Here we go again.

The US Congress is proposing a new resolution calling on the administration to “support Israel if it were to attack Iran in self defense.” This proposal comes in parallel with the annual conference in Washington of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the well-known Israeli lobby which regularly calls for tougher US action against Iran, and ahead of US President Barack Obama’s expected visit to Israel on March 20. The bipartisan move is sponsored by Lindsay Graham, a well-known right-wing Republican senator, and Democrat Roberto Menedez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The proposed resolution states, “If Israel were compelled to take military action in self defense, the US government should stand with Israel and supply military and diplomatic support.”

Graham insisted that the resolution does not “give a green light” for Israel to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, he said, “Every senator that votes for this resolution is telling the world, Iranians, Israelis, that in the event this day comes, we are going to be with the state of Israel.” 

In response, professor Paul Pillar of Georgetown University stated that “the worst thing that anyone [...] could do at this moment would be anything that stokes the Iranian suspicions about true US intentions.” Furthermore, Pillar continues, “The resolution also means happily surrendering to a foreign state the decision to start a war that would have serious repercussions for the United States.”