U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok) Holds a Hearing On Iran's Nuclear Programs

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U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok) Holds a Hearing On Iran's Nuclear Programs

U.S. SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY HOLDS A HEARING ON IRAN'S NUCLEAR IMPASSE

JULY 20, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR TOM COBURN (R-OK) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR TED STEVENS (R-AK) U.S. SENATOR GEORGE V. VOINOVICH (R-OH) U.S. SENATOR LINCOLN D. CHAFEE (R-RI) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT F. BENNETT (R-UT) U.S. SENATOR PETE W. DOMENICI (R-NM) U.S. SENATOR JOHN W. WARNER (R-VA) U.S. SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS (R-ME) EX OFFICIO

U.S. SENATOR THOMAS R. CARPER (D-DE) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI) U.S. SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA (D-HI) U.S. SENATOR MARK DAYTON (D-MN) U.S. SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG (D-NJ) U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN (D-CT) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: AMIR ABBAS FAKHRAVAR, INDEPENDENT STUDENT MOVEMENT

IAN BERMAN, AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL

MICHAEL LEDEEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

RAY TAKEYH, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

[*] COBURN: The Federal Financial Management and International Security, Subcommittee of Government Affairs and Homeland Security will come to order.

I want to welcome all of our guests. I have thoroughly read your testimony, even those that have come somewhat late. I appreciate the efforts that you have made to inform this subcommittee of your thoughts and views.

We live in a dangerous time and a dangerous world. The events that are unfolding in the Middle East today are not always what they seem to be and, in fact, proxies appear to be performing for others.

There is no question that the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world is the government of Iran, without question. That not only impacts the Middle East, but the rest of the world.

There is no question that the sponsor and promoter and payer for the improvised explosive devices that are multidirectional and unidirectional in Iraq are prepared, bought and paid for by the government of Iran.

The purpose of this hearing, however, is to discuss Iran's nuclear impasse and what is to be done about it. And the evidentiary nature of the statements that have been made by their own negotiators, in that they do not intend to negotiate straightforward, they intend to buy time, as published widely and worldwide by the fact that their negotiators said they stalled the E.U. so that they could continue developing.

I think it's very important for us, and I want to thank my cochairman, Senator Carper, for having initiated this, the second of our hearings on Iran, but it's important for us to understand the seriousness of the threat to the entire world, not just the Middle East.

I also think it's very important for us to recognize the threat that the government of Iran is to the people of Iran, to the very people that they supposedly represent, because ultimately what they do is do them tremendous damage.

I have a complete written statement I will make a part of the record. And I would like to recognize my cochairman, Senator Carper.

CARPER: Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. To our witnesses today, welcome. We appreciate your willingness to stop what you're doing in your lives to be here with us today and to share your thoughts and respond to some of our questions.

I want to thank the chairman for scheduling this hearing and our staffs for working through to prepare us for this day.

And, I mean, we have hearings and I'm sure we both participated and then you say, "Why is this relevant to what's going on in the world?" Today we don't ask that question. We know for sure why this is relevant to what's going on in the world and our lives, and certainly the lives of a lot of people in the Middle East.

For nearly two weeks, violence in the Middle East has led to more than 300 deaths, with many of those dying being civilians. Iran, through its sponsorship of Hezbollah and its willingness to back Syria, has been publicly linked to these events.

Our country has been placed in a difficult situation, a situation where we must lead our allies, on the one hand, to strategically contain the conflict between Hamas, Hezbollah and Israeli forces and, at the same time, try to help stop the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons.

The administration has entered a decision to engage in talks with Iran, multilateral talks with Iran, regarding its nuclear program. But unfortunately, the success of its path remains, today at least, in question, especially given the current situation.

Additionally, the administration has said that it will send Secretary Rice to both the U.N. and to the Middle East to discuss a solution to ending the confli...

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