden pointed out, what this letter says has already been said better than this letter says it.

[jivillasenor]

It's stuff like this that is making me feel like none of the current Senators for president in office have what it takes to really end the war. They bitch about they don't have the votes, it's more like they don't have the guts. It's more dissapointing from Obama, since aparantly he was supposed to not be politics as usual. If they need advice, they should talk to fmr. Sen. Gravel, or Edwards.

[lindamart60]

Another interesting aspect of this for Senator Obama - he feels so strongly about this that he failed to vote in the "Sense of the Senate" resolution on September 26th.

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00349

On the first resolution, Senator Obama voted yes.

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00242

[Abo]

Asscover effort for Clinton.

You know, Obama can be smooth, mellow, but it is not in his nature to be especially dynamic. Edwards is improving--he used to bore me but he is honing in on a really admirable platform. Obama is still a bit green--like the way Edwards used to be- but he can be a smooth operator. He has a future, but not so sure if the time is now. Still, anyone except Hillary would be a move in the right direction.
Please make the Clintons go away.

[Dandy12]

How about a real resolution being passed? The letter is a nice gesture. However, these are not normal times, and this President and V.P. are extremely abnormal!! Both need to be bound and gagged (in the figurative sense at least) until January '09!

[freespeach]

Some progressive sites actually believe this is newsworthy.

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=77847

Seems like big news to me. It is also nice to see some of the names of people who support Kucinich that never get any mention around here. But we are still being fed a steady diet of DLC choices Obama or Hillary.
In the rest of the country people are working to save the nation from the bloody criminal Bush.

A few progressive sites believe this is newsworthy.

Peace.

[Sedaei]

The question is not whether this letter is "enough" to stop Bush - as Obama claims - but whether the letter is in the right direction. Obama can certainly sign this letter and it won't prevent him from doing even more, such as introducing legislation that would ban the President from taking military action without congressional authorization.

[HumeSkeptic]

Hey, Mr. Obama. How about doing something right for a change. It has been a while. The last good thing I remember you saying was that getting rid of nukes idea. Since then, it has been you pandering to fundies, your guys bashing gays, and now this. C'mon. Give us some material to work with.

Thanks.

[mespeechless]

i say

[demigod]

This letter is in President Bush's bathroom, and will receive his attention shortly after his next bowel movement. At least the paper is good for something. It's being reported now that the attack on the Syrian target was actually American jets, with Israeli support. This is very troubling, if true. This means American pilots are practicing their bombing techniques on live targets. Of course, we cannot get any information at all out of the Bush Administration - I thought at first that was to protect Israel of course, but now it appears to go much deeper than that. Instead of sending lavatory aids to the President, the Democratic Senators should be forcing him to come clean on the Syrian attack, so the American people can be ready for what comes next. This president has nothing to lose now, and is very, very dangerous.

[SevenLevels]

I have a simple question.
Why does this post not mention that Edwards name is absent from the signers?
I think a letter is weak tea and is Clinton's attempt to whitewash her incredibly misguided vote on Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
But where is the Edwards blame game?
Peace,
Kelly

[freespeach]

So we are back to the headlines at huffpo which cover Hillary or Obama.
Good bad and ugly stories about each of them dominate here and on mass media, all helping to drive home the myth that this is a two person race.

All of the Kucinich supporters need to check out this 2 minute video (if you haven't already) to see how deceitful the mass media is in its attempts to manipulate the American people.

For those of you who believe you are free to think and decide on your own, to form your own opinions......you need to understand how we are being played by fascist media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2DGfXA8DlE

The fake debate constantly being rammed down our throats tells us to choose either Obama or Hillary......as if there are no other choices. Lies, lies lies. The people are not stupid, we are choosing truth and courage with Kucinich. The fascist media are lying to us with a steady diet of Hillary or Obama. Both are DLC servants who will make America worse.

Kucinich is the story. He is the headline that should be up, but instead we get lies.

[RuthieM]

Why should Obama sign this meaningless 'letter' when he's providing legislation, and this has already been covered in the media today.

[Violet47]

I have noticed that the vast majority of republicans have no idea how their representatives vote. I have told some of them and it still does not make a difference. I have given up being friends with these people because I feel they are too stupid to deserve my friendship.