AIPAC's Iran War Resolution Defeated
Readers of TPM Cafe may recall my posts on HRes 362, the resolution that would have imposed a full blockade on Iran. Although the bill's authors claimed it was not a "war resolution," my take was that a blockade is an act of war, no matter what the sponsors said.
I expected the resolution to pass because AIPAC made it the centerpiece of its lobbying efforts for 2008. At its huge Washington confab, it tasked its membership with getting co-sponsors for the bill with the goal of speedy passage. But look what happened.
Credit goes to Israel Policy Forum, The J Street Project, Americans for Peace Now, the National Iranian American Council, Churches for Middle East Peace and a host of pro-peace Arab American groups who got together to stop 362. And, miracle of miracles, we succeeded. One year after the same coalition blocked AIPAC's bill to block most humanitarian aid to Gaza, we prevailed again.
H Res 362 is dead.
This is terrific news. Walt-Mearsheimer and Jimmy Carter both spoke of the lobby as all-powerful. Well, AIPAC pulled out all the stops on this bill -- the pressure on House members was intense -- and lost. The times are a'changing.
God bless the internet.
MJ thanks for the heads up on HR362. I wrote my rep (Mike Thompson, an orginal sponsor) objecting and he responded to say that there was explicit language saying it was not a war resolution. I wrote back pointing out the blockade language and he then came back and said he would withdraw his support if that language was not withdrawn. Wow. One small step for sanity. You guys did a good job letting us know what was happening.
October 1, 2008 2:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Finally, Congress seems to have wised up about the Administration's tendency to define as a mile every authorized inch. ...But if AIPAC rolled over on this one, it must have something else up its sleeve.
October 1, 2008 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess AIPAC is losing its significance. They are out of touch with realities and pursue extreme agendas. Israel will be far better off if peace is achieved and both Palestinians and Israelis focus on improving the lives of their people instead of killing each other. Unfortunately, President Bush has dealt a severe blow to peace efforts and his eight years have been disastrous.
Hopefully a new US President will seriously and sincerely make an effort to achieve peace in the Middle East during the first year of his term. Both Israelis and Palestinians now see ready to come to an understanding.
October 1, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink