By a vote of 76-22, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a measure sending another rebuke to Tehran, this one aimed at sending a message to the Islamic regime to end military tactics targeting U.S. forces in Iraq.
The Kyl-Lieberman Amendment sponsored by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) was described by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) as:
“This proposal is Dick Cheney’s fondest pipe dream. It’s not a prescription for success. At best, it’s a deliberate attempt to divert attention from a failed diplomatic policy. At worst, it could be read as a back-door method of gaining congressional validation for action without one hearing or without serious debate.”
Webb said the language is too open-ended, and could be construed as Senate authorization to use force against Iran.
One portion of the amendment reads:
“It is the Sense of the Senate that it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies.”
At the urging of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, Lieberman and Kyl took steps Tuesday to remove the most controversial parts of their measure.
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton, voted for the proposal.