Friday, August 15, 2008

Statement on Iran in the Final Version of the Democratic Party's Platform

I don't believe any of the wording has changed since I posted the draft, but below is the final wording on the Democratic Party's position on Iran, as expressed in the Report of the Platform Committee approved on August 9, 2008 and entitled "Renewing America's Promise." The Council on Foreign Relations has published the full text of the platform here. I have not yet seen the Republican Party Platform or a draft position on Iran, but will post when I do.

Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons
(Page 34)
The world must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That starts with tougher sanctions and aggressive, principled, and direct high-level diplomacy, without preconditions. We will pursue this strengthened diplomacy alongside our European allies, and with no illusions about the Iranian regime. We will present Iran with a clear choice: if you abandon your nuclear weapons program, support for terror, and threats to Israel, you will receive meaningful incentives; so long as you refuse, the United States and the international community will further ratchet up the pressure, with stronger unilateral sanctions; stronger multilateral sanctions inside and outside the U.N. Security Council, and sustained action to isolate the Iranian regime. The Iranian people and the international community must know that it is Iran, not the United States, choosing isolation over cooperation. By going the extra diplomatic mile, while keeping all options on the table, we make it more likely the rest of the world will stand with us to increase pressure on Iran, if diplomacy is failing.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

No surprises there. I'm sure the GOP platform will be similar.

lotf ali said...

These, of course, are very general statements and they may not differ dramatically from what the Republican platform contains.

However the phrase "direct high-level diplomacy, without preconditions" is specific and significant - and I suspect it will not appear in the GOP document.