With Al Qaeda and the Taliban re-ascendant in Afghanistan, Iraq on the edge of disintegration, Pakistan gasping in the throes of internal chaos, Turkey engaged in open border war with the Kurds, and the long-repressed Kurds themselves finally rising up in several countries at once, adding even one more tiny speck of tinder to the mix would inevitably set the entire region aflame

Andthe neocons in the White House are, of all people, exactly the wrong ones to be playing with matches in the Middle East right now.

Our military might is stretched to its absolute breaking point. Our moral authority no longer exists in the eyes of the world. We have no credibility when it comes to making claims about ‘actionable intelligence’. Our arrogance in acting unilaterally, our complicity in torture tactics, and our incompetence in controlling chaos in Iraq have left us with no standing in the global community. We have no allies and very few friends left, and we cannot afford even the smallest of mistakes anymore.

Acting alone and attacking Iran would be anything but a small mistake. It would be a disastrous error of epic proportions. It would destabilize the entire Middle East, with the domino effect probably expanding into Europe and Asia as well. It would trigger a worldwide wave of anti-American anger, endangering our citizens everywhere; but most critically, it would recklessly and high levels of risk to the lives of our troops already stationed in Iraq.

At best, it would be economically unfeasible and ethically invalid for us to do what the saber-rattling right wing of the Republican party is stridently demanding we do now in Iran. At worst, it would trigger precisely what the Bush administration is claiming it wants to avoid: a third and possibly final World War, with multiple nuclear powers involved this time.

This fear-driven administration and its cabal of neoconservative warhawks has already proved beyond a doubt that it cannot be trusted to make the right decisions at the right times for the right reasons. No matter how much it blusters and spins, it cannot be allowed to claim the right to initiate an attack by arbitrary executive fiat again.

There can be no room left for doubt on this issue. The White House does not have the authority to attack Iran. That’s why Senator Kerry joined Senator Jim Webb and 28 other Senators from both sides of the aisle in presenting this unequivocal statement of policy to the President and his staff this past week:

November 1, 2007
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Bush:

We are writing to express serious concerns with the provocative statements and actions stemming from your administration with respect to possible U.S. military action in Iran. These comments are counterproductive and undermine efforts to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomacy.

We wish to emphasize that no congressional authority exists for unilateral military action against Iran. This includes the Senate vote on September 26, 2007 on an amendment to the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. This amendment, expressing the sense of the Senate on Iran, and the recent designation of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, should in no way be interpreted as a predicate for the use of military force in Iran.

We stand ready to work with your administration to address the challenges presented by Iran in a manner that safeguards our security interests and promotes a regional diplomatic solution, but we wish to emphasize that offensive military action should not be taken against Iran without the express consent of Congress.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
John Kerry
Robert Byrd
Dick Durbin
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Chris Dodd
Patrick Leahy
Dianne Feinstein
Herb Kohl
Byron Dorgan
Jack Reed
Tom Harkin
Tom Carper
Max Baucus
Barbara Boxer
Daniel Akaka
Tim Johnson
Debbie Stabenow
Sheldon Whitehouse
Claire McCaskill
Sherrod Brown
Amy Klobuchar
Barbara Mikulsi
Jay Rockefeller
Maria Cantwell
Bernard Sanders
Ron Wyden
Bob Casey, Jr.
Jon Tester
Patty Murray