WTF? Congress Dismisses NIE, Declares Iran a Nuclear Threat

[paparush]

Congress Dismisses NIE, declares Iran a nuclear threat
Thu, 01/17/2008 - 20:35 - Wire Services

Iran poses a nuclear weapons threat to the United States and its allies, according to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 H R 4986 passed 369-46 by the US House of Representative yesterday, even though the National Intelligence Estimate concluded that that Tehran abandoned its atomic weaponry ambitions in 2003.

Section 229 of the Act states that:

Congress finds that Iran maintains a nuclear program in continued defiance of the international community while developing ballistic missiles of increasing sophistication and range that:
(1) pose a threat to--
(A) the forward-deployed forces of the United States;
(B) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies in Europe; and
(C) other allies and friendly foreign countries in the region; and
(2) eventually could pose a threat to the United States homeland.

HR 4986 mandates that it is the policy of the US to "develop, test, and deploy, as soon as technologically feasible, in conjunction with allies and friendly foreign countries whenever possible, an effective defense against the threat from Iran."

Essentially, this calls for the establishment of the controversial missile defense shield, which is threatening to reignite the cold war and start a new arms race with Russia.

The findings of the Congress contradict the NIE released last month which concluded with “high confidence” that “in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program” and that "Tehran had not restarted its nuclear weapons program as of mid-2007".

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-4986
=====================

Someone please tell me I'm missing something here! Did our Congress just give Bush/Cheney YET ANOTHER GREENLIGHT TO YET ANOTHER WAR???

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. link, please, please? Thank you!

MKJ

[paparush]

3. Just Edited to Include Link to GovTrack Full Text of Bill

Yep..its focused on Iranian Ballistic Missile Threat.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

5. Ah, f*** me, my rep voted Aye.

:mad:

MKJ

on edit, called her office, told them I most decidedly do NOT want my tax dollars going to bombing yet another country...

:mad:

[cali]

Mine, thankfully did not. And I was 99% sure of that even before

I looked. Thank the goddess, he knows a piece of shit bill when he sees one. Thanks, Peter.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. My "progressive" rep voted aye too. Sick to my stomach here. eom

[DaLittle Kitty]

89. That's OUR Democratic Congress... Need to Get Edwards In Oval Office to Rein In Democrats!

PITIFUL! :puke:

[Steven_S]

2. Because....

You just can't piss away enough money when it comes to the Military-Industrial Complex.

It's that simple.

[Blarch]

4. Of course they did.

You people act as if signing Wexlers impeachment petition or the Conyers petition will actually get something done. Not only will the Democratic congress not impeach, they will use their power to protect the criminals.

There is nobody left to fight for us, we have been betrayed.

[Marie26]

9. They probably didn't even read it.

And most probably didn't even know that clause was in this 500+ page bill. I don't know if that's reassuring or not!

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. I await the Senate vote. What will Clinton and Obama do?

If they vote in support of blatantly warmongering lies such as this bill, will I be allowed to exclaim that there is no f-ing way I will EVER vote for either of them even if they are the Democratic candidate?

[lynnertic]

23. bet they'll do it after feb 5

[TechBear_Seattle]

27. Fortunately, my state caucuses on Feb. 9

And our (pointless waste of time and taxpayer money) primaries are not until Feb. 19.

[Marie26]

7. How dishonest

It's two seperate sentences:

1. "Congress finds that Iran maintains a nuclear program in continued defiance of the international community" - technically true, Iran is probably developing a nuclear power plant. Which they have a right to do under treaties, but the US & other nations are pressuring them not to do that. So this says that they're developing nuclear power plants, not nuclear weapons

2. "while developing ballistic missiles of increasing sophistication and range that:"
- Also technically true, Iran has a big military & probably develops missiles like every other modern military.

So they link these totally unrelated sentences together in order to create the FALSE impression that Iran is developing nuclear missiles, while never actually coming out and saying that. Because that would be a lie. They're using insinuation to imply something that they can't just openly accuse Iran of, because that stupid NIE gets in the way. I'd bet Lieberman was behind that particular clause.

[BadgerKid]

77. Exactly....construction is a legal technique

for arguing Iran has the means for developing nuclear missiles.

I wish the Congress would collectively get off their pedastal and have a rational discussion with Iran.

[truebrit71]

8. Bloody hell...when will the madness end?

I should say I'm surprised but I'm not...

[superkia]

42. It will end when we are all in detention camps.

[ThomCat]

10. I can't stand it! The culture in Washinton is so insulated

from reality, so wrapped up in their own little world of incestuous power relationships with lobbyists and think tanks with agendas, that the blindly, willingly pull shit like this.

Isn't there a famous quote that says something like "If they can get you to believe absurdities then they can get you to commit attrocities."

x(

[earth mom]

30. On the contrary, they aren't insulated. They are up to their eyeballs in greed & corruption.

:puke:

[Dhalgren]

11. And this is passed in a Democratically controlled House. This is a

Democratic bill - has to be if it is brought forward for a vote; has to be if language like this is allowed to remain; has to be if an overwhelming majority of Democratic congresspersons voted for it. Someone tell me again why the Democratic Party is better than the Republican? What is it again?

:puke: everyone of them is a :puke:

[AntiFascist]

59. Is it any wonder that Clinton and Obama have to kiss up to the neocons...

while Edwards gets shunned and ignored? It doesn't matter what the people want.

[Dhalgren]

67. That's exactly right. We no longer matter in the least. Our opinions

are ignored - we are insulted by our own representatives everyday. The whole damned lot should be turned out on their goddamned ears!

[Pawel K]

12. To be fair I'm sure nobody in congress actually read what they were voting for. nt

[TechBear_Seattle]

29. Does that make them malfeasant or just plain incompetent? n/t

[bdamomma]

39. they certainly have a habit of not reading important Bills.

just shoveling it through.

[AX10]

13. How much do you want to bet that these overpaid...

scumbags didn't even read it. Oh yes, the Democratically controlled congress also
gave itself a pay raise all the while wages for the worker have stagnated.
:puke:

[Lasher]

25. They normally don't read the bills.

But if House members catch enough heat for this maybe they'll find out who put this language in, and hopefully ensure they are never again involved in preparation of any bill. My rep voted for this bill and I just sent him an email to complain.

[paparush]

14. They Tie all of this Language to a Bill to "Support Our Troops" (tm)

I KNOW this is business as usual in DC...a Bill for X includes language for completely unrelated issues of Y and Z.

But my god people! C'mon!

My Rep voted Aye! Because I'm sure he doesn't want to be seen as "Not Supporting Our Troops".

Oh..and just for another kick in the g'nads, have a look at these numbers:

SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2008 for the use of the Department of Defense for research, development, test, and evaluation as follows:

(1) For the Army, $10,840,392,000.

(2) For the Navy, $16,980,732,000.

(3) For the Air Force, $25,692,521,000.

(4) For Defense-wide activities, $20,213,900,000, of which $180,264,000 is authorized for the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

How many teachers, librarians, scientists would like to see numbers like these? And these are JUST the public numbers.

[AX10]

17. There is no excuse for this.

Democrats control the house and write the bills.
They wrote a Republican-Style bill.

[Marie26]

16. Hey, it looks like they restored Posse Comitatus?

They've repealed the Republican's clause that allowed the President to commandeer Nat. Guard troops to use in domestic police situations. Sen. Leahy protested that clause, & now it looks like this bill repeals those changes & restores the old Insurrection Act. So... there's some progress.

SEC. 1068. REPEAL OF PROVISIONS IN SECTION 1076 OF PUBLIC LAW 109-364 RELATING TO USE OF ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.

[AX10]

18. Maybe that's why the voted in the affirmative.

[Marie26]

47. Maybe

The neocons put in the Iran language, the progressives restore Posse Comitatus, & everyone has to vote on a schizophrenic compromise bill. That would explain why the nays come from both liberals & extreme right-wingers.

[paparush]

19. That IS Good News

Thanks for sharing that!

[mirrera]

57. Wow! That is the first good news in a LONG time.

I was just worrying about the fact that B*sh had undermined the State's rights to command their own Guards during an emergency. That to me was the scaryiest thisng among the scary things this government has done... well the Patriot Act is full of fuel for sleepless nights.

[Warren Stupidity]

20. It is hopeless.

The logic of war and empire trumps common sense. Like the War On Some Drugs, the Death Penalty and Lawn Order, politicians can never find a way to vote against insanity. They would rather start another war in asia than be viewed as 'soft'.

[blues90]

53. With all of this I am ready to say just let WW III begin and get in over with

I have been like many living under a threat of one form or another all my life besides all the lies we have been sold .

People want one thing , science is telling us global warming is real and many believe this as I do however what happenes the same old shit , it all gets ignored or history is re-written .

People hang onto some sort of false hope as if everything will just be fine when it never is .

[spanone]

21. there were no nuke in iraq....yet congress gave bu$h*/cheney war approval

and we thought it was the republicans in congress....:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[pampango]

22. Wish congress would have dismissed the NIE back in 2003. n/t

[Subdivisions]

24. Falling right in line with the shrub. Wow. We must be past

peak oil if they want Ira this freakin' bad. That or they're just pathologically greedy.

[AntiFascist]

62. Didn't you see Bush doing some sort of sword dance with the Saudi sheiks?

How humiliating could that have been! Then their press totally shits all over his visit. This is what our compromised government has come to.

[madeline_con]

68. Bahraini Sheiks, the Al Khalifas. n/t

[lynnertic]

26. hm what do they really want?

"HR 4986 mandates that it is the policy of the US to "develop, test, and deploy, as soon as technologically feasible, in conjunction with allies and friendly foreign countries whenever possible, an effective defense against the threat from Iran.""

maybe space-based weapons? missile defense 'shield'?

(sry 1-hand typing - dog sleep in lap)

[Oilwellian]

28. I'll tell you who the threat is...

It's all of those MF'ers whose picture is posted on Sibel Edmonds website.

[warren pease]

31. They're staking that lofty 15 percent approval rating...

...on complying with the clinically insane wet dreams of an armed and dangerous sociopath whose approval rating is about 9 percent. That would be Cheney, of course, since there's no way Bush is going to stay awake long enough to read through those sections, much less understand them.

And their advisers and "strategists" keep telling them that the best way to win in November is to suck up to a politically toxic failure of an administration which people not only dislike, but actively detest?

Can't fault the logic: The American public is always a sucker for inept, rudderless, co-opted, ineffectual, conniving, back-stabbing, lying, enabling, complicit cowards who feed at the same slimy corporate trough as the GOP's feral pigs.

Yup, that's how to get elected in this country of swaggering rugged individualist wannabes. Play up the wimp factor, appeal to the nerds and the dweebs, because Americans identify so closely with dipshits and dorks and treacherous little Iagos. Just ride that 15 percent approval rating right into a super-majority.


Jesus Christ! What a sorry pack of milquetoast candy asses. And if that's not bad enough, they also appear to be utter morons and political infants. At this rate, they'll be lucky to grab the white house, much less raise their numbers in congress.

Seriously... who in hell would charge out of their house one crisp fall day, rush to the polls and cast a ballot for any of the 182 virtual democrats who went along with this nonsense -- all the while thinking they're doing the right thing for themselves, their family and friends, their district and their country?


wp

[earth mom]

32. All I can say is there must be a lot of small "members" in Congress.

Since they always are trying to prove how big "it" is.

:nuke:

[VP505]

41. Also interesting to

note that this was sponsored by a Dem (Rep Ike Skelton ) no less.

[warren pease]

44. Yeah, they're taking the lead alright...

Note too that Jane Harman (D-turncoat) introduced HR 1955, the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007." Here's a pretty good take on this happy piece of oppressive security state legislation.


wp

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

33. See!! See!! Congress IS doing something!! That's why they're so popular.

Of course, the 11% who think they're doing a good job all work for the Pentagon or the "defense" industry.

[Le Taz Hot]

34. WTG, MA!

Over half your delegates voted "Nay." And to answer the OP's question: Yep. :argh:

[Echo In Light]

35. Why is the U.S. govt so incredibly fucking EVIL?

[jonnyra]

40. You said it echo...

Evil is the word that comes to my mind when ever I contemplate the state of this nation. Thanks to republican propaganda and cowardly democrats this is a nation of immorality, sickening selfishness and war monger mentality. Thats what you see in this bill. While Pelosi runs protection for an administration full of war criminals the rest of the dems...or the majority of them anyway...kiss Bush's ass every time he bares it to them and then ask for another and another.

America has become evil and deeply immoral and I believe is heading for a reckoning that no one will escape.

[NewJeffCT]

36. sheesh - all five CT reps voted for it - four of them are Dems

Larson & DeLauro both voted against the Iraq war bill, too.

WTF?

[femmedem]

51. I'm calling Courtney now.

I'm going to tell him (okay, a staffer) I volunteered for him, I've shaken his hand twice, and I want to know the rationale behind this vote.

[Richard Steele]

37. Grrrecommended.

[bbgrunt]

38. Of the nays from my state, two are 'pukes--including

senslessbrenner. Confusing. But the language of this part of the bill is certainly alarming.

[gkhouston]

43. They must be afraid...

that those powerboats will come back and taunt us a second time. :silly:

[MadHound]

45. But we're supposed to keep voting for these warmongering fools?

Just one more piece of evidence that we're living under a two party/same corporate master system of government. What the hell good is voting Democrat if they're simply going to go ahead and act like Republicans?

I noticed that once again, Dennis Kucinich is on the right side of this issue. A shame that so many supposedly Democratic reps aren't.

[warren pease]

48. And they'll keep getting reelected, too...

...Absent strong, well-funded progressive opponents, these sorry wastes of space will continue to serve their corporate massuhs for decades. They'll come around every two years groveling for votes and pretending they've been working hard doing the people's business, but they'll return to DC ASAP and dash off to the nearest corporate soiree, where they'll get together with their true employers and connive and plot the continued destruction of the non-investor classes.

Due to the miracles of modern medical science (which we can't have because the peasants don't deserve the kind of health care Congress grants for itself), some will probably beat Strom Thurmond's records for days in office while in a coma, days in office while being mistaken for a potted plant, days in office on life-support and terms in office while clinically brain dead.

I think that Hoyer fella's got some real potential to beat some of Strom's all time endurance records. He's as dedicated a DLC corporatist android as you can find, and he seems to have acquired just enough power to seem indispensable to voters in his district. Just the recipe for longevity in politics. Essentially, he's there as long as he wants to be, and all the worse for us.


wp

[MadHound]

50. It's not even that strong progressive opponents are absent,

The Democratic party itself actively works against such candidates. Look at what's happened to Kucinich, Lamont and others going all the way back to McGovern. They were screwed by their own fellow party members.

The Democratic party better wake the fuck up and stop this shit, otherwise people will abandon this party in droves and go somewhere else, to a party that doesn't eat its own.

[warren pease]

56. Yeah, that's the case here as well...

We've got a couple of real progressives running against GOPer Gordon Smith for his senate seat and, as far as I can tell, the Oregon party apparatus wants absolutely nothing to do with either one of them. I get the feeling they'd just as soon see Smith for another six years rather than having to deal with somebody who won't play by the corporate rules. Just pathetic.

And you're right; democratic leaders (if that's not an oxymoron) damn well better take a look around and see what this kind of behavior has produced. I just got an email from a friend who should know saying that, as of the end of last year, voter registrations looked like this:

Independents 42% of all voters
Democrats 33 to 35%
Repubs -25 %

It takes people a while to break old habits, but I think this congress has been extremely useful in demonstrating once and for all that mainstream politicians have nothing whatsoever in common with the people who elected them. The so-called leadership has deftly manipulated the 110th congress into an approval rating somewhere between 11 and 15 percent. They're apparently unable to control their own members.

The rat bastard neocon contingent continues to introduce pieces of shit like HR 1955, and the vast majority roars its approval as another piece of the Constitution disappears down the drain. They publicly cave to absolutely anything the white house finds objectionable, like that fine military appropriations bill that used to contain timelines for ending the Iraq occupation and lacked provisions protecting torturers and their bosses from international prosecution.

Oh, gee... we didn't realize that if torturers are prosecuted for war crimes, the terrorists win. Let us fix that real quick like and you're really gonna like the next version we send you. And please don't kick us again...

So 42 percent of registered voters say they've had enough with the current one-party system. Significantly, huge majorities of those independents say they'll vote for a democrat -- but only if he's named Dennis Kucinich. The rest of the corporatist suck ups can fry in hell.

I'm really starting to look forward to the next couple of months on the campaign trail. And Ms. Nancy's going to need a ton of botox to keep that bland Mona Lisa smile on her face as the cameras click and whir and she climbs up yet again on the capitol steps and tells us all why impeachment is just so divisive and disruptive and how the people never voted for impeachment and the House is so strapped for time with all the wonderful pieces of legislation they're ramming through over GOP objections, and all for the betterment of the American people. And blah, blah, blah fucking blah...

See you on the unemployment line around mid-November, you ineffectual, cowardly, complicit excuse for an opposition leader.


wp

[Individualist]

54. The party has spoken; they don't want progressives

Howard Dean refused to return DK's phone calls, and Harry Reid has attacked DK on a radio show - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2705633.

Yet the sad fact is that some progressives will reward the enablers with their votes again, thereby encouraging more enabling. Unlike DLC supporters in this forum, I'll neither threaten nor demand that others vote as I tell them to do. As for me, I refuse to encourage more of the complicity that we've seen since we attained a majority. My vote will go to the anti-DLC, anti-war, anti-corporatocracy candidate - Dennis Kucinich.

[MadHound]

55. That's where my vote is going for the primary.

And depending on who gets the nod, and what goes on between now and then, that could very well be who gets my vote in the general too.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

46. what about nuclear-armed Pakistan and China and Russia and ...and..

but how can Iran be a threat if it hasn't nuclear weapons? Oh and N Korea.

[spanone]

49. i dismiss congress...

[benld74]

52. I just gave my rep my 2 cents, and must now wait for the

obligatory form letter that says nothing of what I placed into my email to him

[AntiFascist]

58. Those lobbying efforts must be really effective...

"Iran" will have a nuclear program, even if we have to setup CIA fronts to support AQ Khan all the way (see the Sibel Edmonds case).

[bemildred]

60. This is primary season, throw them out. nt

[Solly Mack]

61. well allriighty then

shakes head

[Danger Mouse]

63. They're determined to start another war...

determined to kill more of my generation for profits, determined to slaughter more innocent men, women, and children...
Congress is just as guilty, as Bush, imho.
Fuck em.

[blues90]

65. Their determination to start another was is freaky , it's like

They build this small fire and no matter how it's put out somehow it sparks to life once again .

When this keeps popping up it seems that it may become a reality and I certainly hope it won't .

No matter what the people want which is just to end the Iraq occupation we can't even get that to happen .

Pelosi looked a bit nervous today and not in control at all .

[Danger Mouse]

66. We want the Iraq occupation to end, and not only can we not make it happen...

we may get another war in the bargain as well.
Are the Dems TRYING to destroy our country?

[walldude]

64. Great, my Rep also voted Aye... not only that but am I the only

person who is tired of the word "homeland" being used to describe the U.S.?

Earth is my homeland assholes, get over yourselves.

[lala_rawraw]

69. great post, thanks for alerting us:)

[Danger Mouse]

70. kick...why is this not receiving more attention??

[McCamy Taylor]

71. Is there a bunch of pork in here?

[Political Heretic]

72. What the fuck do we have democrats for again?

[RC]

79. democrats? I thought that they

were all but extinct. One of the last few remaining real ones was murdered in a plane crash a few years ago.
This one party political system we have now is going to be the death of a lot more people unless they are stopped.

[lovuian]

73. I guess the Iran war and Shock and Awe are still on the table

with Congress's OK

[Spiffarino]

74. Damn it. My asshole "Democrat" voted aye.

Every one in the North Carolina delegation. NC is home to Fort Bragg, which will supply many of the soldiers to be killed in the next oil war.

Nice going, idiots.

[lovuian]

75. Russia delivers nuke material to Iran and Israel fires off

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/946052.html

First, the facts: A successful test of a new dual-stage missile was carried out at the Palmachim air base at 8:45 A.M. Thursday. Every part of the system, including the launcher and the missile itself, functioned properly, and can thus be considered operational. This success can be credited to Israel Aerospace Industries; to the other firms involved in the project; and to the Israel Air Force
more

Oh I really don't like what I see tense tense times

[kristopher]

76. This feels like a Kafka novel

From which I cannot escape.

[Changenow]

78. It is a nightmare

I thought the bill to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization would be the last vote before the war, but it looks like congress wants to spell it out.

[Echo In Light]

80. Yeah, I suspect thermonuclear war would feel like that for a tenth of one second

Ugh...:nuke:

[paparush]

81. Saturday Morning Thread Recycle Kick

[GliderGuider]

82. What the fuck have you people become?

This is like watching Germany in 1937.

Crisis and War in Europe, 1937 to 1940

By 1937 the rule of law in Germany had deteriorated to the point that the courts were unable to interfere with the activities of the Gestapo in any way. Hitler was well enough established and popular that his police occasionally put into prison those who were so unpatriotic as to ridicule Hitler. And recently 150 leaders of a Catholic youth organization had been arrested and accused of treason - for having associated with Marxists.

etc. etc. etc.

I know, I know, you're not all like that. There are so many good Americans.

I'm glad you're all in a troubled tizzy. But it's well past the point where furrowed brows are going to accomplish anything. They're counting on your politeness, you know. What is your responsibility now? Where is your Sophie Scholl?

Hell, we've got a Vichy government up here in Canada, and I'm getting almost as PO'd at them. But we don't have aircraft carriers or nuclear weapons.

[RC]

85. No aircraft carriers or nuclear weapons up there?

That must be why I feel safer when I'm in Canada.

[Blue Congress]

83. This is why we need a new Congress

Why aren't they afraid we will vote them out of office for this bullshit? Diebold.


http://peacecandidates.com/

[GliderGuider]

84. No, you don't need a new Congress. It's well past that.

You know what you need.

[sattahipdeep]

86. Russia - preventive strikes to protect itself and its allies

Russia may use N-arms if threatened
Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:03:44


"To defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military
forces will be used, including preventively, including the use of nuclear weapons," Baluyevsky said


http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=39441§ionid=351020602

[paparush]

87. I saw that today...Will we survive Bush's Term?

I'm really beginning to wonder.

[donkeyotay]

90. The odds of surviving all 8 years are beginning to look like a moon shot.

Unfortunately getting rid of bush won't fix the problem. Congress has to raise lots of money. We do not have money. The 4-year cycle of fraudulent hope doesn't require much from us either. Television likes it. It's cheap programming and they rake in all those advertising dollars.

[flyarm]

88. yeah keep voting for those DLC war candidates!! woo hoo..you are doing

a great job dems!!...and when you ask why this happens..just look in the mirror!!

fly