House bill seeks report on Iran in Latin America
House bill seeks report on Iran in Latin America
Concerns possible drug cartel alliance
By Guy Taylor
The Washington Times
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A bipartisan House bill aims to push the State Department to adopt a more vigilant posture toward the Irans activities in Latin America.
The Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012 would require the State Department to compile a detailed report for Congress on the activities and motivations of the Iranian Republican Guard, its elite Qods Force, Lebanons Hezbollah organization and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Latin America.
The legislation has picked up 63 co-sponsors, all but two of them Republicans. But it gained notable bipartisan traction last week when the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade approved it by verbal vote. It now goes to the full committee.
The support of the subcommittee shows that Congress recognizes the seriousness of the threat that Iran poses to Americans here at home and to our allies in the Western Hemisphere, said Rep. Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Republican.
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