TPMDC House Foreign Affairs Committee
Iran
Pols Want Obama To Hit Iran Harder, Make Its Bank 'Radioactive'
Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a Shahab 3 missile and Pres. Obama
Republicans and even some Democrats are coming down hard on President Obama's policy toward Iran and Syria just three days after the Justice Department released information about a foiled Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S.
A Friday House hearing devoted to examining the threats posed by Iran and Syria quickly devolved into attacks on Obama's record toward the two Middle Eastern dictatorships.
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) lambasted the administration's execution of Iran human rights protections passed into law last year, calling its record "truly pathetic and inadequate" and arguing that "a pack of Iranian boy scouts could do better by far."
Topics: Bashar al-Assad, Gary Ackerman, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syria
Iran
Ridge Warns of Iran's Growing Influence Amid Middle East Unrest
Fmr. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (R)
Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday warned of Iran's growing influence amid the Middle East's turbulent political climate, underscoring other Republicans' calls for the U.S. to take a harder line on Iran.
The spread of pro-democracy movements across the region -- from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya -- is a positive step, Ridge said, but it also creates an opening for even more Iranian influence.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Department of Homeland Security, Egypt, Homeland Security, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Iran, Janet Napolitano, Libya, Michael Chertoff, Tom Ridge
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