GOP policy on Iran

So what is the Republican policy on Iran? Well, let's look at the facts that we know:

• Bush declared Iran evil, and states that he wants to isolate Iran from the rest of the world though increased sanctions


• The war drums are beating, and the Bush Administration is using much of the same pre-war rhetoric that they did with Iraq, just before bombing them


• Experience: during Cheney's tenure at Haliburton, they did business with Iran, in violation of US law, with sham offices were set up to skirt US law


• Under Bush, US/Iran business transactions have increased tenfold


• Under Bush, the US has sold military weapons directly to Iran, including military rifles and fighter jet launch gear


• Iran is the only air force in the world using US F-14 fighter jets, and they need replacement parts


• Under Bush, the US freely sold replacement parts for F-14s to the world market, with no oversight as to whether they would end up in Iran (only after this operation was exposed to the public did Bush act to stop further sales)


• Under Bush, F-14 fighters, which cost the US roughly $38,000,000 each when new, have been sold for $2,000 to $4,000 each


• Under Bush, the Securities and Exchange Commission started to look into companies actively doing illegal business with Iran, but was ordered to stop


• Under Bush, the Treasury Department allowed some companies and individuals suspected of illegal trading with Iran to escape punishment


• Neither the Treasury data nor trade data compiled by the Census Bureau identify exporters [to Iran] or specify what they shipped. The AP requested those details under the Freedom of Information Act in 2005 and still is waiting for Bush's Treasury Department to provide them.


• The United States sent Iran $546 million in goods from 2001 through last year, government figures show. It exported roughly $146 million worth last year, compared with $8.3 million in 2001, Bush's first year in office. Even adjusted for inflation, that is more than a tenfold increase.

So, what is the Republican policy on Iran? It's hard to tell when you hear their rhetoric but see their actions...

"Sometimes money trumps peace"
      --George W. Bush