Update: Just got this message from Andrew Wimmer, of the leaders of a delegation that went to Representative Clay’s office yesterday.  Thanks to everyone who sent messages or called!

Good morning everyone,

Lacy Clay’s chief of staff, Darryl Piggee informed us just now that Clay will be removing his name as a cosponsor of H Con Res 362 regarding Iran and will be issuing a statement to that effect later today.

We are waiting to see whether Clay states clearly that he is

withdrawing as a cosponsor and will be voting against the resolution….

If the statement is adequate, there will be no return visit to Clay’s office this afternoon. So, stay tuned. Carnahan will be next.

Yours, Andrew Wimmer



We in the St. Louis area are generally very lucky to have two representatives, Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan, who do a pretty good job at representing progressive values.  Unfortunately, when the nationalistic drums start beating too loudly and the narrative gets pushed sharply to the right, even the best representatives can sometimes make mistakes.  I think Clay and Carnahan’s decision to co-sponsor House Resolution 362 is one such mistake, so follow me over the flip and I’ll explain why.

House Resolution 362 is titled “Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital national security interests of the United States by Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and regional hegemony, and for other purposes”.  The text of it can be found here.  I think there are two primary problems with the resolution, with the later problem being a complete deal-breaker.

First, the resolution begins with a set of “whereas” statements, many of which are problematic to say the least.  These whereas statements read like a highlight reel of Bush’s propaganda against Iran, and completely omit Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the fact that the kind of enriched uranium Iran has is not the kind that can be used in nuclear weapons.  I think it really would be a huge mistake for Congress to pass a bill that uncritically agrees with all of the Bush administrations’ case for war against Iran, and this bill certainly fits in that category.

But more important than the propagandistic rhetoric against Iran is a particular passage in the text.  The resolution , in addition to other things,

(3) demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran’s nuclear program;

Blockading a country is, according to international law, an act of war.  Now I imagine the fact that the resolution calls for the President to “initiate an international effort” to enact the blockade would lead some to believe that it requires the president to cooperate with the United Nations or some other international body.  But of course, the language is clearly ambiguous, and we remember all too well that President Bush thought that the War in Iraq was an “international war” as soon as we got Poland to commit 50 troops and a knapsack.  

Thus, in effect, this resolution is urging President Bush to institute a blockade against Iran, in violation of international law.  I realize that Iran presents some interesting challenges to the U.S., but this bill is pretty clearly a mistake, and I expect Clay and Carnahan to be smart enough to recognize this.  It seems pretty clear to me that AIPAC is generating some serious lobbying pressure on this bill, and it is important that we do something to exert counter-pressure.  

Please call Representatives Clay and Carnahan and ask them to withdraw their support for HR 362.  Clay’s local office number is (314) 367-1970 and Carnahan’s is (314) 962-1523.  And, Just Foreign Policy has a link you can use to send your representative a message here.  Please use it and then pass it on to your friends, particularly if they live in Clay or Carnahan’s district.

Bush only has a few more months left in office.  There is too much at stake not to take this bill seriously.