jimschweizer @ MindSay

"What the caterpillar calls the end of life, wise men call a butterfly."

from Lois Capps

May 14, 2008

James P. Schweizer

Santa Barbara, California 93110

Dear Friend :

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to military action against Iran . As your Representative, I appreciate hearing from you regarding this very important issue.

You will be pleased to know that we are in agreement. I strongly believe we must use diplomacy and act multilaterally to resolve the differences we may have with foreign countries. Like you, I support binding legislation that would require the President to receive Congressional approval before attacking Iran . I am a cosponsor of H.J.Res . 14, which states that no previous law authorizes an attack on Iran , and requires Congressional approval of such an attack, unless the U.S. is attacked first by Iran . Please be assured that I will support this bill or similar measures should they come to the House floor for a vote.

Additionally, I was pleased to vote on May 16, 2007 for the DeFazio amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R.1585) which states that no previous legislation constitutes an authorization to use force against Iran. It also makes certain that no funds would be used to take military action against Iran in the absence of specific congressional authority or a direct attack. Unfortunately, this amendment failed by a vote of 136-288.

As you may know, I voted against the authorization for force in Iraq in October 2002 and have opposed the war since the outset. Many of the fears I had then have, unfortunately, since come to pass-the lack of weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration's negligent handling of the postwar conflict, and the unprecedented decline of our nation's standing around the world. As the intelligence that led us into Iraq looks increasingly suspect, we must be even more wary of calls for pre-emptive action against other countries. Before we further stretch our already overextended military and strain our alliances, we must exhaust all other options. I believe we are very far from that point with Iran , and I have seen no evidence that would convince me to authorize the use of force.