Tim Kaine: “I respect my Armed Services colleague from Alaska, but I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Iraq is not Iran.…”

“I respect my Armed Services colleague from Alaska, but I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Iraq is not Iran. The bill that is on the floor is to repeal war authorizations voted on by this body against Iraq in 1991 and 2002. Iraq is not Iran. The President of the United States has sent two messages to this body saying that the repeal of the Iraq war authorizations are necessary because Iraq is now a partner of the United States and that the repeal will neither jeopardize any current military operation, make the United States less safe, or take options away from the President to defend against Iranian aggression. The certification has been given by the President. This is a bill that would ask one of his subordinates, who has been available to talk to any of us by phone in the 2 weeks this bill has been on the table-- it would basically say: OK, Mr. President, you said this, but we want to hear from one of your subordinates. Avril Haines has been available to talk to any Member of this Senate in the 2 weeks this bill has been on the floor. The President has indicated this would not jeopardize our ability to defend against the activities of Iran-backed militias. We should not conflate Iraq, now a partner of the United States, with Iran, an adversary of the United States. I urge a ``no'' vote.”