[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H2809-H2810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IT'S TIME TO TALK TO IRAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the urgent need for 
the United States to begin direct talks with Iran about its nuclear 
program.
  Time is of the essence. The United Nations reported last week that 
Iran has more enriched uranium than the world knew and is now capable 
of building an atomic bomb if it continues with its enrichment program. 
Iran also recently put a satellite into orbit showing that it has the 
ballistic missile capacity to deliver a nuclear weapon against an 
enemy.
  The Iranians insist that their nuclear program is for peaceful 
domestic purposes only, but their nuclear program has raised fears in 
the Middle East and made that region an even more unstable and 
dangerous place.
  Mr. Speaker, Iran's advanced nuclear program shows that the Bush 
administration's policy of refusing to talk was a dismal failure. It 
called Iran part of the ``Axis of Evil.'' Then for nearly 8 years the 
Bush administration's approach consisted of saber-rattling and threats 
of war, and look where that's gotten us. Absolutely nowhere.
  As someone who strongly opposes nuclear proliferation, I urge that we 
launch a vigorous diplomatic effort aimed at getting Iran to behave 
more responsibly. We must begin that effort immediately before their 
nuclear program gets even more advanced. In the days ahead, we can look 
for every possible opening to begin face-to-face talks.
  This diplomatic effort must include a strong partnership with the 
international community. The U.N. Security Council, for example, has 
demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program. So we must 
work with the members of the Council to put peaceful pressure on Iran 
to do just that.
  I think that President Obama described the situation best last August 
when he said, ``My job as President would be to try to make sure that 
we are tightening the screws diplomatically on Iran and that we have 
mobilized the world community to go after their program in a very 
serious way.''
  So, Mr. Speaker, the President followed up on that, as we know, on 
his first day in office. In an interview with an Arabic language 
television station, he said, ``If countries like Iran are willing to 
unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.'' This 
received a positive response from President Ahmadinejad, who said that 
Iran was ready for ``talks based on mutual respect.'' Who knows what he 
really meant, but I think we should take him up on this, call his 
bluff. Let's test him to see if he was serious. As Secretary of State 
Hillary Clinton has said, ``We won't know what we're capable of 
achieving with Iran until we're actually there working on it.''
  Mr. Speaker, Iran is currently suffering from tough economic times, 
high inflation and international isolation. It is also threatening its 
people miserably. We could take advantage of Iran's problems by 
offering incentives and help with their problems if they agree to pull 
the plug on their nuclear ambitions.
  During the past administration, there was a great deal of talk about 
bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, but we all know that would have led 
us into another disastrous war in the Middle East, and thank heavens we 
did not do that. But refusing to engage with Iran hasn't worked so far. 
It's time for a new policy that stresses international cooperation, 
conflict resolution, and humanitarian assistance.
  With President Obama's leadership and willingness to talk and 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's abilities, we can push the restart 
button, the restart button on our relations with Iran. We

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must now seize every single opportunity to do so because it appears 
time might be running out.

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