Lieberman: Iran Has Declared War

Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman asserted Monday that the Iranian government has in effect declared war on the United States.
Lieberman commented after a U.S. military spokesman said Tehran's senior officials were aware of efforts to encourage violence against Americans in Iraq. "The fact is that the Iranian government has by its actions declared war on us," said Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. As a result, he continued, "The United States government has a responsibility to use all instruments at its disposal to stop these terrorist attacks against our soldiers and allies in Iraq, including keeping open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran." He stopped short of advocating a military strike, but said that "while I sincerely hope that diplomacy alone can convince the Iranian government to stop these attacks, our diplomatic efforts are only likely to succeed if backed by a credible threat of force." Lieberman said he hoped the latest news about Iran would help quash calls in Congress to withdraw U. S. troops. Withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq at this time, he added, "will give Iranians exactly what they want most"-an "epic victory" for forces of terrorism. "Iran's purpose in sponsoring these attacks against our soldiers is clear," he said. "The Iranian government wants to push the United States out of Iraq. "For Congress to mandate a retreat from Iraq," he said, "will give the Iranians exactly what they want most. A retreat would not only represent a catastrophic defeat for the United States, but an epic victory for Iran, Hezbollah and the forces of Islamist terrorism." Lieberman's comments came after Brigadier Gen. Kevin Bergner said today that Iran's Qods Force was involved in a January attack in Kerbala. Gunmen posing as Americans found their way into a government compound and killed five people, including a U.S. soldier. According to wire services, Shi'ite Iran denies involvement in violence in Iraq, and blames the U.S.-led war on Iraq for the problems. But Bergner said otherwise, telling a press conference that "Our intelligence reveals that senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity. We also understand that senior Iraqi leaders have expressed their concerns to the Iranian government about the activities," Reuters reported.To Lieberman, this news was further evidence that the U.S. should get tougher on Iran. "These revelations should be a wake-up call to the United States about the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, "as well as a reminder why Iraq is, in fact, the centralf ront of the global war on terror." He said Iran's "sponsorship of terrorism in Iraq fits into a larger, dangerous pattern of behavior we see across the Middle East today." Lieberman cited events in Lebanon, Palestine and Afghanistan. "Despite a mounting economic crisis in its own country and growing international isolation," he said, "the regime in Tehran is sacrificing the blood and treasure of the Iranian people to fund terrorism against its neighbors."
By DAVID LIGHTMAN - www.courant.com
As in the days of Noah...