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Analysis: Rivals Rap Clinton's Iran Vote
Real estate news By Beth Fouhy
Oct 11, 2007
For months, Hillary Rodham Clinton's Democratic rivals watched in frustration as she smoothly pivoted away from her 2002 Senate vote authorizing military action in Iraq. Now her vote on a measure designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization has raised new concerns among anti-war activists. And it has given her opponents, especially Barack Obama, a fresh chance to question the former first lady's judgment on matters of war and peace. While last month's nonbinding measure won strong bipartisan support in the Senate, some war foes have suggested such a designation would be tantamount to giving President Bush authority to invade Iran.
Clinton, a member of the Armed Services Committee, was the only Senate Democrat running for president to vote in favor of the measure. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd opposed it. Obama skipped the vote to campaign in New Hampshire but issued a statement that day saying he would have voted no. In a television interview Thursday, Clinton defended her vote and said it was important to have leverage in dealing with Iran's government. Clinton has taken heat for her vote since last month's Democratic debate in New Hampshire. Long-shot rival Mike Gravel said he was ashamed of her, and John Edwards questioned why she hadn't learned from her 2002 Iraq vote, as he had from his.
No one has hit harder than Obama, whose long-standing opposition to the Iraq war has been a central theme of his candidacy. He broke from his practice of not criticizing the New York senator directly, granting interviews and writing a biting op-ed article in New Hampshire's largest newspaper Thursday condemning the vote as dangerous and reckless. Clinton and her aides vigorously dispute the notion that her vote on the Iran measure signaled a willingness to engage militarily with Iran. Since her vote, Clinton has signed onto legislation by Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb requiring Bush to seek explicit congressional authorization to invade Iran.
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