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It's a Slippery Slope to War
Ask Your Representative to Oppose H. Con. Res. 362

Over the last four weeks 102 House Democrats and 117 Republicans have agreed to cosponsor a new resolution against Iran that demands that President Bush “initiate an international effort” to impose a land, sea, and air blockade on Iran to prevent it from importing gasoline and to inspect all cargo entering or leaving Iran.

Such a blockade imposed without United Nations authority (which the resolution does not call for) could be widely construed as an act of war. Some congressional sources say the House could vote on the resolution, H.Con.Res. 362, very soon.

Please send a letter asking your Representative to oppose this dangerous path that could lead directly to war with Iran.

http://capwiz.com/justforeignpolicy/issues/alert/?alertid=11518951

Here is the profile of the Democrat who sponsored H.Con.Res 362, from GovTrack.us:
Gary Ackerman, U.S. Representative

State: New York, District 5 Party: Democrat Religion: Jewish To contact Gary Ackerman, visit his official website.

	Gary Ackerman represents New York's 5th congressional district. The district includes in Nassau County -- most of North Hempstead Town, in Queens County -- part of Queens Borough, and in North Hempstead (Nassau County) -- Flower Hill Village, Great Neck Estates Village, Great Neck Village, Kings Point Village, Lake Success Village, Manhasset, North Hills Village, most of Roslyn Heights, Sands Point Village, and Searingtown.
	Ackerman is a rank-and-file Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Gary Ackerman missed 759 of 9321 votes (8%) since Jan 5, 1993. The graph to the left shows the number of missed votes over time. Click for a larger chart.

Antiwar.com Action Alert
Iran War Resolution May Be Passed Next Week

H. Con. Res. 362
S. Res. 580
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Introduced less than a month ago, Resolution 362, also known as the Iran War Resolution, could be passed by the House as early as next week. The bill is the chief legislative priority of AIPAC. On its Web site, AIPAC endorses the resolutions as a way to ''Stop Iran's Nuclear Program" and tells readers to lobby Congress to pass the bill. In the Senate, a sister resolution, Resolution 580, has gained co-sponsors with similar speed. The Senate measure was introduced by Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh on June 2. It has since gained 19 co-sponsors. The bill's key section "demands that the president initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program." "Imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran" can be read to mean that the president should initiate a naval blockade of Iran. A unilateral naval blockade without UN sanction is an act of war. Resolution 362 has already gained 170 co-sponsors, or nearly 40 percent of the House. It has been referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has 49 members, 24 of whom, including the ranking Republican, are co-sponsors. The Iran Nuclear Watch Web site writes, "According to the House leadership, this resolution is going to 'pass like a hot knife through butter' before the end of June on what is called suspension - meaning no amendments can be introduced during the 20-minute maximum debate. It also means it is assumed the bill will pass by a 2/3 majority and is non-controversial." Our national legislators deem it non-controversial to recommend to a president known for his recklessness and bad judgment that he consider engaging in an act of war against Iran. Those of you who consider this issue controversial can go to the Just Foreign Policy Web site and tell your representative to oppose this resolution.

For more information about this action item, media requests, donations or other information, please contact Angela Keaton at 310-729-3760 or akeaton@antiwar.com.