By Kenneth J. Theisen, 5/17/07
On May 16, 2007 the House of Representatives refused to pass
legislation preventing the Bush regime from launching military attacks against Iran without
Congressional permission. Representative
Peter DeFazio had proposed an amendment to the military authorization bill
stating that military operations could not be launched against Iran without
specific congressional approval. His
measure lost in a lop-sided vote 136-288.
In speaking in favor of the proposal, Representative Barbara
Lee stated, “The president’s saber rattling against Iran is only increasing and is eerily similar to
the march to war with Iraq.
We must act to prevent another war of pre-emption.” But apparently saber
rattling and the possibility of another aggressive war being launched by the
Bush regime does not bother the majority of the House.
A second amendment was also shot down by the House. This one, proposed by Representative Robert
Andrews, barred the Department of Defense from utilizing money under the
military authorization bill to plan a “major contingency operation” in
Iran. It lost by a 202-216 vote.
The White House had threatened that Bush would veto the
military authorization bill if it contained either amendment. And like it has done repeatedly in the past,
the House refused to confront the president and do anything to actually stop
any of the Bush regime’s wars. Both amendments were originally scheduled to be
part of the emergency Iraq
war funding legislation, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi withdrew them from that bill.
Pelosi finally permitted the amendments
to come up for votes but did not use her considerable power to seek to pass
them.