Is a New Congressional Resolution Declaring War with Iran?

[LiberalArkie]

<http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1141&Itemid=2>

Washington, DC — A House 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.

Since its introduction three weeks ago, the resolution has attracted 134 cosponsors. Forty-three members added their names to the bill in the past two days.

In the Senate, a sister resolution S. RES 580 has gained cosponsors with similar speed. The Senate measure was introduced by Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh on June 2. In little more than a week’s time, it has accrued 15 cosponsors.

[rpannier]

1. Evan Bayh... F**king piece of garbage

And there are DUers that think he'd be an excellent choice as the VP

[readmoreoften]

2. You know that old saying "oh yeah with what army?" That.

And also, why is Iran our enemy again? I mean other than its it's a theocracy--just like Saudia Arabia our allies? Oh, right. They're...drum roll LEFTIST. Let's sing a song:

Welcome to the Cold War, we live here everyday....

Notice we only fuck with countries with SOCIALIST policies? IRAN, IRAQ, NORTH KOREA, CUBA, VENEZUELA? Maybe Afghanistan was just a casualty of the hot new cold war.

I mean seriously.

[eridani]

11. Iran is socialist? On what planet?

The Tudeh Party has zilch influence these days. The US "problem" with Iran is that it's a populous country in the ME, and therefore a threat to our military domination of the ME by definition.

[Bandit]

13. I think you are missing the fact that Iran sits upon a HUGE basin of OIL.

Maybe even the largest in the world..This is all about OIL and anyone that thinks different has their head in the sand..

[eridani]

14. I thought that was the point of US military conquest of the region

Goes without saying, no?

[DCKit]

15. "This is all about OIL and anyone that thinks different has their head in the sand..."

But only 'cause that's the best place to find OIL!!!!

Republicon circular logic.

[lyonn]

3. Stupidity is running rampant in this country

We would joke that something bad was in the air, well, there is and it is affecting our brains.

Maybe I'm the stupid one and can't understand our government anymore and the people that vote them in. A blockade -? How about a little sit-down with the powers that be over their with some Representative from world powers?

[leftchick]

4. AIPAC: Our Foreign Policy Institute

they must pay off our politicians handsomely. :grr:

<snip>

Congressional insiders credit America’s powerful pro-Israel lobby for the rapid endorsement of the bills. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held its annual policy conference June 2-4, in which it sent thousands of members to Capitol Hill to push for tougher measures against Iran. On its website, AIPAC endorses the resolutions as a way to “stop Iran’s nuclear program” and tells readers to lobby Congress to pass the bill.

Proponents say the resolutions advocate constructive steps toward reducing the threat posed by Iran. “It is my hope that…this Congress will urge this and future administrations to lead the world in economically isolating Iran in real and substantial ways,” said Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), who is the original cosponsor of the House resolution.

Foreign policy analysts worry that such unilateral sanctions make it harder for the US to win the cooperation of the international community on a more effective multilateral effort. In his online blog, Senior Fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Ethan Chorin points out that some US allies seek the economic ties to Iran that these resolutions ban. “The Swiss have recently signed an MOU with Iran on gas imports; the Omanis are close to a firm deal (also) on gas imports from Iran; a limited-services joint Iranian-European bank just opened a branch on Kish Island,” he writes.

These resolutions could severely escalate US-Iran tensions, experts say. Recalling the perception of the naval blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the international norms classifying a naval blockade an act of war, critics argue endorsement of these bills would signal US intentions of war with Iran.

[tritsofme]

5. Run for the hills! A non-binding resolution with no force of law!

A non-binding resolution such as this one, "effectively requires" absolutely nothing.

[tkmorris]

8. You're right, it doesn't.

In fact it doesn't even say what is claimed in the OP, not quite, but for me that's a bit beside the point. Binding or not, there is NO reason for this resolution, and it only serves to demonstrate how complicit some members of Congress are.

[kenny blankenship]

6. Hmmm. Somebody really wants to kill Muslims

They just can't get enough.

[nealmhughes]

7. I cannot see how Iran could not view this as a declaration of war in the making.

It is contrary to the Law of the Seas and is not backed by the UN, making it a unilateral action against a sovereign nation state.

Enforcing it with arms would be an agressive war, something against the UN Charter, and every member would have the right to declare the US an agressor nation and deal with the response that followed.

Is Bayh insane, or does he merely play crazy in the Senate?

[margotb822]

9. If Iran can't block the SOH

neither can the US. Even though the US hasn't signed the UN Law of the Seas, we are one of the major proponents and defenders. The straits are in Omani and Iranian territorial waters, yet US and other vessels are allowed to freely pass because it is a critical water way and the only way in/out of the Persian Gulf. Yes, blocking it would be considered an act of war.

[spanone]

10. there's money in them there resolutions

[KharmaTrain]

12. That Was Declared A Year Ago

When the Senate passed the resolutions giving his assholiness a free hand to "root out terror" in Iran. Since then it's just been a matter of time before Junior plays this card for some political or economic gain.

The U.S. has been blockading the Straits for almost 30 years now...stopping shipping and harassing Iranian vessels. Boooshie would love an excuse to blast Korg Island and the refineries across of Basra into dust...the Iranians know it, too. This is just another game of chicken.