Jon Tester's Finest Hour

Jon Tester's Finest Hour
by Jackie Corr | Oct 2 2007 -


"We're still fighting a war in Iraq and people who are honest about it will admit we're there over oil."
-- Montana Senator Jon Tester, Associated Press, September 24, 2007

"This amendment is a deliberate attempt to divert attention from a failed diplomatic policy. At worst, it could be read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action, without one hearing and without serious debate."
-- Virginia Senator James Webb, September 25, 2007

We've got two wars going. They are not going well, so Senator Joseph Lieberman thinks we need another one. So why not Iran?

During last week's Democratic presidential candidate debate, former Alaska senator Mike Gravel said ""There was a vote in the Senate today -- Joe Lieberman, who authored the Iraq resolution, has offered another resolution, and it's essentially a fig leaf to let George Bush go to war with Iran.I want to congratulate Joe Biden for voting against it, Chris Dodd for voting against it. And I am ashamed of you, Hillary, for voting for it."

Of course Hillary didn't see it the way Gravel did and replied with some Beltway blah-blah-blah about how the Lieberman Iran amendment "gives us the options to be able to impose sanctions on the primary leaders to try to begin to put some teeth into all this talk about dealing with Iran." That's right, that's what Hillary said - put "some teeth" in how to deal with Iran. Well we see where tough talk with Iraq took us but in Hillary country it's as if the last five years never happened.

At least John Edwards didn't buy Hillary's response, saying it was a mistake to give Bush a reason for the use of force in Iran. Edwards admitted that was what he did in 2002. "I voted for this war in Iraq, and I was wrong. Today I accept responsibility for that vote."

"Senator Clinton also voted for that war," added Edwards, "but we learned a very different lesson. I have no intention of giving George Bush the authority to take the first step on a road to war with Iran."

Just in case you missed the debate, what the candidates were discussing was the vote in the Senate on a resolution sponsored by neocon senator Joe Lieberman, a card carrying member of the hawkish wing of the Israel Lobby and a loyal servant of the Military Industrial Complex. The reason behind the resolution - now get this - Bush and Cheney might be wimping out on getting tough with Iran

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/10242