By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON - Republican and Democratic senators warned Tuesday
against a drift toward war with an emboldened Iran and suggested
the Bush administration was missing a chance to engage its
longtime adversary in potentially helpful talks over next-door
Iraq
"What I think many of us are concerned about is that
we stumble into active hostilities with Iran without having
aggressively pursued diplomatic approaches, without the American
people understanding exactly what's taking place," Sen.
Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., told John
Negroponte, who is in line to become the nation's No. 2 diplomat
as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy.
Obama, a candidate for president in 2008, warned during the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that senators of
both parties will demand "clarity and transparency in
terms of U.S. policy so that we don't repeat some of the mistakes
that have been made in the past," a reference to the faulty
intelligence underlying the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb., a possible
presidential candidate, asked Negroponte if he thinks the United
States is edging toward a military confrontation with Tehran.
In response, Negroponte repeated President Bush's oft-stated
preference for diplomacy, although he later added, "We
don't rule out other possibilities."
Separately, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces
in the Middle East said Iran wants to limit America's influence
in the region.
"They have not been helpful in Iraq," Adm. William
Fallon told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It seems
to me that in the region, as they grow their military capabilities,
we're going to have to pay close attention to what they do
and what they may bring to the table."
The Bush administration has increased rhetorical, diplomatic,
military and economic pressure on Iran over the past few months,
in response to Iran's alleged deadly help for extremists fighting
U.S. troops in Iraq and the long-running dispute over Iran's
nuclear program.
Bush said Tuesday the United States "will deal with it" if
Iran escalates military action inside Iraq and endangers American
forces. But, in an interview with ABC News, Bush emphasized
this talk signals no intention of invading Iran itself.
A day earlier, the president acknowledged skepticism concerning
U.S. intelligence about Iran, because Washington was wrong
in accusing Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction before
the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. "I'm like a lot of Americans
that say, 'Well, if it wasn't right in Iraq, how do you know
it's right in Iran,'" the president said.
Washington accuses Iran of arming and training Shiite Muslim
extremists in Iraq. U.S. troops have responded by arresting
Iranian diplomats in Iraq, and the White House has said Bush
has authorized U.S. troops to kill or capture Iranians inside
Iraq.
The United States also accuses Iran of secretly developing
atomic weapons — an allegation Tehran denies. Iran's
refusal to suspend uranium enrichment lead the U.N. Security
Council to impose limited economic sanctions.
Senators including Hagel, George Voinovich (news, bio, voting
record), R-Ohio, and Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., sounded frustrated
with the administration's decision not to engage Iran and fellow
outcast Syria in efforts to reduce sectarian violence in Iraq.
Negroponte, a career diplomat who is leaving a higher-ranked
job as the nation's top intelligence official, gave only a
mild endorsement of the administration's diplomatic hands-off
policy toward Damascus and Tehran.
Negroponte would lead the department's Iraq policy if confirmed,
as expected. He said Syria is letting 40 to 75 foreign fighters
cross its border into Iraq each month and repeated the charge
that Iran is providing lethal help to insurgents fighting U.S.
forces in Iraq. Iran and Syria are not helping promote stability
and peace in Iraq and understand what the United States and
other nation expect of them.
"I would never want to say never with respect to initiating
a high-level dialogue with either of these two countries, but
that's the position, as I understand it, at this time," Negroponte
said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve
Negroponte quickly for a job vacant since July.
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