CAIRO: US Congressmen from both the Republican and Democratic parties dismissed the possibility of an attack on Iran in October to influence the outcome of the presidential elections, during a videoconference at the US embassy on Wednesday.
Rumors have abounded about the “October Surprise, an attack on Iran by the incumbent administration to strengthen the hand of Republican candidate John McCain in the election as he would be perceived to be more of a wartime leader.
Democratic Congressman Brian Baird and Republican counterpart Jeff Fortenberry both dismissed the notion out of hand.
“I think there are many and serious legitimate concerns about the intent of the Iranian government as far as nuclear capacity. I doubt very seriously that there would be an October surprise motivated by election desires, Baird said.
Fortenberry concurred, stating, “The possibility of initiating military action is so gravely serious that it would be a far stretch of the imagination that somebody would manipulate an outcome of an election. In the realm of possibility if something like that occurred, I would certainly hope and expect that it would be because of a most grave serious kind of necessity of response.
Although both congressmen indicated a willingness to enter discussions with Iran provided the circumstances were suitable, both also explicitly stated that currently there was great concern over Iran and the rhetoric emanating from it, which Fortenberry described as “apocalyptic.
“If Iran proceeds down a pathway of developing nuclear weapons capability, where does that leave the Sunni Arab world in terms of its response? Does the Egyptian government build nuclear weapons? Do the Saudis stand idly by and allow this to happen? Are they interested in some alliance with Iran or do they seek a weapon themselves? What do the Turks do? This is not a direction I want to see the Middle East move towards, the Republican said.
Asked whether placing pressure on Iran not to pursue a nuclear program while Israel possessed nuclear weapons was not an even-handed approach, Baird stated that because of the threat to Israel from Iran, to ask them to disarm unilaterally while this threat is present is unrealistic.
“One can argue that it is inconsistent for the Israelis to say we demand weapons but we won’t allow the Iranians but at the same time I’ve not heard the rhetoric from Israel saying we want to wipe Iran off the earth, he said.
On the subject of the Middle East peace process, both Congressmen agreed that the next president whoever he may be will have to take a strong interest in attempting to solve the issue for there to be headway.
“Speaking personally, Baird said, “we have an obligation to ensure that parties that have signed on to the roadmap adhere to these principles. And that is all parties. That includes cessation of violence and also restriction on expansion of settlements.
Fortenberry said, “Given that this is the ‘simmering heat’ in the Middle East . it is a key issue that will have to be addressed by the next administration in a leadership role but also in a collaborative role with other governments throughout the region and other international partners. -Additional reporting by Reem Abu Zahra
