Congress And House Resolution 362

  Many of you may not know what House Resolution 362 is yet. That is why I'm gonna tell you about some of this piece of legislation.

   To put it in simpler terms, this resolution pretty much gives our Criminal In Chief the authority to give Iran a very hard time by doing such things as...

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

(1) declares that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, through all appropriate economic, political, and diplomatic means, is vital to the national security interests of the United States and must be dealt with urgently;

(2) urges the President, in the strongest of terms, to immediately use his existing authority to impose sanctions on--

(A) the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian bank engaged in proliferation activities or the support of terrorist groups;

(B) international banks which continue to conduct financial transactions with proscribed Iranian banks;

(C) energy companies that have invested $20,000,000 or more in the Iranian petroleum or natural gas sector in any given year since the enactment of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996; and

(D) all companies which continue to do business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps;

(3) demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program; and

(4) urges the President to lead a sustained, serious, and forceful effort at regional diplomacy to support the legitimate governments in the region against Iranian efforts to destabilize them, to reassure our friends and allies that the United States supports them in their resistance to Iranian efforts at hegemony, and to make clear to the Government of Iran that the United States will protect America's vital national security interests in the Middle East.   Govtrack

  By blocking planes, trains, and whatever else, the Congress is pretty much giving Bush the okay to perform an act of war against Iran. Stopping ships from either coming or going is an act of war all by itself.

A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

H.CON.RES 362 calls on the president to stop all shipments of refined petroleum products from reaching Iran. It also "demands" that the President impose "stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran."

Analysts say that this would require a US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.   GlobalResearch

  As is usual on our Congress, only a few people spoke up about how bad this could be.

Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH)

July 1, 2008

Stop the Escalation of Tensions with Iran
Oppose H. Con. Res. 362

Dear Colleague:

I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose H. Con. Res. 362 when it comes to the Floor following the July 4th recess. Despite the intentions of the sponsors of the legislation, this bill will only serve to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran. This bill will play into the hand of those in the Bush Administration who want Congressional license to attack Iran.

The third resolved clause states that there should be imposed “stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiation the suspension of Iran’s nuclear Program.” Enforcement of such a provision would almost certainly imply or require the use of force. Furthermore, it is conceivable that this provision could be construed to constitute the imposition of a naval blockade. Under international law a blockade is classified as an act of war.

The bill leaves the door open for war but is silent on ways to avoid it. The language in clause 3 could be understood to contradict the whereas clause in the bill that states that “nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran.” Furthermore, it is notable that this whereas clause does not include a declaration that the President must seek the approval of Congress before authorizing any use of force against Iran. Nor does it explicitly state that the U.S. will resolve our differences with Iran diplomatically and in a show of good will take the use of force off the table.

The provocative nature of the resolution will appear to Iran to be another round of saber rattling and will inflame additional ill will between our nations. If this body truly wants to find a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear program and influence in the Middle East, we must use the best and most credible form of diplomacy at our disposal. The U.S. must engage Iran in direct diplomatic talks without preconditions. Passage of this resolution only escalates our strained relationship with Iran.

I urge my Colleagues to vote against H. Con. Res. 362. If you have any questions please contact Cate Veith…

Sincerely,
/S

Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress

  Must you and I always have to tell or elected employees when they are screwing things up? Have they no common sense?

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