Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008/On war with Iran



Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told "the Chicago Tribune on September 26, 2004, '[T]he big question is going to be, if Iran is resistant to these pressures [to stop its nuclear program], including economic sanctions, which I hope will be imposed if they do not cooperate, at what point ... if any, are we going to take military action?'

"He added, '[L]aunching some missile strikes into Iran is not the optimal position for us to be in' given the ongoing war in Iraq. 'On the other hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse.' Obama went on to argue that military strikes on Pakistan should not be ruled out if 'violent Islamic extremists' were to 'take over'," Joshua Frank wrote January 22, 2005, for Antiwar.com.

See The Barack Obama Report, about Obama's efforts to develop an aggressive program of outreach to the Jewish community on his record of support for Israel, which he claims is unwavering. Obama fully endorsed Israel's invasion of Lebanon [in 2006], and he has also cited his more recent sponsorship of the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of May 2007, another irresponsible piece of legislation by Congress that will increase the suffering of the Iranian people while doing nothing to change the country's leadership. He has pledged that Iran will not be allowed to threaten Israel through its nuclear program, but he is vague on exactly what he would do to stop it," Philip Giraldi wrote August 14, 2007, at Antiwar.com.

National Foreign Trade Council v. Giannoulias
See Barack Obama and campaign contributor Alexi Giannoulias.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008
 * war in Iran

On the Issues

 * Political views of Barack Obama in the Wikipedia.
 * GovTrack Statistics: Barack Obama
 * Barack H. Obama, Project VoteSmart.
 * Compare where Barack Obama stands on the issues at whereIstand.com.
 * liberal democrat, "Obama's Congressional Record," Kucinich 2008, January 22, 2007.

External articles

 * David Mendell, "Obama would consider missile strikes on Iran," Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2004.
 * Tom Mackaman, "Democratic keynote speaker Barack Obama calls for missile strikes on Iran," WSWS, October 1, 2004.
 * Sharon Smith, "Barak O-Bomb-a? Democrats Target Iran," CounterPunch, October 13, 2004.
 * Alexander Cockburn, "Obama: As He Rises, He Falls," The Nation, April 20, 2006 (May 8, 2006 issue).
 * Alexander Cockburn, "Obama's Game," CounterPunch, April 24, 2006.
 * Yitzhak Benhorin, "Obama: US should never dictate what's best for Israel," ynetnews.com, March 2, 2007: "Obama reveals strongly pro-Israel platform: US must preserve 'total commitment to unique defense relationship with Israel', work to stop Iran's nuclear program even if military action is necessary.'"
 * Deanna Bellandi, "Obama says Iranian president's regime 'threat'," Associated Press (Chicago Sun-Times), March 2, 2007.
 * Dave Newbart, "Obama: Iran threatens all of us. Won't rule out force in speech in Chicago to pro-Israel group," Chicago Sun-Times, March 3, 2007.
 * "Obama: Iran is 'one of the greatests threats to the U.S.'. Says Bush policy in Iraq has caused more problems," Chicago Tribune (Belleville.com), March 3, 2007.
 * Shmuel Rosner, "Barack Obama to Haaretz: Turn up the pressure on Tehran," Haaretz, May 17, 2007.
 * Khody Akhavi, "Candidates Hop Aboard the Iran Sanctions Bus," Inter Press Service, July 23, 2007.
 * Press Release: "Obama Urges Swift Senate Passage of Iran Divestment Legislation," Office of Senator Barack Obama, July 31, 2007.
 * eriposte, "12/4/07 NPR Democratic Debate: On Misleading and On Enabling George W. Bush," The Left Coaster, December 6, 2007.
 * "Sen. Obama Shifts on Using American Forces in Iraq to Blunt Iranian Threat," The Fact Hub/Hillary Hub, December 6, 2007.
 * SusanUnPC, "Obama Talks the Talk, But Where's the Walk?" No Quarter Blog, December 12, 2007.
 * art3, "In '04 Obama Backed Military Strikes on Iran, and now?" MyDD, December 16, 2007.

External resources

 * Barack Obama's non-binding resolution.