longbrained
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Want Iran to go nuclear? Bomb them Rep. Smith
A military strike on Iran by Israel and/or the United States would backfire by assuring that the Iranian regime would push ahead with development of nuclear weapons, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee warned Wednesday.
Let the sanctions work, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told a Seattle neighborhood breakfast.
Smith cautioned against what he described as a rush to war in sabre-rattling statements heard on the Republican presidential trail. He argued that sanctions by the U.S. and European Union countries are already biting deep into the Iranian economy.
The best hope, said the congressman, is that the Iranian government will decide that the cost to their economy of developing a nuclear weapons capability is too great.
Smith argued that the United States was right to go after al-Qaeda and tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan, but that the U.S. should now accelerate the withdrawal of its forces from the fragmented, tribal-driven country.
The U.S. has come to be viewed as an occupation army, he said, an impression accelerated by events of the last two weeks the burning of copies of the Holy Koran at a military prison, and the murder of Afghan civilians by a Washington-based soldier from Lewis-McChord serving his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The recent redistricting, in which Washington gained a 10th U.S. House seat, has moved Smiths 9th District north into King County and Seattle. Longtime 7th District Congressman Jim McDermott still represents much of the Emerald City, but now has Shoreline and Edmonds in his district.
As a result, Smith will have 100,000 constituents in Seattle come the November election. He will represent Southeast Seattle north into the Leschi, Mt. Baker and Madrona neighborhoods. The 9th District will also include Mercer Island and part of the Eastside.
Want Iran to go nuclear? Bomb them — Rep. Smith | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com
A military strike on Iran by Israel and/or the United States would backfire by assuring that the Iranian regime would push ahead with development of nuclear weapons, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee warned Wednesday.
Let the sanctions work, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told a Seattle neighborhood breakfast.
Smith cautioned against what he described as a rush to war in sabre-rattling statements heard on the Republican presidential trail. He argued that sanctions by the U.S. and European Union countries are already biting deep into the Iranian economy.
The best hope, said the congressman, is that the Iranian government will decide that the cost to their economy of developing a nuclear weapons capability is too great.
Smith argued that the United States was right to go after al-Qaeda and tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan, but that the U.S. should now accelerate the withdrawal of its forces from the fragmented, tribal-driven country.
The U.S. has come to be viewed as an occupation army, he said, an impression accelerated by events of the last two weeks the burning of copies of the Holy Koran at a military prison, and the murder of Afghan civilians by a Washington-based soldier from Lewis-McChord serving his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The recent redistricting, in which Washington gained a 10th U.S. House seat, has moved Smiths 9th District north into King County and Seattle. Longtime 7th District Congressman Jim McDermott still represents much of the Emerald City, but now has Shoreline and Edmonds in his district.
As a result, Smith will have 100,000 constituents in Seattle come the November election. He will represent Southeast Seattle north into the Leschi, Mt. Baker and Madrona neighborhoods. The 9th District will also include Mercer Island and part of the Eastside.
Want Iran to go nuclear? Bomb them — Rep. Smith | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com
