Nevermind that this is all based on a falsified translation of Ahmadinejad’s words, nevermind that the UN itself had condemned Zionism as a form of racism for many years, nevermind that Iran poses absolutely no threat to anyone in the region – the US Congress has covered itself in shame and disgrace yet again.
After cheering on Israel for its “continued efforts to prevent civilian casualties” during the war in Lebanon last summer, after congratulating Israel on its illegal conquests, Congress now call on the world to condemn the President of Iran and “reaffirms the unwavering strategic partnership between the United States and Israel and reasserts the steadfast commitment of the United States to defend the right of Israel to exist as a free and democratic state“ (nevermind that it is the last self-declared ethno-religious state on the planet whose internal policies similar to the South African Apartheid according to Desmond Tutu).
Only Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich had the courage to actually vote “no” to this kind of propaganda.
Oh boy – talk about a psychological preparation for war!!
(I am sure that Olmert and Netanyahu are satisfied with the results of their efforts)
Ok – so the case is clear now. Here is how all this will be packaged:
- Iran is a rogue state, part of the axis of evil, whose President is guilty of calling for genocide.
- The UNSC has expressed its concern at Iran (fully legal and NPT compliant) civil nuclear program and imposed (illegal) sanctions (in violation of the NPT in fact).
- Iran also is repsonsible for the mess in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Gaza.
- The US Congress has expressed its repeated utmost outrage and concern at Iran’s alledged actions
- If no action is taken, another “Holocaust” – this time a nuclear one – will happen in Israel to whom Iran poses an existential threat
Thus the Empire has “no choice” but to “shoulder its responsability” and “historical mission” to engage into a “defensive war” since the nobody else has the will or the means to do so.
That cowardly and sold-out Congress would have done better to openly declare war on Iran. The result would have been the same, but at least that would have been somewhat more honorable.
As for Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich – they will go down in history as examples of integrity and courage in the face of a general decline in courage of an entire political class.
HCON 21 IH
January 9, 2007
Mr. ROTHMAN (for himself, Mr. KIRK, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. PATRICK MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. SAXTON, and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Whereas the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (commonly referred to as the `Genocide Convention’) defines genocide as, among other things, the act of killing members of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the targeted group, and it also prohibits conspiracy to commit genocide, as well as `direct and public incitement to commit genocide’;
Whereas Article 4 of the Genocide Convention provides that individuals committing any of the listed genocidal crimes shall be punished `whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals’;
Whereas 133 Member States of the United Nations have ratified the Genocide Convention and thereby pledged to prosecute those individuals who violate its criteria for incitement to commit genocide, as well as those individuals who commit genocide directly;
Whereas 61 years ago the United Nations was founded to prevent another Holocaust, the Nazi genocide carried out during World War II that resulted in the slaughter of 6 million Jews in Europe, from happening ever again;
Whereas Article 2, Section 4, of the United Nations Charter, to which Iran has agreed as a Member State of the United Nations, requires all Member States of the United Nations to `refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state’;
Whereas, on October 27, 2005, at the World Without Zionism Conference in Tehran, Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be `wiped off the map’, described Israel as `a disgraceful blot [on] the face of the Islamic world’, and declared that `[a]nybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury’;
Whereas, on December 12, 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed a conference in Tehran questioning the history of the Holocaust and said that Israel would `soon be wiped out’;
Whereas, on December 14, 2006, incoming United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that Iran’s calls for Israel’s destruction and its dismissal of the Holocaust are `unacceptable’, and expressed concern about the regional and global security implications of Tehran’s nuclear program;
Whereas, on August 3, 2006, in a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that the Middle East would be better off `without the existence of the Zionist regime’, called Israel an `illegitimate regime’ with `no legal basis for its existence’, and accused the United States of using Israel as a proxy to control the region and its oil resources;
Whereas Iran funds, trains, and openly supports terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad among many others, that are determined to destroy Israel;
Whereas, on December 14, 2001, the President of Iran’s Expediency Council, Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, threatened Israel with nuclear attack, saying, `[i]f one day, the Islamic world is also equipped with weapons like those that Israel possesses now, then the imperialists’ strategy will reach a standstill because the use of even one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything [in Israel], while it will merely harm the Islamic world’;
Whereas Iran has aggressively pursued a clandestine effort to arm itself with nuclear weapons; and
Whereas the longstanding policy of the Iranian regime is aimed at destroying the democratic State of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and the most important strategic ally of the United States, which is confirmed by statements such as those made by Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Council President Rafsanjani, demonstrating the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran: Now, therefore, be it
-
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress–
- (1) condemns, in the strongest terms, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s offensive remarks, contemptible statements, and reprehensible policies aimed at the destruction of the State of Israel;
- (2) calls on the United Nations Security Council to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Article 2, Section 4, of the United Nations Charter;
- (3) further calls on the United Nations Security Council and all Member States of the United Nations to consider measures to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, which would be both a dangerous violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a potential means to the end of carrying out President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel; and
- (4) reaffirms the unwavering strategic partnership between the United States and Israel and reasserts the steadfast commitment of the United States to defend the right of Israel to exist as a free and democratic state.
H CON RES 21 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 20-Jun-2007 12:29 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, As Amended
BILL TITLE: Calling on the United Nations Security Council to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the United Nations Charter because of his calls for the destruction of the State of Israel
| Yeas | Nays | PRES | NV | |
| Democratic | 217 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| Republican | 194 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Independent | ||||
| TOTALS | 411 | 2 | 11 | 8 |
| Ackerman Aderholt Akin Alexander Allen Altmire Andrews Arcuri Baca Bachmann Bachus Baird Baker Barrett (SC) Barrow Bartlett (MD) Barton (TX) Bean Berkley Berman Berry Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blunt Boehner Bonner Bono Boozman Boren Boswell Boucher Boustany Boyd (FL) Boyda (KS) Brady (PA) Brady (TX) Braley (IA) Brown (SC) Brown, Corrine Brown-Waite, Ginny Buchanan Burgess Burton (IN) Butterfield Buyer Calvert Camp (MI) Campbell (CA) Cannon Cantor Capito Capps Capuano Cardoza Carnahan Carney Carson Carter Castle Castor Chabot Chandler Clarke Clay Cleaver Clyburn Coble Cohen Cole (OK) Conaway Cooper Costa Costello Courtney Cramer Crenshaw Crowley Cuellar Culberson Cummings Davis (AL) Davis (CA) Davis (IL) Davis (KY) Davis, David Davis, Lincoln Davis, Tom Deal (GA) DeGette Delahunt DeLauro Dent Diaz-Balart, L. Diaz-Balart, M. Dicks Dingell Doggett Donnelly Doolittle Doyle Drake Dreier Duncan Edwards Ehlers Ellison Ellsworth Emanuel Emerson Engel English (PA) Eshoo Etheridge Everett Fallin Farr Fattah Feeney Ferguson Filner Flake Forbes Fortenberry Fossella Foxx Frank (MA) Franks (AZ) Frelinghuysen Gallegly Garrett (NJ) Gerlach Giffords |
Gillibrand Gillmor Gingrey Gohmert Gonzalez Goode Goodlatte Gordon Granger Graves Green, Al Green, Gene Grijalva Gutierrez Hall (NY) Hall (TX) Hare Harman Hastert Hastings (FL) Hastings (WA) Hayes Heller Hensarling Herger Herseth Sandlin Higgins Hill Hinojosa Hirono Hobson Hodes Hoekstra Holden Holt Honda Hooley Hoyer Hulshof Hunter Inglis (SC) Inslee Israel Issa Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Jefferson Jindal Johnson (GA) Johnson (IL) Johnson, E. B. Johnson, Sam Jones (OH) Jordan Kagen Kanjorski Kaptur Keller Kennedy Kildee Kilpatrick Kind King (IA) King (NY) Kingston Kirk Klein (FL) Kline (MN) Knollenberg Kuhl (NY) LaHood Lamborn Lampson Langevin Lantos Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latham LaTourette Lee Levin Lewis (CA) Lewis (GA) Lewis (KY) Linder Lipinski LoBiondo Loebsack Lofgren, Zoe Lowey Lucas Lungren, Daniel E. Lynch Mack Mahoney (FL) Maloney (NY) Manzullo Marchant Markey Matheson Matsui McCarthy (CA) McCarthy (NY) McCaul (TX) McCollum (MN) McCotter McCrery McGovern McHenry McHugh McIntyre McKeon McMorris Rodgers McNerney McNulty Meehan Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Melancon Mica Michaud Miller (FL) Miller (MI) Miller (NC) Miller, Gary Mitchell Mollohan Moore (KS) Moore (WI) Moran (KS) Moran (VA) Murphy (CT) Murphy, Patrick Murphy, Tim Murtha Musgrave Myrick |
Nadler Napolitano Neal (MA) Neugebauer Nunes Oberstar Obey Olver Pallone Pascrell Pastor Payne Pearce Pence Perlmutter Peterson (MN) Peterson (PA) Petri Pickering Pitts Platts Poe Pomeroy Porter Price (GA) Price (NC) Pryce (OH) Putnam Radanovich Rahall Ramstad Rangel Regula Rehberg Reichert Renzi Reyes Reynolds Rodriguez Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rohrabacher Ros-Lehtinen Roskam Ross Rothman Roybal-Allard Royce Ruppersberger Rush Ryan (OH) Ryan (WI) Salazar Sali Sánchez, Linda T. Sanchez, Loretta Sarbanes Saxton Schakowsky Schiff Schmidt Schwartz Scott (GA) Scott (VA) Sensenbrenner Serrano Sessions Sestak Shadegg Shays Shea-Porter Sherman Shimkus Shuler Shuster Simpson Sires Skelton Slaughter Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Smith (WA) Snyder Solis Souder Space Spratt Stearns Stupak Sutton Tancredo Tanner Tauscher Taylor Terry Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thornberry Tiahrt Tiberi Tierney Towns Turner Udall (CO) Udall (NM) Upton Van Hollen Velázquez Visclosky Walberg Walsh (NY) Walz (MN) Wamp Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Watt Waxman Weiner Welch (VT) Weldon (FL) Weller Westmoreland Wexler Whitfield Wicker Wilson (NM) Wilson (OH) Wilson (SC) Wolf Woolsey Wynn Yarmuth Young (AK) Young (FL) |
| Kucinich | Paul |
| Abercrombie Baldwin Blumenauer DeFazio |
Gilchrest Hinchey Jones (NC) McDermott |
Miller, George Stark Wu |
| Becerra Conyers Cubin |
Davis, Jo Ann Marshall Ortiz |
Sullivan Walden (OR) |
“”reaffirms the unwavering strategic partnership between the United States and Israel and reasserts the steadfast commitment of the United States to defend the right of Israel to exist as a free and democratic state”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the ‘attachment” US politicians claim to feel to Izz-reel resembles a bizarre cult more than a rational political alignment. Since when does one state profess an ‘unwavering strategic partnership’ with another? Even worse are all the phoney professions of ‘eternal friendship’. Nation states just don’t have that kind of relationship with one another: particularly in a country as isolationist as the US, you base your foreign relations on rational assessments of usually short-term strategic interests. Never mind my wilingness to bet that at least 90% of USAnians could not point to Izz-reel on a map.
The US unconditional alliance (one could really speak of some bizarre reflexive genuflexing) is really unique in history. I cannot think of one single case in all of history where such a thing took place. Even MORE bizarre is that the USAians (good term, like the Spanish Estadounidenses) take this in sheepish silence.
Freaky…
Well… it is freaky and it isn’t.
Of course it is bizarre that 300 million people don’t seem to care that they are funding and unconditionally supporting a country with an appalling human rights record, and furthering an ‘alliance’ which has gone some way to make their country the most hated nation on earth. But then again, the Americans as a whole are not the best-informed people out there. Add in the fact that absolutely NO debate is permitted on US-Israeli relations, and you can see that the vast majority of Americasn are barely aware of how much the US backs Israel, much less what the results of that ‘alliance’ are. All that nonsense about ‘eternal friendships’ and the like is for a small, political audience only. Most Americans couldn’t give much of a toss for Izz-reel, I’m convinced.
And yes, I agree that the ‘relationship’ between the two countries is unique in history.
What we REALLY need is a drastic overhaul of the UN. Specifically we need an organization which is founded on the principle of democracy. Like this…
http://www.UnitedDemocraticNations.org
Until this happens I don’t see the UN ever being very effective.
gary
All the more reason why the United States needs to get out of the UN and get the UN out of the US. Furthermore, an immediate withdrawal of troops from the middle east. There is nothing or no one there worth a single drop of American blood