J Street chalked up a legislative victory Thursday when the House of Representatives voted to require the Director of National Intelligence to prepare a report on the consequences of a military strike against Iran.
The vote amended the Intelligence Authorization Act, and gave a 60-day time limit for the intelligence czar to submit the report following the passage of the entire bill.
“Today’s vote reaffirms that Congress is hearing the warnings of American and Israeli security experts who believe that a military strike on Iran would not only fail to stop its nuclear program, but could actually trigger its acceleration,” said Dylan Williams, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs. “Members of Congress ultimately don’t want to enter into a conflict which fails to achieve its objectives and results in devastating losses to our troops and our allies.”
Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced the reporting requirement amendment , which was lobbied for by J Street.
J Street representatives say that in the past month or so, Washington has become a friendlier place for those who are not eager to jump the gun - or jump for the guns - on Iran.
- Rebecca Anna Stoil
With a computer virus raging out of control on Tehran''s computers, proponents of non-military means of combating Iran''s nuclear program have upped their game in pressing for alternatives. Last week, seventy-one Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama expressing support for diplomatic efforts to address concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities.
Earlier in May, the House amended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to emphasize that nothing in the NDAA authorizes the use of force against Iran, and a long-stalled Senate resolution on Iran was reintroduced with similar language expressly disclaiming an authorization for war.
J Street previously took flack for what critics on the right claimed was a too-soft approach on US policy toward Teheran. Now, the organization seems to have internalized the lesson - on its statement lauding the passage of te amendment, the dovish organization emphasized that "J Street believes that a nuclear weapons-armed Iran would pose a very serious threat to American and Israeli interests and to peace and stability in the Middle East and around the world. J Street lobbies in support of a combination of tough, targeted sanctions and diplomacy to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."