Cord Byrd: “I supported that amendment, but my vote should not be misconstrued as a blanket endorsement of missile defense…”

“I supported that amendment, but my vote should not be misconstrued as a blanket endorsement of missile defense installations, nor as support for military action against Iran. The amendment by Senator Sessions noted Iran's continuing work on a nuclear program despite the many concerns voiced by the international community, as well as Iran's development of ballistic missiles of increasing range and sophistication. Iranian success in these two areas might eventually pose a threat to the forward-deployed forces of the United States and NATO allies in Europe. In the longer term, an Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile program could perhaps pose a threat even to the U.S. mainland. I must state clearly and unequivocally, however, that the best way to confront these possible long-term threats is diplomatically. Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs are not an imminent threat to United States security by anyone's reckoning. The best defense against an Iranian nuclear weapon is for that weapon never to have been developed. We have time, working together with the international community, to direct Iran toward a more peaceful path.”