Michigan Senator Carl Levin who many point to as an antiwar voice in the Senate for his calls for withdrawing a portion of US troops from Iraq, on Wednesday expressed considerable praise for former Democratic Party Senator and current Independent Senator Joe Lieberman's Iran resolution. The resolution, passed by the Senate 97-0, charges that Iran has been intervening in Iraq and that it has played a role in attacks on United States' soldiers. The resolution has the potential to increase the prospect of a conflict with Iran, as it contains language stating "the murder of members of the United States Armed Forces by a foreign government or its agents is an intolerable act of hostility against the United States" while demanding that Iran "take immediate action" to stop supporting Iraqi militias and insurgents.
Last month, Lieberman gained some notoriety for saying "I think we have to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq." The liberal "blogosphere" has largely reacted with disgust over Levin's comment, but it is unfortunately not surprising. Earlier this year he called for developing a military plan to confront Syria. Moreover, Levin is a major recipient of money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (APIAC) who has called for aggressive action against Iran.
The transcript from a video showing Levin's praise of Lieberman:
Lieberman: ...the threat posed by Iran to our soldiers' lives, our security as a nation, and our allies in the Middle East is a truth that cannot be wished or waved away. It must be confronted. This resolution--this amendment--gives the Senate the opportunity to do that. So let us then Mr. President with one voice, tell the fanatical anti-American leaders of the government in Tehran, who I believe do not represent the majority of the Iranian people that they cannot attack our troops without consequences. Let us with one voice tell our brave soldiers in Iraq that Iran's assault on them will not go unnoticed or unanswered by this Senate. The regime in Iran I fear is betting that our political disunity about Iraq will constrain us in responding to its attack. I don't believe that. For the sake of our nation's security, for the sake of our soldiers, we must and I am confident, we will prove them wrong.
Levin: First, let me commend the Senator from Connecticut for his amendment. This is an awfully important message that is in that amendment about the threatening activities of Iranians against us in other parts of the world, but more specifically, in Iraq. This amendment is intended to capture some of the problems which are created by those activities of Iranians in Iraq particularly. What we're trying to work out with the Senator from Connecticut, and again I commend him on his initiative, I think it's a very important one, and I think it's very possible that the Senate can speak with one voice and we should speak with one voice on this issue. There's some language modifications which we're suggesting, which I have already had the chance to talk to my good friend from Connecticut about and I think if we could either have a brief quorum call or if anybody else who's here wishes to address the Senate on this or other subjects, they could be recognized at this point. But in the absence of that, I would ---
Lieberman: I would just want to respond to my friend from Michigan, to thank him for his general expression of support for the amendment and also for some of the suggestions he has made to me and our staffs are working now. Again, I want this to be a clear statement but I really want it to be a unified statement and I believe that together we can achieve that result. I thank him and will continue work with him.
