House Leaders Vow Tough Stance on Iran

Oakland, Calif. - In the wake of Rep. Tom Lantos’s announcement last week that he will retire from Congress later this year, both potential successors to his chairmanship of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee are promising no significant shift in policy toward Israel and Iran.

The only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress, the 79-year-old Lantos announced January 2 that he has esophageal cancer and will step down after 14 terms in office.

The California Democrat has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and has led efforts in the House to enforce sanctions against Iran. On both fronts, the congressman in line to take over the Foreign Affairs Committee says that his views differ little from those of Lantos.

“At least among the senior members of our committee, on a bipartisan basis there is a very deep and abiding commitment to Israel and to a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship, and a strong feeling that this Iranian regime with a nuclear weapon is an intolerable and unacceptable condition,” said Rep. Howard Berman, who like Lantos is a Jewish Democrat from California. “The position and the legislations championed had a great deal of support on the committee and in the House.”

Similar words were heard from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who as the Foreign Affairs Committee’s ranking Republican would assume the chairmanship if the GOP recaptures the House in November.

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http://www.forward.com/articles/12442/

But those titles are relegated to the pages of history when Dems had the fortitude to pick a fight. Regardless, I think it's time to re-examine our efforts in terms of Iran because I don't think it's working, and at worst, it will lead to a war between the US and Iran with the entire Middle East as a battle arena.