Much of my week has been spent making a case against the current resolution regarding Iran gaining momentum in Congress (H. Con. Res. 362). Common Cause partnered with a Council for a Livable World in working with a group of retired military and security experts to weigh in on controversial language within the resolution regarding a potential military blockade against Iran. Admiral Shanahan, General Gard, and former Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry Korb were unanimous in their statement that, "Without a Security Council Resolution, implementation of these measures could be construed as an act of war. Read the full letter here.

In addition to playing a role in putting together the letter from the military experts, Common Cause sent a letter to the Hill that outlined some additional concerns of our own. We are urging Members of Congress not to support the Resolution because we believe sections of the resolution are ambiguous, potentially destructive and do not further a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue that almost everyone says we want. Common Cause is also concerned that Congress is too hastily passing a resolution that gives the President overly broad authorities and sends a mixed and unrealistic messages to the Iranians and the rest of the world. Our position is that Congress has the authority under the Constitution to declare war, and while this resolution is nonbinding and specifically denies that war is the intention, the bellicose and ambiguous nature of language in the resolution calls into question their true intentions. In addition, while the resolution calls for an increase in diplomatic efforts, those clauses are drowned out by a call for a prohibition of the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in the negotiation of the suspension of Iran's nuclear program

Tensions are extremely high between the United States and Iran at the moment and we believe Congress has the responsibility to act thoughtfully and productively. The current resolution falls far short in communicating a clear message about our intentions to Iran and the world community and we urged Congress to abandon it. In its present form it will no doubt be construed as provocative and further contribute to the increasingly hostile rhetoric between the two countries, bringing us closer to a potential confrontation. We'll be sending our members an e-mail next week on the issue when Congress gets closer to taking the issue up. Stay tuned.