Joe Lieberman: “There has been discussion whether it is appropriate at this time, and whether this would be viewed by some as…”

“There has been discussion whether it is appropriate at this time, and whether this would be viewed by some as undercutting the position or weakening the position of the President and the Secretary of State in their efforts to obtain peace in the Middle East. Those concerns are legitimate. We are not entirely totally comfortable moving forward with this amendment. We ought to return to our constitutional responsibilities as a coequal branch of government. No one denies that there is a crisis in the Middle East today, that there is the possibility of a wider conflict. There is no doubt that you can draw many scenarios in which the national security interests of the United States are threatened. If we accept those premises I articulated, then there does come a time when the Congress of the United States, as a coequal branch of government, exercising particularly in the Senate our responsibilities of advise and consent, should speak out.”