(Fmr.)Sen.Mike Gravel: Hillary, War with Iran is No Laughing Matter

[bigtree]

Hillary, I'm glad to see you got a good laugh when I confronted you during last week's debate over your vote calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) a terrorist organization. The American public finally got to see your cavalier attitude toward our march to war. Your vote however is no laughing matter.

By labeling the IRG a terrorist organization, the Democratic-controlled congress has impeded our ability to negotiate with a huge portion of the Iranian government. The IRG is a 125,000-person organization with ties to every power base in Iran. The IRG is also admired by a vast potion of the Iranian people for its heroic stand against Saddam Hussein's invasion during the Iran-Iraq War. Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president of Iran, warned the United States not to label the IRG a terrorist organization because doing so would preclude any diplomatic settlement of our differences.

While I'm sure your vote plays well with the hawks and military contractors who support your campaign, it is the height of irresponsibility. Like with Iraq in 2002, elements in our government have already decided to attack Iran and are now trying to "sell it." Last week, Congress gave the warmongers a big gift. (Note to Congressional Dems: You were elected to stop a war, not start a new one!)

Hillary, war with Iran will have devastating consequences for all Americans.

The Iranians are sure to respond with strikes at Americans at home and abroad. Imagine a dozen 9/11s. Is that something to laugh about?

The Iranian navy will intercept oil shipments through the Persian Gulf that fuel the European economies. Oil prices will skyrocket above $150 and the global economy will fall into a worldwide depression. Will you be amused when millions of Americans lose their jobs?

Will you chuckle when the Shiites in Saudi Arabia and the other oil states rise up and destabilize our allies in the Persian Gulf?

A war with Iran will not be contained. It's easy to imagine a "Guns of August" scenario that draws in Israel, Saudi Arabia and potentially Pakistan, India, Russia, and China. Hillary, a potential Third World War is no crackpot fantasy, and it's no joke.

Based on the questions during Wednesday's presidential debate, I suspect the mainstream media isn't interested in a serious discussion about this impending crisis. Tim Russert's questions had us spending more time on smoking, teenage drinking and Red Sox versus Yankees than on Iran. But this crisis is real and it's time to take it seriously before it's too late.

HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-mike-gravel/hillary-war-with-iran-is_b_66505.html

[Flarney]

Spot on. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Another forthcoming "I didn't know that it would lead to war." moment for Hillary.

And, then, she can tell about the "failing Iranian insurgency", and how we must remain in Iran for a long time.

Her vote, like her IWR vote, was political pandering at it's most obvious.

[wtmusic]

2. Regardless the consequences -- starting wars outside of self-defense

is a war crime.

We need to stop thinking about how starting wars hurts us, and think about how it hurts them.

[MethuenProgressive]

3. HuffPo needs the 9th place guy to write their daily anti-Clinton piece?

You have to admit though, who ever ghostwrites this stuff for Gravel makes him sound much more lucid than he appears when he's on camera.

[Lerkfish]

5. I'm interested in how you think the Kyl-Lieberman thing is a step towards diplomacy

as Clinton claims.

[Lerkfish]

12. notice how clinton supporters NEVER EVER answer questions about policy or platform?

they're too busy whining.

[Lerkfish]

18. still no response

[leftchick]

41. NEVER EVER!

because it is indefensible.

[bigtree]

7. It's his blog spot. He can post what he wants I suppose. And he's said it well.

"Hillary, a potential Third World War is no crackpot fantasy, and it's no joke."

[PDenton]

23. Gravel is lucid, I'm sure he wrote it

I loved his remark a few months back about kids dying in war for lies. It's always a tragedy and travesty, no way to "redeem" it. He spoke the truth, one of the few candidates to do so.

[mod mom]

26. THE ISSUE IS SHE VOTED FOR THE KYL/LIEBERMAN AMMENDMENT FOR GOD'S SAKE.

You have no problem with that? Do you want to give cheney & bu$h reason to build their assinine latest war on?

[Wilms]

35. Pardon me. But I think it's Hillary's lucidity that's the relevant question. n/t

[EFerrari]

47. Not at all. Gavel was making sense long before most of us

could form a sentence.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. I will never forget that laugh and then her smiling while spouting off the talking

points about Iran, so eerily familiar to her talking points after voting for the IWR. I cannot believe that any DUer could support her after this.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

9. I couldn't believe it.

I really didn't think it was possible for her to pull this bullshit TWICE and expect us to stand for it. She just gave the Democratic Party base a big "FUCK YOU" with that crap. The values, issues, and people she will throw under the bus to win continues to grow every day. She is a monster who must be stopped.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. I found the video on YouTube and just posted it in Political Videos. Chilling.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_

[King Coal]

34. No workee linkee

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

37. Here you go!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x59004

[leftchick]

32. it is like the chimp when he chuckles while talking of death

it is fucking creepy. I think america can do much better than that warmonger. But, she is who the corporations have chosen apparently. :puke:

[King Coal]

38. Thanks OMMM

Yeah that laugh was creepy. And fake. Kids are getting killed, yuck yuck yuck. Har de har har.

Oh, and Hillary, Iraq has plenty of weapons. It doesn't need any from Iran.

[leftchick]

40. that is another incredible point about weapons!

300 tons of high explosives free for the taking in Iraq lasts for generations. Does she think we are fucking stupid? Why I believe she is banking on it.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

39. And it is incredulous that there are people here

at DU that are steadfastly supporting this warmongering creature.

[King Coal]

33. I'm with ya, OMMM!

[Lorien]

42. But she has that all important (D) after her name!

Until and unless DUers (and other Dems) accept the fact that not every person with a (D) after their name is actually a Democrat then the party will continue to be overtaken by corporate water bearers and overlords. Let's be honest; many people who run for office run because they want the power-party ideology is secondary at best. A person in a primarily liberal district will run as a Dem. A person in a primarily conservative district will run as a repug. There are certainly elected representatives out there who believe in the values that there party stands for, but sadly I think that they are the exception anymore, not the norm. So a liberal voter who cares about workers rights, peace, and the environment isn't going to find any greater an ally in Hillary than a working class fiscal conservative who values the constitution and Bill of Rights is going to find in Bush. Both are serving people other than the bottom 95% of us.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

43. My state, NY is an excellent example concerning Hillary.

She did great in the city as she has that all encompassing D, and did equally as well in the upstate Conservative areas because they really resonated to what she had to say to them. Tell them what they want to hear, get elected and go about fulfilling your own agenda.

[Richard Steele]

6. K&R

[ljm2002]

8. Thank you, Mike Gravel...

...her vote, and her reaction to you in the debate, deserve to be called out. There she stood, defending yet another misguided (at best) vote that puts on the path to war with Iran this time -- and could easily lead to WWIII. And laughing about it -- well we know the laugh is not really about the topic, rather it is a new tic she has developed consciously to deflect uncomfortable questions and topics. We can only hope that this tic will be her undoing.

Shame on her, and shame on the other Democrats who helped to push this travesty through the Senate. Even though it is non-binding, it paves the way by labeling the IRG as a "terrorist organization". And Bush/Cheney don't care if it's binding or not, they will use it to justify their already-planned military action. AND if Hillary doesn't know this, then she is too stupid to be president. Of course we know she is not stupid, on the contrary she is a very, very smart woman -- so that leaves... she knowingly voted for something that paves the way for military action in Iraq, and that Bush/Cheney will use as a fig leaf when they make the call to start dropping bombs.

Then we can all be entertained by the Singing Senators as they give us their rendition of "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran", led of course by the illustrious John McCain.

If this is leadership, then I say, let's have less leadership in this country. The leadership we have has created disaster piled on disaster.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Mike speaks the truth. n/t

[book_worm]

13. Dennis won't run third party, but I'll bet you Gravel would if he could.

[Chulanowa]

14. For visual aids...

Clear enough?

[Magrittes Pipe]

36. That was not Poland in 1939, that's Poland today.

[Chulanowa]

46. Picky, picky, picky

Point remains.

[me b zola]

15. k&r

[bvar22]

16. No laughing matter!

Though the Hillary campaign and camp followers are in FULL SPIN mode, it is NOT possible to rationalize away the FACT that this vote escalates the hostility toward Iran, and brings us one step closer to WAR.

[RiverStone]

17. damn good thing some folks are paying attention!

Thanks Mike Gravel for saying the obvious! :applause:

[Kelly Rupert]

19. No, Mike, it's just that your claim that she had voted for war was laughable. n/t

[bigtree]

27. Anything which gives cover to this administration's posturing toward Iran risks enabling them

"Like with Iraq in 2002, elements in our government have already decided to attack Iran and are now trying to "sell it." Last week, Congress gave the warmongers a big gift."

[ForeignSpectator]

28. Her laugh was so out of place in any case, it speaks volumes about her mindset... n/t

[cooolandrew]

20. He's really giving them hell, you have to admire him on that score.

[superkia]

21. A vote for Clinton is a vote for war!

[PDenton]

22. My God... how stupid is Hillary?

You wanna start a war... call a foreign country's most elite military unit that produced alot of military heroes, "terrorists".

Coincidentally, Iran's parliment has ruled that the CIA and US Army are terrorist organizations.

Hillary is going to do a whole lot of explaining or she will NOT get my vote. I consider myself a moderate, middle-of-the-road Democrat, too... but haven't we had enough of 7 years of saber rattling? Goddamn, what the hell is going on in her head?

[CountAllVotes]

45. she is very stupid IMO

and the way she laughs about everything rather insanely at times makes me livid!

:argh:

[spanone]

24. i can't argue with mr. gravel

[Naturyl]

25. K&R for Mike!

Say what you want about Mike Gravel, but nobody else besides Kucinich is speaking truth to power. Mike was one of the most important and principled voices in American leadership decades ago, and he's still speaking the plain truth today. Hillary and her camp need this wake-up call. I'm not against Hillary, I'm FOR sensible foreign policy.

[Egnever]

29. Wish he could communicate as clearly during the debates

He is absolutely right here. But man does he come off loony in the debates. The man is clearly intelligent and He earned my respect when he stood up against vietnam. I just think if he was a better public speaker he might actually have a shot in this race.

Sorta like the Kooch though he has vastly improved his game this time around.

[malaise]

30. Bravo Mike Gravel

:yourock:

[leftchick]

31. Mike is exactly right!

<snip>

The U.S. Senate last week voted to designate the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps, the largest branch of Iran's military (also known in English as the "Revolutionary Guards") as a "foreign terrorist organization." It did so "a day after the House of Representatives passed a similar measure." Now, the U.S. government can impose economic sanctions against this Iranian military outfit and companies that do business with it. In the Senate, the terrorist-organization designation was proposed by Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and supposedly independent Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. Their proposal, for which Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a senator from New York, voted, "says that senators believe that 'inside Iraq,' U.S. economic, military, diplomatic, economic and intelligence 'instruments' should be used to back U.S. policy against the government of Iran and 'its proxies.'" (Agence France Presse)

Translation: The just-approved measure may be seen as a major first step on the path toward direct U.S. military engagement with Iran - in plain terms, toward war.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=20758

[CountAllVotes]

44. I am proud to say that I have contributed to ...

GRAVEL '08!

:D

:dem: