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2008 Elections

Iran: Democratic Candidates

Posted on Thursday October 25, 2007

Sen. Joseph Biden

Well, first of all, I would do away with the policy of regime change. What we're saying to everybody in Iran is: Look, by the way, give up the one thing that keeps us from attacking you and after that we're going to attack you, we're going to take you down.

It's a bizarre notion, number one.

Number two, understand how weak Iran is. They are not a year away or two years away. They are a decade away from being able to weaponize with exactly what the question was, if they put a nuclear weapon on top of a missile that can strike. They are far away from that.

Number three, in fact, we have to understand how weak that government is. They import almost all of their refined oil. By 2014, they are going to be importing their crude oil. There are much better ways if we had to get to the point of real sanctions of doing economic sanctions on them forcefully that way. But at the end of the day, if they posed a missile, stuck it on a pad, I'd take it out.

Sen. Hillary Clinton

Any military action against Iran will have an immediate impact on our troops serving in Iraq, our allies in the region as well as long term U.S. strategic interests. Senator's Webb's legislation insures that Congress will play its constitutional role of providing proper oversight over the Administration's policy toward Iran. Congressional oversight and debate can help avoid the mistakes and blunders that have afflicted U.S. policy in Iraq. We cannot allow recent history to repeat itself.

October 1, 2007
Remarks, Sponsorship of Webb legislation, Washington, DC

Former Sen. Mike Gravel

I would say that, essentially, they're all wrong on this. They're, sort of, leading up -- the administration is cooking the books, the intelligence on Iran.

And we're playing into this. And I'm very concerned. I would hope the Congress would pass a resolution saying, under no circumstances do you invade Iran.

Stop and think. What have we -- what have they done to us?

They're giving us intelligence, saying that they're destroying our troops. Well, what about our trying to destabilize their government, which we've been doing for the last 25 years?

We destroyed their democracy. And now we're looking at them as an excuse to expand the war, which is the plan the neocons had back in 1997. And so, when Democrats buy into the problem of Iran, they just help Vice President Cheney, who should be committed, with his recent statements...

I'll tell you what. Pull everybody out and turn to the Iranians, who helped us defeat the Taliban initially. It was the Iranians. So if we don't bring the Iranians to help us, or the Syrians, or Saudi Arabia, of course it's going to be a disaster.

They have more at stake in that area of the world than we do.

August 19, 2007
Transcript, Democratic Presidential Debate, Des Moines, IA

Former Sen. John Edwards

Well, let me say first of all, I think there's a clear, responsible course for America with respect to Iran, and that responsible course is to recognize that Ahmadinejad is unpopular in his own country. And if we work with our friends in Europe and the European banking system, we can put a clear proposal on the table for the Iranian people, sticks and carrots -- the carrots being we will help you with your economy if in fact you give up your nuclear ambitions, the flip side being there will be severe economic sanctions if you don't.

But I want to come back to a discussion that took place a few minutes ago, to make sure everyone understands what Senator Gravel was talking about and what Senator Clinton was talking about, because there was a very important vote cast in the United States Senate today. And it was basically in a resolution calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. I voted for this war in Iraq and I was wrong to vote for this war and I accept responsibility for that. Senator Clinton also voted for this war. We learned a very different lesson from that.

I have no intention of giving George Bush the authority to take the first step on a road to war with Iran. And I think that vote today, which Senator Biden and Senator Dodd voted against, and they were correct to vote against it, is a clear indication of the approach that all of us would take with the situation in Iran. Because what I learned in my vote on Iraq was, you cannot give this president the authority and you can't even give him the first step in that authority, because he cannot be trusted. And that resolution that was voted on today was a very clear indication --

September 26, 2007
Transcript, Democratic Presidential Debate, Hanover, NH

Rep. Dennis Kucinich

I am unequivocal in my support for the security and survival of Israel, and I do have serious concerns with the remarks made by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran. But, I object to resolutions that lay the groundwork for an offensive, unprovoked war.

The resolution passed by the House today sets a dangerous precedent in foreign affairs. A mistranslation could become a cause of war. The United States House may unwittingly be setting the stage for a war with Iran.

We must make every effort to ascertain the truth because peace in the world may hang in the balance. The only way to definitively know what President Ahmadinejad meant is for the United States to engage in meaningful, diplomatic relations with the country of Iran.

May 20, 2007
Press Release on H. Com. Res.21

Sen. Barack Obama

I think it's important to back up for a second, Tim, and just understand, number one, Iran is in a stronger position now than it was before the Iraq war because the Congress authorized the president to go in. And so it indicates the degree to which we've got to make sure, before we launch attacks or make judgments of the sort, that we actually understand the intelligence and we have done a good job in sorting it through.

Now, we don't know exactly what happened with respect to Syria . We've gotten general reports, but we don't know all the specifics. We got general reports in the run-up to the Iraq war that proved erroneous, and a lot of people voted for that war as a consequence.

Now, we are a stalwart ally of Israel , and I think it is important to understand that we will back them up in terms of their security. But it is critical to understand that until we have taken the diplomatic routes that are required to tighten economic sanctions

-- I have a plan right now to make sure that private pension funds in this country can divest from their holdings in Iran . Until we have gathered the international community to put the squeeze on Iran economically, then we shouldn't be having conversations about attacks in Iran . And I think what Mayor Giuliani said was irresponsible, because we have not yet come to that point. We have not tried the other approach.

I make an absolute commitment that we will do everything we need to do to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. One of the things we have to try, though, is to talk directly to Iran , something that we have not been doing. And, you know, one of the disagreements that we have on this stage is the degree to which the next president is going to have to engage in the sort of personal diplomacy that can bring about a new era in the region. And, you know, that means talking to everybody. We've got to talk to our enemies and not just our friends.

September 26, 2007
Transcript, Democratic Presidential Debate, Hanover, NH

Gov. Bill Richardson

On if he will make a commitment to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear capabilities…

Yes. And this is what I would do. I would approach it through diplomacy. A fundamental goal of our foreign policy should be not to permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Another cornerstone of our foreign policy should be the strength and the security of Israel. So you cannot deny a nation the right to legitimately defend itself.

Now, my approach is different. By the way, talking about diplomacy, I've talked to a lot of these bad guys already. So I would have a head start in personal diplomacy. You have to approach Iran. First of all, you use diplomacy. Then you use sanctions.

The problem that we have with Iran is that we don't build the international support that is needed to put economic pressure on Iran.

And my point here is that Iran is susceptible to economic pressure. It can do so through -- they import half of their foodstuffs, half of their gasoline. They've got domestic unrest. I would not talk necessarily to Ahmadinejad. I would talk to moderate clerics. I would talk to business leaders. But 40 percent of the Iranian people vote for moderate candidates for president. So you first use diplomacy.

The problem, Tim, is, we can't build the international support with the Europeans, with Russia that has leverage on Iran to effectively pressure them not to build nuclear weapons and to stop messing around in Iran (sic).

But it's called diplomacy, it's called negotiation; it's called talking to Iran and Syria and trying to work out differences.

September 26, 2007
Transcript, Democratic Presidential Debate, Hanover, NH