Mike Turner, Virginia Congressional Candidate, Urges Frank Wolf to Curb President Bush's War Powers

PURCELLVILLE, Va., April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Retired Air Force Colonel Mike Turner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in the 10th District, is calling on Congressman Frank Wolf to propose an emergency resolution within the next two weeks. This resolution would require President Bush to get Congressional approval before starting another misadventure in the Middle East. A former Middle East policy planner on the Joint Chief's staff for Retired General Wesley Clarke, Turner said, "The recent testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker may have unwittingly provided ammunition for President Bush to order a reckless action against Iran that would have dire consequences for our country and for the world."

The proposed resolution would make it an impeachable offense for the President to initiate a conventional or unconventional military operation against Iran without first getting approval by majority vote of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Turner expects his proposal to garner bi-partisan support, and he urges Wolf to reach across the aisle to get this resolution proposed and passed rapidly.

Turner continued, "We viewed this horror movie in Iraq five years ago. With the U.S. economy already on the decline, the likely fallout of a war with Iran would include a replay of the Great Depression, gasoline prices doubling or tripling overnight, crippling our overstressed military system's ability to defend our homeland, untold damage to our relationships with our allies, a major threat to Israel, and irreparable harm to our relationships with Moslem nations worldwide."

Turner added, "An action against Iran also would have the unintended consequences of empowering the weak regime of Ahmadinejad in Iran, while uniting him with Russia and his current Middle East enemies".

As reported in The Washington Post ("Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says", April 12), General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker barely mentioned al-Qaeda in Iraq but spoke extensively of Iran during their Washington visit last week.

With "al-Qaeda in retreat and disarray" in Iraq, said one official who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, "we see other obstacles that were under the waterline more clearly. . . . The Iranian-armed militias are now the biggest threat to internal order."

In the same article, The Washington Post reported that "partly in response to advice from Petraeus and Crocker, the Bush administration has initiated an interagency assessment of Iranian activities and intentions, and how to combat and capitalize on them. The review stems from an internal conclusion that the administration lacked a comprehensive understanding and a sophisticated approach."

President Bush reiterated that if Iran continues to help militias in Iraq, "then we'll deal with them." But he also said he has no desire to go to war with Tehran. While acknowledging that Petraeus and Crocker have provided the Senate with accurate testimony, Turner expressed his concern that President Bush cannot be taken at his word, and may unwisely use their comments to justify an impetuous action if there is no Congressional oversight.

As a commentator for National Public Radio, Turner pointed out the flaws in President Bush's approach to Iraq in March 11, 2003 -- before the bombing began. Regarding Iran, Turner said he would prefer strong Congressional oversight that could avoid another catastrophic war, rather than have an opportunity to be prophetic once more.

Contact: Elizabeth Segall
703-323-7995
elizsegall@yahoo.com

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Source: Mike Turner for Congress

CONTACT: Elizabeth Segall, +1-703-323-7995, elizsegall@yahoo.com, for
Mike Turner for Congress

2008-04-14 20:03:06 0335524 PRNEWSWIRE