[Debate] Cooties Doctrine on Iran

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Needless to say, this bill passed the House (by a giant margin -- 410
- 11 <http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll927.xml>), and it's now in
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR01905:@@@R>.

<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1104>
House Vote Today to Approve Iran Sanctions Bill Would Restore Bush
"Cooties Doctrine"
SUBMITTED BY ROBERT NAIMAN ON 13 DECEMBER 2011 - 12:46PM

Today the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote -under
"suspension," requiring a supermajority to pass - on a provision which
would restore as policy the Cooties Doctrine of the early Bush
Administration - U.S. officials can't meet with officials of the
adversary du jour, because our officials might get contaminated.

. . . . .

The Cooties Provision is Section 601c of H.R. 1905, the so-called
"Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011." Here's what the Cooties Provision
says:

(c) RESTRICTION ON CONTACT.--No person employed with the United States
Government may contact in an official or unofficial capacity any
person that-- (1) is an agent, instrumentality, or official of, is
affiliated with, or is serving as a representative of the Government
of Iran; and (2) presents a threat to the United States or is
affiliated with terrorist organizations. (d) WAIVER.--The President
may waive the requirements of subsection (c) if the President
determines and so reports to the appropriate congressional committees
15 days prior to the exercise of waiver authority that failure to
exercise such waiver authority would pose an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the vital national security interests of the United States.

-- 
Yoshie Furuhashi
<http://mrzine.org/>