[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4243-4244]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                BUSH LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR ATTACK ON IRAN

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, rather than announce a diplomatic 
initiative similar to North Korea to resolve the stalemate over Iran's 
nuclear ambitions, yesterday the President said that the Iranian 
Government is supplying deadly weapons to fighters in Iraq, even though 
he cannot prove the orders came from the highest levels in Tehran.
  Why is he maintaining this? I believe he is maintaining it to satisfy 
section 2C of the 1973 War Powers Resolution which reads in part: ``The 
constitutional powers of the President as Commander in Chief to 
introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities is clearly 
indicated by the circumstances

[[Page 4244]]

and are exercised pursuant to a national emergency created by an attack 
upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its Armed 
Forces.''
  So what is going on here is that the administration is seeking a 
justification for a military conflict with Iran. That is why the 
administration is changing its emphasis. Its justification now is to 
protect U.S. troops in Iraq. Very significantly this justification 
could relieve the President of needing congressional authorization
  Contrary to his assertion, the President has been provoking Iran. The 
President has given U.S. military the authority to kill or capture 
Iranian operatives inside Iraq, but fails to present credible evidence 
that explosives used in Iraq have come from Iran.
  He is laying the groundwork for an attack on Iran and appears to be 
preparing to bypass congressional authorization for a military strike 
against Iran.
  In light of the House of Representatives' action to disapprove of the 
President's escalation in Iraq and the mounting opposition to the war 
in Iraq, the President has advanced a new justification that could be 
used to bypass congressional approval for a military conflict of war.
  President Bush was able to exercise new flexibility to reach an 
agreement with North Korea to shut down its nuclear facility. This 
offers proof that he could negotiate with Iran as well regarding their 
alleged nuclear weapons program.

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