US Senators 99-0 Support for Israel

August 1, 2013

“If the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defence against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defence of its territory, people, and existence,” the resolution reads.

The same legislation calls for the US to take “such action as may be necessary” to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

The 99-0 vote clearly indicated the senators’ support and their concern.

Senator Bob Menedez Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat–New Jersey) drew attention to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) saying Iran had upped the tempo of their nuclear enrichment program while at the same time saying some Iranian facilities were not made available for scrutiny.

“I cannot emphasize enough my strong concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and the extraordinary threat it poses to the United States, to Israel and to the entire international community,” Menendez, the powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech on the Senate floor before the vote. “We cannot allow Iran to buy more time talking—even as the centrifuges keep spinning. There is no doubt, there has never been a doubt—not in my mind—that a nuclear-armed Iran is not an option,” he said.

The resolution, he said, “makes clear that a nuclear Iran is not an option, and that the Unites States has Israel’s back…Iran’s leaders must understand that, unless they change course, their situation will only get worse and economic struggles and international isolation will only grow. They must understand that, at the end of the day, their pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability will make them less, not more, secure.”

It also contained a message for Israel, Menendez continued.

“The bottom line: Israel should always understand that the United States has its back, that we will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons capability, and, if we are forced to, we will take whatever means necessary to prevent this outcome,” he said.

Source: Ron Ross, Bridges for Peace