[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S10196]]
 SENATE RESOLUTION 587--EXPRESSING CONCERN RELATING TO THE THREATENING 
 BEHAVIOR OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AND THE IDEOLOGICAL ALLIANCE 
THAT EXISTS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES OF CUBA AND VENEZUELA, AND SUPPORTING 
 THE PEOPLE OF IRAN, CUBA, AND VENEZUELA IN THE QUEST OF THOSE PEOPLES 
            TO ACHIEVE A TRULY DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT

  Mr. SANTORUM (for himself, Mr. Martinez, and Mr. Coleman) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 587

       Whereas, for the past 2 decades, the Department of State 
     has found Iran to be the leading sponsor of international 
     terrorism in the world;
       Whereas the Department of State has consistently added Cuba 
     to the list of state sponsors of terrorism;
       Whereas the Department of State declared in the report 
     entitled ``Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001'' that ``Iran's 
     Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of 
     Intelligence and Security continued to be involved in the 
     planning and support of terrorist acts and supported a 
     variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals'';
       Whereas the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has 
     openly declared that Israel ``must be wiped off the map'', 
     and publicly denied the Holocaust;
       Whereas President Ahmadinejad has similarly called for the 
     destruction of the United States and the hatred of all Jewish 
     peoples;
       Whereas President Ahmadinejad recently attended a summit of 
     the Non-Aligned Movement in Cuba and, in cooperation with 
     Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, has used that body as a 
     platform to spread anti-democratic messages;
       Whereas the Government of Cuba, led by Fidel Castro, and 
     the Government of Venezuela, led by President Hugo Chavez, 
     have--
       (1) repressed political dissent in the countries of those 
     leaders;
       (2) propagated antidemocratic ideals; and
       (3) participated in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement;
       Whereas, in September 2000, while being interviewed by Al-
     Jazeera television, President Castro stated that ``We are not 
     ready for reconciliation with the United States, and I will 
     not reconcile with the imperialist system'';
       Whereas, in August 2005, President Chavez stated that 
     ``socialism is the only path'', and that his goal is to 
     ``save a world threatened by the voracity of U.S. 
     imperialism'';
       Whereas, on September 20, 2006, while speaking to the 
     General Assembly of the United Nations, President Chavez 
     referred to the President of the United States as the devil, 
     stating ``The devil came here yesterday . . . and it smells 
     of sulfur still today.''; and
       Whereas neither the Non-Aligned Movement nor the United 
     Nations should exist as a venue to spread hate, demagoguery, 
     and anti-democratic ideals: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns--
       (A) the anti-democratic actions of, and repressive regimes 
     created by, the leaders of the Governments of Iran, Cuba, and 
     Venezuela; and
       (B) the misguided, irrational, and outrageous statements of 
     the leaders of those countries;
       (2) expresses concern relating to the national security 
     implications of the relationships between those leaders;
       (3) supports the people of Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela in the 
     quest of those peoples to achieve a truly democratic form of 
     government; and
       (4) calls on the international community to condemn the 
     antidemocratic actions of those repressive regimes.

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