House condemns Tehran crackdown on protesters

Ron Burgundy · 06-19-2009, 12:42 PM

WASHINGTON – In the strongest message yet from the U.S. government, the House voted 405-1 Friday to condemn Tehran's crackdown on demonstrators and the government's interference with Internet and cell phone communications.

The resolution was initiated by Republicans as a veiled criticism of President Barack Obama, who has been reluctant to criticize Tehran's handling of disputed elections that left hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.

Democrats, who typically are quick to voice their support for Israel anytime the Jewish state is seen as under siege, easily agreed to push through the resolution.

The policy statement expresses support for "all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law" and affirms "the importance of democratic and fair elections."

It also condemns "the ongoing violence" by the government and pro-government militias against demonstrators, as well as government "suppression of independent electronic communications through interference with the Internet and cell phones."

Such a resolution has significant political influence, even though the legislative branch's say-so in foreign affairs has receded with time, the residue of expanding executive branch power.

Congress — particularly the 435-member House — frequently weighs in on foreign policy matters, when a similar message from the State Department or the White House would be considered confrontational. Such resolutions have no practical effect other than to express the opinion of lawmakers.

Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said "it is not for us to decide who should run Iran, much less determine the real winner of the June 12 election.

"But we must reaffirm our strong belief that the Iranian people have a fundamental right to express their views about the future of their country freely and without intimidation," Berman, D-Calif., added.

Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian, cast the sole opposing vote.

The Republican push for the Iranian resolution included a suggestion that Obama's response to the crisis was weak.

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia urged Obama "to follow the lead of this House to speak out on behalf of the Iranian people and their quest for freedom and human rights."

Obama, whose goal is to engage Tehran in the hopes of blunting its perceived ambition of a nuclear weapon, has stayed mostly neutral on the election dispute, talking in parsed, measured terms, about the aspirations of the Iranian people to have their voices heard.

Obama told CNBC this week that "when you've got 100,000 people who are out on the streets peacefully protesting and they're having to be scattered through violence and gun shots, what that tells me is the Iranian people are not convinced of the legitimacy of the election."

Obama also said that it was "not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling."

Iranians have long blamed the CIA for helping topple the elected government of Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953 and replacing him with the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

source: AP - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_go_co/us_us_iran [link]

Photon1001 · 06-19-2009, 12:49 PM

Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian, cast the sole opposing vote.

I just spit coffee all over my screen...

Mahmoud's got Ron Paul drinking the Obamalaid...

Photon1001 · 06-19-2009, 01:24 PM

Here, Ronny, here's a poster for you:

JDTC · 06-19-2009, 01:45 PM

I knew knew knew that Ron Paul would be the only one to vote against it.

Winston · 06-20-2009, 10:42 AM

Mir Hossein Mousavi is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's brother-in-law. A founding member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution, Mousavi was instrumental in the purging of Iranian academia of non-fundamentalist Muslims during the revolution. He was Khamenei's hand chosen premier during the Iran-Iraq war--the war in which we chose Sadaam Hussein to back since Mousavi was so "evil". Funny as hell, now Mousavi is going to lead Iran to democracy. You can't make this stuff up.

motivez · 06-30-2009, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by Winston

Mir Hossein Mousavi is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's brother-in-law. A founding member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution, Mousavi was instrumental in the purging of Iranian academia of non-fundamentalist Muslims during the revolution. He was Khamenei's hand chosen premier during the Iran-Iraq war--the war in which we chose Sadaam Hussein to back since Mousavi was so "evil". Funny as hell, now Mousavi is going to lead Iran to democracy. You can't make this stuff up.

I think people are somewhat deluding themselves if they think he's going to lead them to democracy.. he's a beneficiary of the current power structure, or at least was until recently.

He's not looking to overthrow the structure of the Islamic Republic, just provide some modest (and modern) reforms.. though in time I think those reforms could weak the structure.

ChadLS · 06-30-2009, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by Winston

Mir Hossein Mousavi is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's brother-in-law. A founding member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution, Mousavi was instrumental in the purging of Iranian academia of non-fundamentalist Muslims during the revolution. He was Khamenei's hand chosen premier during the Iran-Iraq war--the war in which we chose Sadaam Hussein to back since Mousavi was so "evil". Funny as hell, now Mousavi is going to lead Iran to democracy. You can't make this stuff up.

Exactly. Mousavi want's to transform Iran into a "pure" Muslim nation, which our government doesn't seem to realize could be worse for US-Iran relations in the long run.

motivez · 06-30-2009, 11:54 PM

I don't think that's necessarily true, at least anymore. From what I've been reading he's much more moderate than he used to be.

Photon1001 · 07-01-2009, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by motivez

I don't think that's necessarily true, at least anymore. From what I've been reading he's much more moderate than he used to be.

ya, sure, and Obama was supposed to be a socialist too.. Iran got lucky, me thinks...

The Great Catpiss · 07-02-2009, 12:42 AM

So the house condemns them. Seems like a waste of time. I would rather our congressmen spend more time reading bills than telling off people that don't care. I wouldn't mind so much if they had free time, but apparently they vote on incredibly expensive bills without the time to adequately consider them.

As the representative of the United States, Obama should be the one who choses whether to scold iran or not.

Photon1001 · 07-02-2009, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by The Great Catpiss

So the house condemns them. Seems like a waste of time. I would rather our congressmen spend more time reading bills than telling off people that don't care. I wouldn't mind so much if they had free time, but apparently they vote on incredibly expensive bills without the time to adequately consider them.

As the representative of the United States, Obama should be the one who choses whether to scold iran or not.

perhaps surprisingly, I agree completely, and perhaps reluctantly, would suggest that the House be first in our movement to dispose of our unnecessary congress.

JaJae · 07-07-2009, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by The Great Catpiss

So the house condemns them. Seems like a waste of time. I would rather our congressmen spend more time reading bills than telling off people that don't care. I wouldn't mind so much if they had free time, but apparently they vote on incredibly expensive bills without the time to adequately consider them.

As the representative of the United States, Obama should be the one who choses whether to scold iran or not.

Best post in thread. I agree 100%. It is not the responsibility of the House to make foreign policy statements.

CuriousMoon · 01-01-2010, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by The Great Catpiss

So the house condemns them. Seems like a waste of time. I would rather our congressmen spend more time reading bills than telling off people that don't care. I wouldn't mind so much if they had free time, but apparently they vote on incredibly expensive bills without the time to adequately consider them.

As the representative of the United States, Obama should be the one who choses whether to scold iran or not.

yep, yep

The house is busy with its lobbyists and diplomacy.

too, busy to realize they have over-stepped and there is no one to tell them that they have.

The House is out of control. Oh, speaking of control:

The elite want control of Iran's oil.