House OK'ed Pre-emptive U.S. Attack Against Iran

[dutchdemocrat]

Three Hundred and Seventy-Six to Three. That was the vote.

This is an older story that was, of course, bypassed by the MSM and I thought it was relevent with current climate as the US puts the heat on Iran in order to implement its next imperialistic, geopolitical chess move.

Shame on the Democrats YOU DU'ers voted for - for supporting a bill such as this. Kudos to Stark and Kucinich for having the balls to stand up and speak the truth... there are two few in your polarized system willing to take that chance.

House OKs Pre-emptive U.S. Attack Against Iran

by Trish Schuh

14 May 2004

Undeterred by the results of pre-emptive war in Iraq, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution May 6 authorizing pre-emptive military strikes against Iran. The vote was 376-3.
Undeterred by the results of pre-emptive war in Iraq, the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution May 6 authorizing pre-emptive military strikes against Iran. The vote was 376-3.

It has engaged in a systematic campaign of deception and manipulation to hide its true intentions and keep its large scale nuclear efforts a secret,? said Dan Burton (R-Indiana).

The resolution urges nations that have signed the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (See P. 13) to use any and all appropriate means to deter, dissuade and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It also demands that the European Union, Asian nations, and Russia cease future commercial and energy trade with the Islamic Republic. Russia is the main contractor for Iran's nuclear grid.

House members said the legislation is in line with the Bush Doctrine of preventive war, and creates a legal framework for later sanctions and military options against Iranian nuclear sites. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Pete Stark (D-Calif.) both condemned the bill, noting its similarity to the law that permitted a preemptive war on Iraq.

The bills? adoption capped a year of anti-Iranian efforts in Congress.

A U.S. plan for military action against Iran has been complete since May 2003, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Under the plan, the U.S. would strike the Arak, Natanz, Isfahan and Bushehr installations with precision missiles launched from Iraq as well as Iran's northern neighbors, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

British and American intelligence and special forces units have been put on alert for an Iran conflict within 12 months, according to British news sources. Also. the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz recently revealed that a special Mossad unit has been activated to draw up 'Osirik II' (a reference to the 1981 Israeli bombing raids that destroyed the Osirak nuclear complex near Baghdad).

Mossad chief Meir Dagan declared Iranian nuclear capability to be the greatest threat ever faced by Israel. In December 2003, he informed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that an operation to annihilate Iran's facilities had been finalized.

<SNIP>

http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/93431

[dutchdemocrat]

1. Congress

(17) urges the President to keep the Congress fully and currently informed concerning the matters addressed in this resolution.

Love the last snippet.

Looks like this one did not work out...

Whereas the Ministry of the Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation has recently announced that it will soon conclude an agreement to supply Iran with enriched nuclear fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power reactor, ignoring the need to sanction Iran to persuade it to cease its nuclear weapons development program;

Putin: Russia will continue nuclear cooperation with Iran
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will continue its nuclear cooperation with Iran and that he is convinced Tehran does not intend to develop atomic weapons.

Iran's nuclear program is likely to be one of the top issues when Putin and President Bush meet Thursday in Slovakia.

Moscow has helped Iran build a nuclear reactor, a project that has been heavily criticized by the United States, which fears it could be used to help Tehran develop atomic weapons.

<SNIP>

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050218-0546-russia-iran.html

Here's the full bill online.

108th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. CON. RES. 398

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/2004_cr/h-con-res-398.htm

[bloom]

17. Thanks for posting this.

Our gov't uses things like this as justification for whatever... an awful lot of demands listed - including:

(2) calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including ending all nuclear and other cooperation with Iran (including the provision of dual use items), until Iran fully implements the Additional Protocol between Iran and the IAEA for the application of safeguards;

[paineinthearse]

2. Thomas is very perplexing!

This is the only thing I can find attributable to Burton on 5/6/04. Odd that he was recognized for 5 minutes, there is no speech, just

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r108:38:./temp/~r108wPnapQ::

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes. -- (House of Representatives - May 06, 2004)


GPO's PDF
---
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.

(Mr. BURTON of Indiana addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.)

------------------------------------------

Looking for "extension of remarks" on the 7th, I've found:

EXPRESSING CONCERN OF CONGRESS OVER IRAN'S DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 07, 2004)


GPO's PDF
---
SPEECH OF
FORTNEY ``PETE'' STARK
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2004
Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Iran's deceptions about its nuclear weapons program are rightly condemned. The United States ought to use the tools at our disposal--both political and economic--to demand an end to their egregious policies.
However, this resolution calls for the U.S. to use ``all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.'' As long as President Bush is in office, I can no longer trust that our foreign policy will be carried out using ``appropriate means.'' This President is no longer deserving of our trust.
That's why I am forced to vote present on this resolution. I simply don't trust that President Bush won't misinterpret Congressional intent and attempt to use this resolution in ways Congress never intended.
The pre-emptive quagmire in Iraq in which we now find ourselves was started under the pretense of deterring and preventing weapons of mass destruction. In fact, President Bush used past declarations of Congress meant merely to reprimand Iraq to justify full-blown war against that regime.
Mr. Speaker, the Bush foreign policy of pre-emptive war, threats, and isolation has made the world a far more dangerous place. I want no part of this neoconservative agenda.

...so apparently the vote was on the 5th, not 6th as reported. Backtracking to the 5th...

===================================

Searching the 5th, there were a series of floor speeches for 5 minutes each, but no recorded speaches! All said was to be entered later as "extension of remarks".

I've never seen anything like this. If you can give me a resolution number I can do more digging.

Or.....if anyone lives in Pete Stark's district, please PM me.

[paineinthearse]

3. Bingo!

50 Congressional Record articles from the 108th Congress ranked by relevance on"H. CON. RES. 398 ".
Limited To: on DATE 05/05/2004

<snip>

Listing of 3 articles containing your phrase exactly as entered.

1 . EXPRESSING CONCERN OF CONGRESS OVER IRAN'S DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS -- (House of Representatives - May 05, 2004)
2 . ADDITIONAL SPONSORS -- (House of Representatives - May 05, 2004)
3 . Daily Digest - Wednesday, May 5, 2004

=============================================

Expressing the concern of Congress over Iran's development of the means to produce nuclear weapons: H . Con . Res . 398 , expressing the concern of Congress over Iran's development of the means to produce nuclear weapons.
Pages H2617-23

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r108:FLD001:H52617-H52623

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:2:./temp/~r108RbhnKB:e0:

EXPRESSING CONCERN OF CONGRESS OVER IRAN'S DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS -- (House of Representatives - May 05, 2004)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



GPO's PDF
---
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 398) expressing the concern of Congress over Iran's development of the means to produce nuclear weapons.

The Clerk read as follows:

H. Con. Res. 398

Whereas the United States has for years attempted to alert the international community to Iran's covert nuclear activities in support of an intention to develop a nuclear weapon, contrary to its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT);

Whereas Iran's covert activities to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons are finally beginning to be revealed to the international community;

Whereas Iran did not declare to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the existence of the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the production-scale Fuel Enrichment Facility under construction at Natanz until February 2003, after the existence of the plant and facility was revealed by an opposition group;

Whereas it is estimated that the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon every year-and-a-half to two years;

GPO's PDF
Whereas it is estimated that the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Facility could, when completed, produce enough highly enriched uranium for as many as 25-30 nuclear weapons per year;

Whereas in his report of June 6, 2003, the Director-General of the IAEA stated that Iran had failed to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA to report all nuclear material imported into Iran--specifically, the importation of uranium hexafluoride from China in 1991--the processing and use of that material, and the facilities involved in the use and processing of the material;

Whereas the IAEA Board of Governors urged Iran in June 2003 to promptly rectify its failures to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement, not to introduce nuclear material into the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, and to cooperate fully with the Agency in resolving questions about its nuclear activities;

Whereas the IAEA Director General reported to the Board of Governors in August 2003 that, after further investigation, Iran failed to disclose additional nuclear activities as required by its Safeguards Agreement and continued to fail to resolve questions about its undeclared uranium enrichment activities;

Whereas the IAEA Board of Governors on September 12, 2003, called on Iran to suspend all further uranium enrichment and any plutonium reprocessing activities, disclose all its nuclear activities, and cooperate fully with the Agency, and to sign, ratify, and fully implement the Additional Protocol between Iran and the IAEA for the application of safeguards to strengthen investigation of all nuclear activities within Iran, and requested all third countries to cooperate closely and fully with the Agency in resolving questions about Iran's nuclear program;

Whereas IAEA inspectors and officials continued to confront Iran with discrepancies in its explanations of its nuclear activities;

Whereas on October 9, 2003, in a letter to the Director General of the IAEA, Iran finally confirmed that it had conducted research on uranium conversion processes at the Esfahan Nuclear Technology Centre and the Tehran Nuclear Research Centre, despite its earlier denials of such activities;

Whereas on October 21, 2003, Iran and the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement in which Iran indicated that it had decided to suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities as defined by the IAEA;

Whereas this statement also foresaw the provision of unspecified nuclear technical cooperation once Iran had satisfied international concerns about its nuclear development program;

Whereas in a subsequent letter on October 23, 2003, Iran further admitted that it had tested uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Kalaye Electric Company between 1998 and 2002 using its previously undeclared imported uranium hexafluoride from China;

Whereas in that same letter, Iran admitted that it had a laser uranium enrichment program, in which it used 30 kg of uranium not previously declared to the IAEA, another violation of its Safeguards Agreement;

Whereas in that same letter, Iran also admitted that it had irradiated 7 kg of uranium dioxide targets and reprocessed them to extract plutonium, another violation of its legal obligation to disclose such activities under its Safeguards Agreement;

Whereas Iran told the IAEA on November 10, 2003, that it would sign and ratify the Additional Protocol agreement for further safeguards, and would act in accordance with the Additional Protocol pending its full entry-into-force;

Whereas on November 10, 2003, Iran further informed the IAEA Director General that it had decided to suspend all enrichment and reprocessing activities in Iran, not to produce feed material for enrichment processes, and not to import enrichment related items;

Whereas the IAEA, through its investigative and forensic activities in Iran and elsewhere, has uncovered and confronted Iran in numerous lies about its nuclear activities;

Whereas the Director General of the IAEA reported to the IAEA Board of Governors on November 10, 2003, that Iran has concealed many aspects of its nuclear activities from the IAEA, which constituted breaches of its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement;

Whereas despite Iran's subsequent pledge to, once again, fully disclose all of its nuclear activities to the IAEA, the Director General of the IAEA, in his report of February 24, 2004, found that Iran continued to engage in deception regarding its nuclear activities, including failing to disclose a more sophisticated enrichment program using more advanced enrichment centrifuge technology imported from foreign sources, and noncredible explanations involving experiments to create a highly toxic isotope of polonium that is useful as a neutron initiator in nuclear weapons and a firm indicator of a nuclear weapons development program;

Whereas these deceptions by Iran were continuing violations of Iran's Safeguards Agreement and of Iran's previous assurances to the IAEA and the international community for full transparency;

Whereas despite Iran's commitment to the IAEA and to France, Germany, and the United Kingdom that it would suspend uranium enrichment activities, it has repeatedly emphasized that this suspension is temporary and continued to import and manufacture uranium enrichment centrifuge parts and equipment, allowing it to resume and expand its uranium enrichment activities whenever it chooses;

Whereas the statements on February 25, 2004, of Hassan Rowhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, that Iran was not required to reveal to the IAEA its research into more sophisticated ``P2'' uranium enrichment centrifuges, and that Iran has other projects which it has no intention of declaring to the IAEA, are contrary to--

(1) Iran's commitment to the IAEA in a letter on October 16, 2003, by the Vice President of Iran and President of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization that Iran would present a ``full picture of its nuclear activities'' and ``full transparency'';

(2) its commitment to the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany of October 21, 2003, to full transparency and to resolve all outstanding issues; and

(3) its statement to the IAEA's Board of Governors of September 12, 2003, of its commitment to full transparency and to ``leave no stone unturned'' to assure the IAEA of its peaceful objectives;

Whereas it is abundantly clear that Iran remains committed to a nuclear weapons program;

Whereas Libya received enrichment equipment and technology, and a nuclear weapons design, from the same nuclear black market that Iran has used, raising the question of whether Iran, as well, received a nuclear weapon design that it has refused to reveal to international inspectors;

Whereas the Ministry of the Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation has recently announced that it will soon conclude an agreement to supply Iran with enriched nuclear fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power reactor, ignoring the need to sanction Iran to persuade it to cease its nuclear weapons development program;

Whereas the IAEA Board of Governors' resolution of March 13, 2004, which was adopted unanimously, noted with ``serious concern that the declarations made by Iran in October 2003 did not amount to the complete and final picture of Iran's past and present nuclear programme considered essential by the Board's November 2003 resolution'', and also noted that the Agency has discovered that Iran had hidden more advanced centrifuge associated research, manufacturing, and testing activities; two mass spectrometers used in the laser enrichment program; and designs for hot cells to handle highly radioactive materials;

Whereas the same resolution also noted ``with equal concern that Iran has not resolved all questions regarding the development of its enrichment technology to its current extent, and that a number of other questions remain unresolved, including the sources of all HEU contamination in Iran; the location, extent and nature of work undertaken on the basis of the advanced centrifuge design; the nature, extent, and purpose of activities involving the planned heavy-water reactor; and evidence to support claims regarding the purpose of polonium-210 experiments'';

Whereas Hassan Rowhani on March 13, 2004, declared that IAEA inspections would be indefinitely suspended as a protest against the IAEA Board of Governors' resolution of March 13, 2004, and while Iran subsequently agreed to readmit inspectors by March 27, 2004, this suspension calls into serious question Iran's commitment to full transparency about its nuclear activities; and

Whereas Iran's pattern of deception and concealment in dealing with the IAEA, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and the international community, its receipt from other countries of the means to enrich uranium, and its repeated breaches of its IAEA Safeguards Agreement, indicate that Iran has also violated its legal obligation under article II of the NPT not to acquire or seek assistance in acquiring nuclear weapons: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress--

(1) condemns in the strongest possible terms Iran's continuing deceptions and falsehoods to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community about its nuclear programs and activities;

(2) calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including ending all nuclear and other cooperation with Iran (including the provision of dual use items), until Iran fully implements the Additional Protocol between Iran and the IAEA for the application of safeguards;

(3) declares that Iran, through its many breaches for 18 years of its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, has forfeited the right to be trusted with development of a nuclear fuel cycle, especially with uranium conversion and enrichment and plutonium reprocessing technology, equipment, and facilities;

(4) declares that the recent revelations of Iran's nondisclosure of additional enrichment and nuclear-weapons-applicable research activities, as detailed in the report of February 24, 2004, by the Director General of the IAEA, along with the statement by the Government of Iran that it will not disclose other research programs, constitute ample

GPO's PDF
evidence of Iran's continuing policy of noncompliance with the letter and spirit of its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol;

(5) demands that Iran immediately and permanently cease all efforts to acquire nuclear fuel cycle capabilities and to immediately, unconditionally, and permanently cease all nuclear enrichment activities, including manufacturing and importing related equipment;

(6) demands that Iran honor its stated commitments and legal obligations to grant the IAEA inspectors full unrestricted access and cooperate fully with the investigation of its nuclear activities and demonstrate a new openness and honesty about all its nuclear programs;

(7) contrasts Iran's behavior with Libya's, in which Libya's decision to renounce and dismantle its nuclear weapons program and to provide full, complete, and transparent disclosure of all its nuclear activities has enabled the IAEA to rapidly understand and verify with high confidence the extent and scope of Libya's program;

(8) calls upon the members of the European Union not to resume discussions with Iran on multilateral trade agreements until such time that Iran has verifiably and permanently ceased all nuclear weapons development activity, including a permanent cessation of uranium conversion and enrichment and plutonium reprocessing activities;

(9) further calls upon the European Union to consider what further measures, including sanctions, may be necessary to persuade Iran to fulfill its obligations and commitments to the IAEA;

(10) in light of ongoing revelations of the noncompliance of the Government of Iran regarding its obligations under the NPT and pledges to the IAEA, and in light of the consequent and ongoing questions and concerns of the IAEA, the United States, and the international community regarding Iran's military nuclear activities--

(A) urges Japan to ensure that Japanese commercial entities not proceed with the development of Iran's Azadegan oil field;

(B) urges France and Malaysia to ensure that French and Malaysian commercial entities not proceed with their agreement for further cooperation in expanding Iran's liquid natural gas production field;

(C) calls on all countries to intercede with their commercial entities to ensure that these entities refrain from or cease all investment and investment-related activities that support Iran's energy industry; and

(D) calls on the President to enforce the provisions of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to discourage foreign commercial entities from investing in Iran's energy industry;

(11) deplores any effort by any country to provide any nuclear power-related assistance whatsoever to Iran, and calls upon Russia to suspend nuclear cooperation with Iran and not conclude a nuclear fuel supply agreement for the Bushehr reactor, until the conditions of paragraph (8) are satisfied;

(12) calls upon the governments of the countries whose nationals and corporations are implicated in assisting Iranian nuclear activities, especially Pakistan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Germany, to fully investigate such assistance, to grant the IAEA full access to individuals, sites, and all information related to the investigations, and to immediately review and rectify their export control laws, regulations, and practices in order to prevent further assistance to countries seeking to develop nuclear programs that could support the development of nuclear weapons;

(13) urges the IAEA Board of Governors, at its earliest opportunity, to report to the United Nations Security Council that Iran is in noncompliance with its agreements with the IAEA;

(14) urges the President of the United States to provide whatever financial, material, or intelligence resources are necessary to the IAEA to enable it to fully investigate Iran's nuclear activities;

(15) urges the United Nations Security Council, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Zangger Committee, and other relevant international entities to declare that non-nuclear-weapon states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), who commit violations of their safeguards agreements regarding uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing, or engage in activities which could support a military nuclear program, thereby forfeit their right under the NPT to engage in nuclear fuel-cycle activities;

(16) further urges the United Nations Security Council to consider measures necessary to support the inspection efforts by the IAEA and to prevent Iran from further engaging in clandestine nuclear activities; and

(17) urges the President to keep the Congress fully and currently informed concerning the matters addressed in this resolution.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 398.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Indiana?

There was no objection.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 398, a resolution which condemns Iran's continued violations of its obligations and commitments regarding its nuclear program; expresses Congress' grave concern over Iran's efforts to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons, which threaten not only that region, but possibly the world; and calls for a series of steps to be undertaken by various parties to address this threat.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this measure, and I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), on this bipartisan effort and for their leadership.

Mr. Speaker, after getting caught with its hand in the cookie jar, the Iranian regime was forced to admit in the fall of 2002 that it had nuclear facilities that it had failed to declare to the International Atomic Energy Agency. From that time onward, Iran has engaged in a systematic campaign of deception and manipulation to hide its true intentions and to keep its large-scale nuclear efforts a secret.

For at least 18 years, the Iranian regime has been pursuing a covert nuclear program. It has undertaken a number of efforts for the manufacture and testing of centrifuge components, most of which, according to recent IAEA reporting, are owned by military industrial organizations.

It has an enrichment facility designed for the simultaneous operation of large numbers of centrifuges, and a large, partially-underground facility at Natanz, intended to house up to 50,000 centrifuges. Concurrently, Iran is pursuing another approach to uranium enrichment which uses lasers, a complex technology rarely used by even the most advanced countries because it is not cost efficient.

Iran has expressed interest in the purchase of up to six additional nuclear power plants and is pursuing a heavy water research reactor at Arak, a type of reactor that would be well-suited for plutonium production. This represents yet another path to nuclear weapons, which endangers not only the region, but the world.

According to the IAEA report of November of last year, the Iranian regime admitted that it had failed to report a large number of activities involving nuclear material, including the separation of a small amount of plutonium. This same report noted that Iran's deceptions have dealt with the most sensitive aspects of the nuclear cycle.

Further, the IAEA could not disprove that Iran's nuclear program was not for weapons development and could not conclude that it was solely for ``peaceful purposes.''

Iran's most recent breaches of its obligations include failing to disclose work on advanced P-2 centrifuges for uranium enrichment and work on Polonium 210, an element which could be used in nuclear explosions.

As a result, Iran has forfeited its right to develop a nuclear fuel cycle and should immediately and unconditionally cease all nuclear enrichment activities.

H. Con. Res. 398 enumerates a series of steps that should be undertaken to, number one, hold the Iranian regime accountable for its nuclear program; and, two, establish a clear precedent that such proliferation efforts, efforts which clearly threaten international peace and security, will not be tolerated. Those who pursue them will have to suffer the consequences.




The Iranian Government needs to think very, very strongly about that.

Among the demands it places on the International Atomic Energy Agency, it urges the IAEA Board of Governors to quickly report the Iranian case to the U.N. Security Council for further action, which should include steps to prevent Iran from engaging in further clandestine nuclear activities. It also urges the U.N. Security Council to declare that non-nuclear weapons states under the NPT who violate their commitments forfeit their rights under this treaty.

GPO's PDF
As President Bush said on February 11 of this year, ``Proliferators must not be allowed to cynically manipulate the NPT to acquire the material and infrastructure necessary for manufacturing illegal weapons.''

Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 398 calls upon the international community, through different venues, to use all appropriate means to deter and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including ending all nuclear cooperation with Iran until certain conditions are met.

Given the ongoing developments in the political and economic relationship of the European Union countries and Iran, the resolution calls upon the EU countries to suspend bilateral trade agreements with this pariah state until Iran has verifiably and permanently ceased all nuclear weapons development efforts. Also, given the severity of Iran's proliferation activities and heeding the lessons from Libya, H. Con. Res. 398 asks the European Union to go a step further and consider sanctions as a means of compelling Iran to comply with these international obligations and expressed commitments.

It calls on governments whose nationals, businesses, and other entities are implicated in assisting Iranian nuclear activities to, one, fully investigate such a relationship; two, grant full access to the IAEA to conduct its own parallel investigations; and, three, immediately review and rectify export control regulations and practices to prevent further assistance to countries seeking a nuclear weapons capacity.

These are not just in keeping with President Bush's counterproliferation initiatives as outlined in February of this year, but also affirm the tenets of the U.S.-led resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council just last Wednesday.

Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 398 reinforces longstanding congressional efforts to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the funds to pursue and expand their threatening activities, in particular, their proliferation activities. It calls on all countries to take steps to end investment-related efforts that in some way support Iran's energy sector.

This is particularly relevant given plans announced by Iran on Sunday aiming for a six-fold increase in its petrochemical revenues to $20 billion a year by the year 2015. It is further relevant given, for example, the April 25 announcement that French oil giant Total was awarded a $1.2 billion contract to develop phase 11 of the massive South Pars gas field in Iran.

H. Con. Res. 398, therefore, also calls for immediate enforcement of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act with respect to Iran.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would simply like to refer to a recent statement made by Iran's so-called moderate leader, Mohammad Khatami, while Iran was blocking access to IAEA inspectors. He said Iran ``has no obligation toward anybody other than what our interests require.''

Placing this in further context, I draw my colleagues' attention to Iran's display last fall of its newly deployed advanced medium-range ballistic missiles which military analysts say could reach Israel or U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf. Television photographs of the display showed one of the missile carriers with a sign that read, ``We will stomp on America,'' and that says it all, as far as I am concerned. We must stop their nuclear proliferation program.

A terrorist state like Iran must not, cannot, be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapons capability, and we need to do whatever is necessary to stop them. Let us send a clear message to Iran, and to all other potential proliferators, that we will not tolerate this behavior, we will not sit idly by as Iran threatens our Nation, our interests, and global security.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to render their strong support to this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

<snip>

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:2:./temp/~r108RbhnKB:e40631:


Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I think that the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) serve this country well and that there are probably no people stronger in defense of America than both of them. I have total confidence in that, and I just want to express my appreciation for being able to express my misgivings about the language of this bill, but I want to thank the gentlemen for the service that they are giving in expressing the importance of this.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Before closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to my friend from Ohio by saying that it is not the intention of this author of this resolution to view this resolution as one authorizing unilateral use of force against Iran.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

<snip>

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:2:./temp/~r108RbhnKB:e49800:

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cole). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 398.

The question was taken.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

==============================================

So read the resolution and judge for yourself if this was an authorization for a unilatteral attack on Iran. I don't see that.

[dutchdemocrat]

7. Appropriate?

My judgement is this does not look much different than the Iraq bill.

...calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent"

What is 'appropriate' means in the eyes of Bush?

And how much power has he been given to go ahead anyway due to the Patriot Acts?

[dutchdemocrat]

5. Problem

This is House Resolution 398, you can search for this at THOMAS -- U.S. Congress on the Internet by entering the text "H. CON. RES 384"

http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/93431

I found this at the indymedia site under comments but it does not work for me when I search.

Anyone else have this problem? Strange. I had to to elsewhere to get a link for the transcript.

[paineinthearse]

8. I use Thomas, do not trust second hand information

By the way, the "nae" votes are Conyers, Kucinich & Paul

[paineinthearse]

4. p.s. Who was #3?

I'll venture a guess - Bernie Sanders.

[paineinthearse]

6. H Con Res 398 recorded vote

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/ROLL_100.asp

6-May H CON RES 398 On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree P Expressing the concern of Congress over Irans development of the means to produce nuclear weapons

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2004/roll152.xml


FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 152
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)

H CON RES 398 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 6-May-2004 3:19 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree
BILL TITLE: Expressing the concern of Congress over Iran’s development of the means to produce nuclear weapons


Yeas Nays PRES NV
Republican 203 1 23
Democratic 172 2 14 17
Independent 1
TOTALS 376 3 14 40

---- YEAS 376 ---

Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Allen
Andrews
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldwin
Ballance
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Beauprez
Becerra
Bell
Bereuter
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Boehlert
Bonilla
Bonner
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Bradley (NH)
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burns
Burr
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Cardin
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Carter
Case
Castle
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Clay
Clyburn
Coble
Collins
Cooper
Costello
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DeLay
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley (CA)
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Emanuel
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Fattah
Ferguson
Flake
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gingrey
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Grijalva
Gutknecht
Hall
Harman
Harris
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Hill
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Kline
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
LaTourette
Leach
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Manzullo
Markey
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCotter
McGovern
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Menendez
Mica
Michaud
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy
Murtha
Musgrave
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Nethercutt
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nunes
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pearce
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Renzi
Reynolds
Rodriguez
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sánchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Sandlin
Saxton
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Turner (OH)
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Van Hollen
Velázquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wolf
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)

---- NAYS 3 ---

Conyers
Kucinich
Paul

---- ANSWERED “PRESENT” 14 ---

Capuano
Filner
Hinchey
Kanjorski
Lee
McDermott
Miller, George
Mollohan
Rahall
Serrano
Stark
Waters
Watson
Woolsey



---- NOT VOTING 40 ---

Baca
Ballenger
Berkley
Blunt
Boehner
Bono
Boyd
Burgess
Cole
Davis, Jo Ann
Delahunt
DeMint
Doyle
Farr
Feeney
Gephardt
Granger
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Hastings (WA)
Hunter
Jenkins
John
Latham
Lewis (KY)
McCollum
McCrery
McHugh
McNulty
Meeks (NY)
Neal (MA)
Oxley
Peterson (PA)
Reyes
Solis
Spratt
Tauzin
Turner (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Young (FL)

[mopaul]

9. I ain't gonna study war no more

war for war's sake. anyone with two eyes can see the imperialist/fascist nazi neocons plans, but history will note that we were all blind and indifferent.

we have a hot date this summer, a threesome, with the u.s., israel, and iran. toss in syria and iraq and lebanon and you have a real orgy goin' on.

[paineinthearse]

10. p.p.s. The title "House OK'ed Pre-emptive U.S. Attack Against Iran"

...is wrong. No pre-emptive US attack was authorized. Read the text of the resolution and the remarks by Kucinich and Burton.

[dutchdemocrat]

11. Whatever

I have read it... I put the TITLE of the article in past tense... not quite as it appeared... but that is because it's from last year.

House OKs Pre-emptive U.S. Attack Against Iran

http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/93431

Could you please cut down the length of your posts? You are hijacking this thread with unnecessary cut and pastes.

I have my opinion - and that is, that this bill gives Bush the ticket to invade Iran. Take it or leave it.

[paineinthearse]

12. And whatever to you, too

I used the minimal amount of pure documentation needed to prove the lead title and the indy media story were falacious?

Had I been a Rep, I would have also voted "nae", but when an incorrect supposition is made I will get to the true facts, so others can make informed judgements.

[ChairOne]

13. Wow - disagreeing and providing textual evidence is "hijacking"?

Only in America I guess - take it or leave it.

To hell with the facts - you have your opinion!

EDIT: And not only disagreeing, but over what to all appearances is an attempt at intentional deception. Of course, if you have a good rejoinder, explaining how a bill expressing concern is the same as authorizing pre-emptive war, I'm all ears.

[dutchdemocrat]

16. I made my point

You posted way too much data. There's no need to scroll down hundreds of lines of info to prove a point.

There's no 'plan' of deception here. I posted a link to an article with a headline that you disagree with. Period. I have no problem with you take on it - I do have a problem with having to scroll through tons of unnecessary print - which could have been easily linked too.

Read DU rules concerning links. Three to four paragraphs will suffice - thanks.

I still feel this is a ticket for invasion by the vague phraseology used.

[ChairOne]

18. I posted absoutely NO data of any sort. Complete and utter falsehood.

But if scrolling through data bugs you, then, um, don't do it. If reading and discovering the misleading nature of your post doesn't interest you, fine - don't. Sheesh.

Patient: Doc, my arm hurts when I hold it this way.
Doctor: Then don't hold it that way.

lol

EDIT: I'm still happy to hear about how a bill expressing concern is the same as authorizing pre-emptive war. I really would like to hear the explanation of this. I really, really would.

[izzie]

14. I did not know that.

And I sort of do my homework. How come I missed that?

[DELUSIONAL]

15. Does this mean that Israel is running foreign policy?

It sure sounds like it to me:

"Mossad chief Meir Dagan declared Iranian nuclear capability to be the greatest threat ever faced by Israel. In December 2003, he informed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that an operation to annihilate Iran's facilities had been finalized."

How much money is this going to cost -- how many lives will be lost?

Seems to me attacking Iran would be like attacking a wasp's nest -- while being stark naked.

If I can see the Israeli fanatic's hand in this . . . .

The idiot Neocons are proceeding with their check list of countries to attack -- and doing it after their plans have been exposed.

How stupid can the Congress be? Or have they ALL been fucked by Gannon or one of his clones?