• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

16 April 1998

CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1998

(Iran/Hamilton) (350)
LEADING HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR POLICY CHANGE ON IRAN
Representative Lee Hamilton, the ranking Democrat on the House
International Relations Committee and its former chairman, says the
United States needs "to begin a policy of engagement with Iran."
There is "a new situation in Iran," Hamilton said in an April 15
speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., "and I
think we ought to take advantage of it."
Among other things, he suggested that the US government send a United
States Information Agency officer to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran,
which looks out for US interests in Iran, "to initiate and coordinate
exchange programs" involving a broad spectrum of individuals and
organizations, from athletes and scientists to journalists,
politicians and representatives of non-profit groups.
The Indiana Democrat affirmed that the United States must maintain "a
continuing, strong...military presence in the Persian Gulf region."
But he also asserted that "the United States should begin now to take
steps that will lead to a direct, official dialogue with the
government of Iran."
These steps, he said, should include a willingness on the part of
President Clinton to waive or delay implementation of US trade
sanctions against firms from Europe and other countries which do
business with Iran. He said these "narrow and inflexible" penalties
alienate allies and harm US economic interests."
"For the first time since 1979 -- when Iranian students seized and
held American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran for 444 days --
there is the possibility of improved U.S.-Iran relations," said
Hamilton, who is retiring at the end of the current session of
Congress.
He said Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who was elected in May,
1997, "is dedicated to opening up society, relaxing political, social
and cultural rules, and repairing fences abroad." But, he noted, Iran
remains "bitterly divided" between hard line conservatives and
reformers, with the issues of relations with the United States
"perhaps the most contentious of all."