Fallon Challenges Boswell on Clinton Threat to Obliterate Iran

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 (1:00 PM CDT) - Ed Fallon yesterday challenged Rep. Leonard Boswell to say whether he supports Senator Hillary Clinton’s threat to “obliterate” Iran if it were to attack Israel. Boswell has endorsed Sen. Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination despite his district’s strong preference for Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards. Fallon’s challenge followed news reports of a television interview with Sen. Clinton yesterday. When asked how she would respond if Iran made a nuclear strike on Israel, she replied, “If I’m the president, we will attack Iran … we would be able to totally obliterate them.”

“Saber-rattling isn’t productive,” Fallon said. “It’s the kind of overheated rhetoric we’ve been hearing from President Bush these last eight years, and that we continue to hear in Sen. John McCain’s campaign,” referring to the presumed Republican nominee’s references to bombing Iran. “Iran knows we would respond to any attack on any of our allies,” Fallon added. “This kind of language serves only to further isolate Iran from the world community, makes them feel threatened, and diminishes any chance we have of influencing their policies.”

Fallon noted that the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by the elder President Bush’s Secretary of State Jim Baker, recommended direct talks with Iran. “President Bush’s strategic blunder in invading Iraq has made Iran the strongest power in the region, and it is clear that we need to seriously engage Iran if we are going to restore stability to the region. We could be working with Iran to end the Iraq War and to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons.”

“I favor constructively engaging Iran, not bullying them,” Fallon said. “President Bush’s foreign policy has damaged our nation’s standing and influence around the world, and we need a new direction.”

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April 23, 2008

Dear Congressman Boswell:

In light of your unwavering support of Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, I am writing to ask whether you agree with the remarks on Iran she made this morning. When interviewed on television, Sen. Clinton was asked how she would respond if Iran were to attack Israel with a nuclear weapon. In response, she said, “If I’m the president, we will attack Iran … we would be able to totally obliterate them.”

I believe this raises an important question about how our next president, whoever that may be, will conduct U.S. foreign policy toward Iran. This is of concern to me and I respectfully request that you clarify your stand on this issue.

Sincerely,

Ed Fallon