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<TD><FONT class=modtext><A
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class=sansmediumhead><!---- BEGIN STORY TITLE ------><STRONG><FONT
size=6>Senators warn of drift toward war with Iran<!---- END STORY TITLE --------> <BR></FONT></STRONG></FONT><!--startclickprintexclude--></TD></TR>
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<DIV class=byline>By Anne Gearan</DIV>
<DIV class=credit>ASSOCIATED PRESS
<P></P></DIV>
<DIV class=date>2:03 p.m. January 30, 2007
<P></P></DIV>
<DIV class=newstext><!-- BODYTEXT -->WASHINGTON – Republican and
Democratic senators warned Tuesday against a drift toward war with an
emboldened Iran and suggested the Bush administration was missing a chance
to engage its longtime adversary in potentially helpful talks over
next-door Iraq.
<P>“What I think many of us are concerned about is that we stumble into
active hostilities with Iran without having aggressively pursued
diplomatic approaches, without the American people understanding exactly
what's taking place,” Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told John Negroponte, who
is in line to become the nation's No. 2 diplomat as Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's deputy. </P>
<P><!---------- BEGIN BIGBOXAD ---------->
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src="http://www.signonsandiego.com/scripts/oas_x32.js"></SCRIPT>
<!---------- END BIGBOXAD ---------->Obama, a candidate for president in
2008, warned during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that
senators of both parties will demand “clarity and transparency in terms of
U.S. policy so that we don't repeat some of the mistakes that have been
made in the past,” a reference to the faulty intelligence underlying the
U.S. invasion of Iraq. </P>
<P>Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a possible presidential candidate, asked
Negroponte if he thinks the United States is edging toward a military
confrontation with Tehran. In response, Negroponte repeated President
Bush's oft-stated preference for diplomacy, although he later added, “We
don't rule out other possibilities.” </P>
<P>Separately, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces in the
Middle East said Iran wants to limit America's influence in the region.
</P>
<P>“They have not been helpful in Iraq,” Adm. William Fallon told the
Senate Armed Services Committee. “It seems to me that in the region, as
they grow their military capabilities, we're going to have to pay close
attention to what they do and what they may bring to the table.” </P>
<P>The Bush administration has increased rhetorical, diplomatic, military
and economic pressure on Iran over the past few months, in response to
Iran's alleged deadly help for extremists fighting U.S. troops in Iraq and
the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program. </P>
<P>Bush said Monday the United States “will respond firmly” if Iran
escalates military action in Iraq and endangers American forces. But Bush
emphasized he has no intention of invading Iran. </P>
<P>The president also acknowledged skepticism concerning U.S. intelligence
about Iran, because Washington was wrong in accusing Iraq of harboring
weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. “I'm
like a lot of Americans that say, 'Well, if it wasn't right in Iraq, how
do you know it's right in Iran,'” the president said. </P>
<P>Washington accuses Iran of arming and training Shiite Muslim extremists
in Iraq. U.S. troops have responded by arresting Iranian diplomats in
Iraq, and the White House has said Bush signed an order allowing U.S.
troops to kill or capture Iranians inside Iraq. </P>
<P>The United States also accuses Iran of secretly developing atomic
weapons – an allegation Tehran denies. Iran's refusal to suspend uranium
enrichment lead the U.N. Security Council to impose limited economic
sanctions. </P>
<P>Senators including Hagel, George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Joseph R. Biden
Jr., D-Del., sounded frustrated with the administration's decision not to
engage Iran and fellow outcast Syria in efforts to reduce sectarian
violence in Iraq. </P>
<P>Negroponte, a career diplomat who is leaving a higher-ranked job as the
nation's top intelligence official, gave only a mild endorsement of the
administration's diplomatic hands-off policy toward Damascus and Tehran.
</P>
<P>Negroponte would lead the department's Iraq policy if confirmed, as
expected. He said Syria is letting 40 to 75 foreign fighters cross its
border into Iraq each month and repeated the charge that Iran is providing
lethal help to insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran and Syria are
not helping promote stability and peace in Iraq and understand what the
United States and other nation expect of them. </P>
<P>“I would never want to say never with respect to initiating a
high-level dialogue with either of these two countries, but that's the
position, as I understand it, at this time,” Negroponte said. </P>
<P>The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve
Negroponte quickly for a job vacant since July.
</P></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=starbliss@gmail.com href="mailto:starbliss@gmail.com">Ted Moffett</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=msolomon@moscow.com
href="mailto:msolomon@moscow.com">Mark Solomon</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, January 30, 2007 12:36 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Iran next?</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Mark et. al.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for the link to the photos of Iran... </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On that note...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>What is interesting is that while President Bush has recently made a public
statement that Iranians involved in the insurgency in Iraq will be targeted and
killed, a statement that some might spin as aimed at inflaming US hatred of
Iran, the well known fact that Saudi Arabians have been involved in the
insurgency has not received the same focus. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Where is the public declaration that Saudis involved in the Iraq insurgency
will be killed?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I am still amazed that so few people seem unaware or downplay the fact that
15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, or the money trail coming out
of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabist extremists influenced sources to support
"terrorism." Of course, as long as the Saudi ruling family and
Aramco is in alliance with the US government and US oil interests,
maintaining a "friendly" relationship with Saudi Arabia's dictatorship is likely
to continue. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>According to this recent Los Angeles Times poll, 57% of Americans support
military action in Iran:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/821b8e1c-8f47-11da-b430-0000779e2340.html"
target=_blank>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/821b8e1c-8f47-11da-b430-0000779e2340.html</A>
<BR> </DIV>
<DIV>Ted Moffett<BR> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 1/29/07, <B class=gmail_sendername>Mark
Solomon</B> <<A onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:msolomon@moscow.com" target=_blank>msolomon@moscow.com</A> >
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Please take the time to follow this link
...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html" target=_blank><FONT
face=Arial>http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>Mark</DIV></DIV><BR>=======================================================<BR> List
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<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR>
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