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

[iburl]

Take the chickenshit "we didn't MEAN it" letters off the table and put IMPEACHMENT ON!

Follow the Constitution, Article I, Read It!

If er, WHEN bush invades Iran, it will be too late. If you start impeachment now, it makes it look like he's waggin the dog by "surgically nuking" Iran

IMPEACH IMPEACH IMPEACH

[starrianna]

Dear Hitler,

Ummmm, can you like, NOT invade Poland? or Austria?

That would be like SO uncool.

Gee thanks!

Signed,
CONGRESS

P.S. Pretty Please?

[kmccaskill]

what are you smoking, tonight obama introduced a binding resolution that states bush needs congress approval before any attacks on iran begin

would you rather obama to write letters or pass laws

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/ap_po/democrats_iran_8

the senate leader harry reid told him the night before that the vote will not come up anytime soon, so he went to nh to campain , then reid changed his mind the next day and issued a unsheduled last minute vote, harry reid's son works for hillary so you put two and two together

[DMcD]

Action , not just talk (in getting the Whitehouse under control), is whats missing in all this (not just from Obama but all other politicians as well). Personally , I see Obama as being nothing more than a "used car salesman" kind of guy and have little faith in him. This is a good example of what I'm talking about --- promise the world but don't let it be in written form. "Just another politician".

Franklin Roosevelt is what we need most at this critical time in history, but short of that , GORE IS THE MAN.

[Ping]

Notable senators missing are Senator Kennedy(MA), Senator Inoue(HI), Senator Schumer(NY), Senator Durban(IL), Senator Biden(DE), Senator Levin(MI), Senator Lautenberg(NJ), Senator Menendez(NJ), Senator Feingold(WI). All did NOT SIGN.

Maybe this letter is not a good idea after all. It's looking like political cover for a bad vote.

[kmccaskill]

the reason obama missed the vote is the senate leader harry reid told him the night before that the vote will not come up anytime soon, so he went to nh to campain , then reid changed his mind the next day and issued a unsheduled last minute vote, harry reid's son works for hillary so you put two and two together

[Raster]

These Senators are trying to have it both ways. Simply despicable and disgusting. Shows that our so-called "leaders" have no backbone to oppose Bush-Cheney. And they (B-C) know it. They're contemptible of the Dems in Congress.

[Freedoms Friend]

They could have added one more line to the letter

Impeachment proceedings against the President and the Vice President will start the day of any attack against Iran that does not have congressional approval.

[nomobull]

STILL DECIDING ACTUALLY KIND OF WISH THEY HAD SOME NEWE CANDIDATES BUT LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT BOTH OBAMA AND BIDEN DON' T SIGN THIS I AGREE WITH A NUMBER OF YOU BUTT COVERING LETTER. BUT OBAMA GETS BULK OF CRITICISM. HE ALSO WAS NOT TYHE ONLY ONE NOT TO VOTE ON KYL -LIEBERMANN BUT AGAIN HE GOT THE BULK OF THE CRITICISM EVEN THOUGH IT HAS BEEN SAID SEVERAL TIMES HE WAS TOLD THE VOTE WOULD NOT BE HELD JUST WONDERING. AND NO NOT A FAN JUST EXPECT ALL TO BE HELD TO THE SAME MEASURING ROD.

[kmccaskill]

oh and if anyone forgot today barack obama introduced the obama bill saying that bush needs congressional approval before attacking iran, oh and it's a binding resolution

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/ap_po/democrats_iran_8

[kmccaskill]

let me guess you hillbot shills are mad because hillary sends letters to bush, that he will use for toilet paper, and obama introduces laws to be passed

btw anyone can see obama's leadership, if anyone is interested, they can sign up on our teanm obama

barackobama.com

[SiskoKid]

He didn't vote on the amendment nor did he sign the letter, so he's more conniving than Hillary. I'm so sick of this crap with Obama. Clinton is out there stating WHY she voted for it, whether you agree or not, she has her reasons and doesn't hide from it then she's accused of being two faced.

Obama doesn't even vote on the amendment and won't even sign a LETTER clarifying his position. Where is Russert to ask where Obama stands on the issue?

Sorry, stupid question. Apparently only Clinton is allowed to be accountable for her actions.

[Phidippides]

Looks to me like Obama is tired of running for President. What better way to throw away a candidacy?

[godlessclif]

Vote on funding the war; Obama abstains.

On the letter to Bush, Obama abstains.

I guess Obama believes in abstinence education.

[godlessclif]

one side of OBAMA's mouth: I don’t think we should be talking about attacking Iran at this point for some of the reasons that Chris and Joe just talked about. Look, we have been seeing, during the Republican debates, the drum beat of war. The president has been talking about World War III.

CLINTON: I am pledging I will do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

RUSSERT: But, they may.

CLINTON: Well, you know, Tim, you asked me if I would pledge, and I have pledged that I will do everything I can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

(LAUGHTER)

RUSSERT: Senator Edwards?

EDWARDS: What I will do is take all the responsible steps that can be taken to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

RUSSERT: Senator Obama?

The other side of OBAMA's mouth: I think all of us are committed to Iran not having nuclear weapons, and so we could potentially short circuit this.

So Obama will and will not attack Iran
depending on what Clinton and Edwards say.
What a two faced hypocrite.