National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

Floor Speech

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (Senate - July 11, 2007)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to ask unanimous consent, through the Chair, to have a brief colloquy with Senator Lieberman about his pending amendment, as modified, so there is clarification here.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DURBIN. Thank you, Mr. President.

First, we all acknowledge that Iran is involved in sending deadly weapons into Iraq which are threatening the lives of American soldiers as well as those who are trying to seek a peaceful and stable Iraq. That is a fact. It is one that the Senator from Connecticut has condemned, and I join him in that condemnation. I think that is a large part of his effort with this amendment.

Secondly, I might add that Senator Smith of Oregon and I have introduced a resolution relative to the proliferation issue in Iran, and we have quite a few cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. We are not calling it on this bill, but we may soon, and to find diplomatic ways to discourage Iran from developing nuclear weapons, which would be destabilizing and dangerous to the Middle East and the world.

But I have a specific question I want to ask of the Senator from Connecticut in light of the modification of his amendment. Does this amendment, now, that the Senator has presented, as modified, authorize the use of military force by the United States against Iran?

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, through you, responding to my friend from Illinois, the direct and short answer is no, it does not. In fact, in the modification I will soon send to the desk, we have added a section that says explicitly what was intended implicitly, which is, ``Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or otherwise speak to the use of Armed Forces against Iran.''

I say to my friend from Illinois, my hope here--in the midst of a contentious debate in which there is division in the Senate--is that no matter where one stands on the issues we are debating, on the facts that the U.S. military has presented about the complicity of Iran and its agents in training and equipping terrorists who are then coming in and killing Americans and Iraqis, there is agreement. And there is agreement also on the ``therefores'' or the ``resolved,'' which is, these are intolerable and unacceptable acts, and we call on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take immediate action to stop them.

Significantly--to me, anyway--we set up an operational procedure where, in the first 30 days and then every 60 days thereafter, General Petraeus or his successor, the Ambassador to Iraq and successor, will report to us on any new evidence about the activities of Iran in Iraq.

But because I want very much for this to be a statement that as many of the Members here--hopefully, all--could support, I do want to make it clear because I understand this is notmeant as an authorization of the use of force or in any other way to speak to the use of force against Iran.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Connecticut for this clarification.

I yield the floor.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would like a clarification. Does this mean every amendment now to the Defense authorization bill will require 60 votes?

Mr. McCAIN. That is my understanding.

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