Senate Resolution 380: Advise Your Senator Not to Consent

Senate Resolution 380: Advise Your Senator Not to Consent

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has issued an urgent plea for all Americans to contact their senators urging them to vote against Senate Resolution 380, the Graham-Casey-Lieberman Resolution, which recommends that the U.S. attack Iran once it reaches "nuclear capability."

Wrote the FCNL: "[The resolution] undermines diplomacy. As tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate, Congress should be supporting the vigorous pursuit of all diplomatic options available to resolve the crisis and avert a war. Instead, S. Res. 380 puts U.S. negotiators under intense political pressure, undercutting their ability to reach a diplomatic solution, which heightens the potential of war."

Those who join FCNL in opposition to the resolution include Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell; Colin Kahl, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East; and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. For other high-profile opponents of this destructive document, see this link: http://fcnl.org/issues/iran/all_the_new_senate_bill_is_saying_is_give_war_a_chance/ .

With the vote scheduled to take place as early as next week, thousands will lobby for it and the pressure against it must spread as widely as possible as quickly as possible.

Sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and initially offered to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), on February 16, the resolution rules out diplomacy as well as containment once Iraq becomes nuclear-armed.

War is the answer, directly challenging FCNL's motto "War is not the answer."

Once the resolution is passed in the Senate, further diplomatic communications with Iran will become virtually impossible.

There are forty-four co-sponsors, including two of the three sponsors who initiated this ill-advised, ill-fated initiative. It is disappointing that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), author of the legislation that would create a tax minimum of 30 percent for millionaire Americans, also endorses the resolution. Eighteen Democrats, twenty-six Republicans, and one Independent have officialized their support.

This figure leaves fifty-five senators not yet committed either way.

FCNL offers one phone number that will reach all senators, 1-855-NO WAR.

For more detailed information about this initiative, go to this link: http://fcnl.org/action/alert/2012/0301/.