Senator Joe Lieberman (Democrat from Connecticut) yesterday told CBS News that the United States should target Iranian training camps in military strikes in order to teach the Iranians a lesson that targeting Americans in Iraq has consequences. I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq, Lieberman said. And to me, that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers. He added, If they don't play by the rules, we've got to use our force, and to me, that would include taking military action to stop them from doing what they're doing. They can't believe that they have immunity for training and equipping people to come in and kill Americans, he said. We cannot let them get away with it. If we do, they'll take that as a sign of weakness on our part and we will pay for it in Iraq and throughout the region and ultimately right here at home. To deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions, Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson said tough negotiation is called for. "I would talk to them, but I would build an international coalition that would promote and push economic sanctions on them," Richardson said. "Sanctions would work on Iran. They are susceptible to disinvestment policy. They are susceptible to cuts, economic sanctions in commodities." On Friday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran's detention of at least four Americans is unwarranted but will not stop Washington from trying to engage Iran on other matters, including its disputed nuclear program and alleged support of insurgents in Iraq. In response to Lieberman s call, Michael Ledeen, a neoconservative writer who has for decades been calling for regime change in Iran, said that Lieberman should be nominated for Secretary of State, saying he perfectly made the case for strikes.
