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A key House Democrat on defense issues says Congress should clarify that President Bush does not have the authority to attack Iran. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) announced Friday that he has introduced a bill clarifying that the 2002 authorization of use of force against Iraq does not permit military action against Iran. It is identical to legislation introduced in the Senate by Barack Obama (D-Ill.), whose presidential campaign Abercrombie supports. “We have learned how adept the Bush administration is at interpreting and twisting language to justify military adventure. America simply cannot afford another Iraq,” said Abercrombie, chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces. Obama has been dueling on the Iran issue with fellow presidential contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Clinton voted for legislation labeling the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organization. Her opponents say the vote will help the administration make its case for war with Iran, an argument the former first lady strongly rejects. The Iran issue is also heating up in the House. Earlier this week, 800 people attended a town meeting held by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), titled “Is Iran Next?” Moran and his panelists strongly argued against war with Iran. Moran also indicated that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) prevented a measure that would have blocked war with Iran from coming to the House floor in May. Lawmakers and media accounts credited AIPAC with helping to kill the Iran measure, but AIPAC representatives have denied playing a role in it. |
