Senator Lieberman Calls for Military Action Against Iran

Connecticut senator Joseph Lieberman has called for the United States to prepare for "aggressive military action" against the Central Asian nation of Iran, on a Sunday morning news program.

According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, senator Lieberman stated that the U.S. must be prepared for a military strike against Iran to "stop them from killing Americans in Iraq." He said this on the Sunday morning CBS news program "Face The Nation." The Xinhua news report also indicated that Lieberman claimed the U.S. has "good evidence" that Iran is training Iraqi insurgents to attack American soldiers.

An Associated Press news story carried by the Connecticut Post indicated that Lieberman also claimed that Iranian-trained Iraqis may have killed up to two-hundred American soldiers, saying that Iran also needs to cease their alleged development of nuclear weapons.

In response, an editorial on the Salem-News.com website called Lieberman's support for war with Iran "cowardly" and him a "danger to our country." The editorial went on to point out that Lieberman wouldn't be personally involved in the military action if it were to occur, and remarks on the contradictory nature of his simultaneous opposition to television violence and support for military action.

ThinkProgress.org reported on Monday that they conducted an interview with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in which he disagreed with Lieberman, saying that efforts regarding Iran should be diplomatic, and that invading Iran would additionally destabilize the region. He was also quoted as pointing out that the Iraq Study Group called for diplomacy with Iran, and he suggested that a "regional conference" of U.S. and regional leaders should be held.

Meanwhile, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency of Iran, the Iranian representative to the United Nations issued a letter of protest against the U.S. for carrying out "hostile acts" in Iran, including sabotage and espionage.

According to Wikipedia.org, Lieberman was elected to the Senate almost twenty years ago. He lost the Democratic primary nomination in 2006, but was re-elected as an independent candidate, receiving a greater percentage of Republicans' votes than Democrats. In recent years, he attempted to run for the Democratic presidential nomination and the Vice Presidency as well. Wikipedia also states that he has been a long-time supporter of Israel, is an "advocate" for the occupation of Iraq, and supports free trade.

Sources:

1. Xinhua, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/11/content_6224450.htm

2. Salem-News, http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june112007/lieberman_oped_61007.php

3. Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_6112740

4. Islamic Republic News Agency, http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/menu-239/0706106599012618.htm

5. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman

6. Think Progress, http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/11/reid-lieberman-iran/