Associated Press
November 10, 2007
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday
she does not believe a Senate resolution authorizes President
Bush to take military action against Iran.
"There is nothing in this particular resolution that
would suggest that from our point of view. And, clearly, the
president has also made very clear that he's on a diplomatic
path where Iran comes into focus," Rice said.
The Senate in late September voted 76-22 in favor of a resolution
urging the State Department to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
While the resolution, by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and
Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., attracted overwhelming bipartisan support,
a small group of Democrats said they feared labeling the state-sponsored
organization a terrorist group could be interpreted as a congressional
authorization of military force in Iran.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only Senate Democrat running
for president to support the measure. Her rivals have argued
that Bush could use it to justify war with Iran. Clinton insists
her vote would not support military strikes and instead was
a vote for stepped-up diplomacy.
On Sunday, Rice echoed that view. She said Bush was focused
on diplomatic options — not waging war.
"Obviously, it can be the case that he will never take
his options off the table, but this particular resolution has
nothing to do with that from our point of view," Rice
said. "This resolution is saying that there needs to be
strong measures taken against Iran, which we have definitely
done."
"And if the Iranians suspend their enrichment and reprocessing,
I'm prepared to meet my counterpart anyplace, anytime, anywhere," she
added. "So the question isn't why will we not talk to
Tehran. The question is, why will Tehran not talk to us?"
Rice spoke on ABC's "This Week."
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