Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**Shoshie or other Iran "experts"**
I am still researching, but thought someone might have a good link to point me towards this. I read the stories that are coming out in the blogosphere re Obama, but too many all at once, so it is taking me a while to catch up today.
During the run-up to the primaries, Senator Obama did not appear in the Senate to vote on the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment calling on the government to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist entity and thus suffer the imposition of sanctions.
On the day of the vote on the amendment, however, Obama issued a statement announcing that he would have voted against it. In the statement, the closest he came to addressing the merits of the amendment was his assertion that 'he does not think that now is the time for saber-rattling towards Iran.' The amendment passed the Senate 76-22 on September 26, 2007, with many Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Richard Durbin, and Chuck Schumer voting in its favor.
Obama mercilessly attacked Hillary Clinton for her vote in favor of the amendment. Obama likened it to her 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war. 'This saber-rattling was a repetition of Iraq,' he said.
The day after securing the Democratic nomination, however, Obama appeared at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington and delivered a speech calling for 'boycotting firms associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, whose Quds force has rightly been labeled a terrorist organization.' The time had arrived for Obama (to use his words) to rattle the saber.
Maybe a flip-flop, but a necessary one. Imo, it seems his 'fit to lead' rhetoric, and imo judgement, may not be so sound.
Re: **Shoshie or other Iran "experts"**
My question is-what is his stance today? He was against a bill defining the group and then made a speech to say he defined them as such?
Based on what I've seen, his stance is whatever works at the time he's talking.
From the Jerusalem Post (news article)
From his own site:
This OPED by JPost's Saul Singer sheds more light on the back and forth.
Adam & Shoshie 10-21-07: "My family is big and loud and everybody's in each other's lives and business. ... but wherever I go, they will always be there." * My Blog: Tales of a Hopeful Jewish Mom to Be *
Based on what I've seen, his stance is whatever works at the time he's talking.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I was trying to rack my brain for a plausible answer besides this, but I agree with this statement more and more every day-double ding.
It is my understand that passing the Kyl-Lieberman amendment would classify the Iranian government as a terrorist entity. Therefore, declaration of war against them would fall under the Iraq War Resolution language that indicates the president could make an immediate decision to go to war without congress' approval.
So Obama wasn't voting against taking steps against Iran, just putting that decision completely in Bush's hands.
"As of page 2 this might be the most boring argument ever. It's making me long for Rape Day." - Mouse
I believe the amendment was only a classification of the military branch.
The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances.
If they are funding terrorism that keeps us in Iraq, then it is an issue. Obama, though, was against it before he was for it, for lack of a better phrase, so even he sees reason for the classification.