Jim Webb: “The second concern I have is that we as a government have never identified an organization that is a part of a nation…”

“The second concern I have is that we as a government have never identified an organization that is a part of a nation state as a terrorist organization. From the statement of the Senator from Connecticut yesterday, there are potentially 180,000 people in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who are part of a military force of an existing state. Categorizing this organization as a terrorist organization is not our present policy of keeping the military option on the table. It is for all practical purposes mandating the military option. It could be read as tantamount to a declaration of war. What do we do with terrorist organizations? If they are involved against us, we attack them. What is a terrorist organization? Traditionally, we have defined a terrorist organization as a nongovernmental entity that operates along the creases of international law and does harm to internationally protected people. By the way, it is kind of interesting to note that last week the Iraqi Government claimed that Blackwater is a terrorist organization for the way it operates inside Iraq. I am not making that allegation. I am giving an example of how people categorize these groups. The Revolutionary Guard is part of the Iranian Government. If they are attacking us, they are not a terrorist organization. They are an attacking army. But are they? I am not sure about that. If they were, we would be hearing some pretty strong expressions of support.…”