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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation '[W]e cannot take any option off the table', Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Iran, January 18, 2006Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) address at the Wilson School, Princeton, January 18, 2006 [Excerpt]. The new president of Iran has made a series of incendiary, outrageous comments, questioning the Holocaust, calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, even hoping for the death of Ariel Sharon. Now he is moving to create his own new nuclear reality in line with his despicable rewriting of history. He has walked away from international negotiations with Europe. He has announced Iran's intentions to defy the United Nations and broken the seals on nuclear facilities to resume the enrichment of uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. I believe that we lost critical time in dealing with Iran because the White House chose to downplay the threats and to outsource the negotiations. I don't believe you face threats like Iran or North Korea by outsourcing it to others and standing on the sidelines. But let's be clear about the threat we face now: A nuclear Iran is a danger to Israel, to its neighbors and beyond. The regime's pro-terrorist, anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric only underscores the urgency of the threat it poses. U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal. We cannot and should not - must not - permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons. In order to prevent that from occurring, we must have more support vigorously and publicly expressed by China and Russia, and we must move as quickly as feasible for sanctions in the United Nations. And we cannot take any option off the table in sending a clear message to the current leadership of Iran - that they will not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons. Part of the problem that we confront with Iran today is, of course, its involvement in and influence over Iraq. We continue to lose brave young men and women nearly every day in Iraq. It was my honor to visit our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have met with them and their families all over New York, at Fort Drum, in New York City, at Walter Reed Army Hospital, and I know how brave and committed they are to their mission while they are fighting in extremely difficult circumstances. As I have said before, there are no quick, no easy solutions to the situation we find ourselves in today. The long and drawn-out conflict this administration triggered consumes a billion dollars a week, involves a 150,000 American troops, has cost thousands of American lives and many seriously injured returning American service members. I do not believe that we should allow this to be an open-ended commitment without limits or end, nor do I believe that we can or should pull out of Iraq immediately. If last December's elections lead to a successful Iraqi government, that should allow us to start drawing down our troops during this year while leaving behind a smaller contingent in safe areas with greater intelligence and quick-strike capabilities. This will help us stabilize that new Iraqi government. It will send a message to Iran that they do not have a free hand in Iraq despite their considerable influence and personal and religious connections there. It will also send a message to Israel and our other allies, like Jordan, that we will continue to do what we can to provide the stability necessary to prevent the terrorists from getting any further foothold than they currently have. Source: DAILYPRINCETONIAN.COM, http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/01/18/news/14289.shtml © 2005 The Acronym Institute. |