Congress again is ahead of President Barack Obama on how to deal with the Irnaian nuclear threat. Republican Sen. Mitchell McConnell wants a resolution backing a military strike, and GOP Rep. Turner said, "There is broad Congressional support for Israel to defend itself against the Iranian threat." Last year, Congress pressured the president to slap harsher sanctions on Iran in an effort to convince it to allow United Nations supervision of its nuclear program, and the American legislature now is taking the lead in backing a military strike on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities. Sen. McConnell, speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, labeled Iran a "state sponsor of terrorism" and suggested a resolution supporting a military strike if necessary. The motion would state, “If Iran at any time begins to enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels, or decides to go ahead with a nuclear weapons program, then the United States will use military force to end that program." Rep. Turner, who shocked the Democrats last year with an upset victory in a strong Jewish district, told a press conference that the “world is currently at war” and explained, “If in the past we had to fight Communism, today the threat is from Islamic fanaticism. This threat may continue for a long time and we must prepare to deal with it.” Turner is the first Republican to represent his New York’s 9th district since 1920 and serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. President Obama said the military option is “on the table” if sanctions don’t work, but Sen. McConnell stated Monday, "What is needed when it comes to Iran is a clear declaratory policy that would declare what we would do, and why. In intending to offer 'all options,' it has inadvertently blurred the most important one and that is a determined military operation to end Iran's nuclear program."
