Iran Test-Fires Nine Missiles.

Today Iran has test-fired nine missiles including a new version of the Shahab-3 which means that Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and the Arabian peninsula are all within the nation’s attack range. The test came one day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the idea that the U.S. and/or Israel would attack Iran was a “funny joke.” However, they have also made it clear that if attacked, they will attack Israel.

As you might expect, the tests have lead to two very different responses from Senators Obama and McCain. Obama has said that this test shows why it’s critical for the U.S. to step up strong diplomacy and economic sanctions as well as offer incentives to persuade Iran to take a better and more peaceful path. However, Senator McCain has said that this demonstrates the need for systems like STAR WARS.

Telecom Immunity Given The Go Ahead

Senator Dodd’s amendment to strip telecom immunity out of the FISA bill has failed. 32 Senators wanted to defend the rule of law including Senators Obama, Clinton, Dodd, Byrd, Feingold, Biden, Boxer, and Durbin. However, 66 voted against the rule of law and the Constitution including Senators Lieberman, Bayh, Dole, Graham, Specter, Feinstein, and Coburn. This of course reveals that the split wasn’t simply partisan. It was a split between those who support the Constitution and those who don’t.

There was also the Specter amendment which was significantly worse than the Dodd amendment, but limited telecom immunity to cases where the courts felt the actions of the telecoms were constitutional. It also failed because once again the Senate split along who supports the Constitution and who doesn’t. Some of the Senators who supported the Constitution are Senators Obama, Clinton, Dodd, and Biden. Some of the Senators who opposed it are Senators Dole, Graham, Lieberman, Vitter, and Warner.

It’s also worth noting that only two Senators didn’t vote on both of the above. One is Senator Kennedy who is still recovering from his brain tumor and thus has a reasonable excuse. The other is Senator McCain who has been able to campaign relentlessly.

The photo used was uploaded to Flickr by dbking who licensed it under a Creative Commons Attribution License and my use of the photo in no way indicates an endorsement of the article from dbking.