Yesterday Senator Dodd signed a letter spearheaded by Senator Jim Webb to President Bush on Iran. He was joined by twenty-eight other Senators who agreed that the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran "should in no way be interpreted as a predicate for the use of military force in Iran."
This letter is not the sum of Dodd's opposition to war with Iran -- nor does it preclude or substitute for any other legislative actions that can be taken to stop the march to war. Dodd is a cosponsor of Senate Resolution 356, which resolves "that any offensive military action taken against Iran must be explicitly approved by Congress before such action may be initiated."
Senator Dodd voted against Kyl-Lieberman, because he saw it as something that would pave the way to war with Iran. Dodd's vocal opposition to the march to war with Iran has been consistent and clear. In September Dodd personally sent a letter to President Bush:
“To date there has been a total absence of any serious U.S. diplomatic efforts to dissuade Iran from continuing its ill conceived and destabilizing policies. I am extremely concerned that your administration’s failure to employ robust diplomacy in dealing with the challenges posed by Iran could lead us down the same disastrous and ill-conceived path that has produced a failed policy in Iraq that has made us less secure.”
Senator Dodd has lead in the fight to silence the Bush administration's drumbeat for war. He will continue to do so at every opportunity. As Dodd said in September, “We shouldn’t repeat our mistakes and enable this President again.” That means we have to be consistent and clear in our opposition and we should expect our representatives in the Senate to consistently act to stop the march to war.
And that's just what Dodd has done, through his vote against Kyl-Lieberman, to individually calling on Bush to use diplomacy, to joining with a large majority of Democrats in the Senate to make clear to President Bush that he does not, to being a cosponsor to legislation now that will state clearly that military action with Iran requires Congressional authorization. You can count on him to continue leading with clarity on this critically important issue.
Update:
My colleague Hari Sevugan clearly explained the reasoning behind signing onto this letter even though Senator Dodd opposed Kyl-Lieberman:
Even though Dodd shares that view, he signed the letter because "we felt that it was necessary to make it clear that this administration cannot take military action against Iran without the express authorization of Congress," said Dodd spokesman Hari Sevugan.
