By David Freedlander 2/24/12 1:11pm

Foreign Affairs

Rudolph W. Giuliani

Giuliani Mocks Obama As A ‘Weakling,’ Suggests It Is Time ‘To Bomb The Hell Out of Iran’ [Video]

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on “OutFront with Erin Burnett” yesterday and he was at his snarling best, mocking President Obama for his conduct towards Iran.

“We need leadership and I think President Obama has made this much more complicated by being such a weakling with regard to Iran,” Hizzoner said. “A month ago he writes a letter to the Ayatollah asking the Ayatollah to talk to him. I mean this is absurd. Writing a letter to the Ayatollah! It’s like writing a letter to Hitler. It’s nuts.”

Mr. Giuliani appears to be referring to a secret letter that the president allegedly to the Iranian leader calling for talks. Obama officials denied the existence of such a letter. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/15/12 3:30pm

iran so far

Senator Chuck Schumer (Photo: Facebook)

Schumer: Iranian Diplomats to U.N. Should Face Increased Scrutiny

Senator Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for “increased scrutiny” of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in light of potential terrorist attacks against New York City. Pointing to NYPD’s director of intelligence warning that Iran is “essentially” the number one threat, Mr. Schumer argued these diplomats must ”be vigorously monitored.”

“With Iran’s increasingly bellicose and threatening behavior, it’s imperative that agents of the Iranian government in the United States receive additional scrutiny to ensure that they pose no threat to New York or the rest of the country,” Mr. Schumer said in the statement. Read More

By Hunter Walker 2/09/12 4:05pm

Stand By Your Man

Congresswoman Michele Bachamnn (Getty)

Michele Bachmann Blasts Obama For Not ‘Standing By’ Israel And Mubarak

WASHINGTON Michele Bachmann made a speech at the American Conservative Union’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. where she accused President Barack Obama of making a series of dangerous foreign policy “miscalculations” including failing to support Israel and not standing by ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in his quest to keep the Muslim Brotherhood at bay.

“Obama failed to stand by Mubarak and that helped fuel the revolution in Egypt and it led to a regime that was based on sharia law with 72 percent of the seats in the Lower House in Egypt now occupied by the Brotherhood and an even more radical Salafist party,” Ms. Bachmann said. Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/25/12 10:31am

NY-9

Congressman Bob Turner (Getty)

Bob Turner Calls State Of The Union ‘More Rhetoric Than Realistic Policy’

Republican Congressman Bob Turner was not impressed with President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. He released a statement after the speech criticizing it as “more rhetoric than realistic policy.”

“The loss of the Keystone Pipeline project, the implementation of job killing regulations and the President’s healthcare plan have left our economy stagnant and Americans uncertain,” Congressman Turner said. “Instead of addressing these issues, President Obama plans to add more regulations, red tape and complicated tax policy into his plan increasing our country’s economic uncertainty.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 1/18/12 8:52am

foreign policy

Bob Turner and Dov Hikind

Hikind: Israeli Leaders Are Praying That Obama Doesn’t Get Reelected

At a press conference yesterday, newly minted Congressman Bob Turner and Assemblyman Dov Hikind had harsh words for the Iranian regime and some reservations about the current U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Assemblyman Hikind was the bluntest on the topic of President Barack Obama’s popularity within the Israeli government. “If I could just say, there’s no doubt in my mind that a lot of Israeli leaders are praying that Obama doesn’t get reelected,” he firmly stated. “That’s a 100% reality. There’s no love lost between Netanyahu and the President of the United States. Should Obama get reelected, you think there’s been some rough spots between the United States and Israel in the last couple years, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/13/12 6:00pm

Foreign Affairs

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Getty)

Iran Divestment Act Becomes Law

Governor Cuomo signed the Iran Divestment Act today. The new law, which was passed by the State Legislature Tuesday, will bar businesses from signing or renewing state or local government contracts if they provide goods, services or credit worth $20 million or more to Iran’s energy sector. It was backed by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

“This new law ensures that companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector do not do business with the State of New York,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement announcing the law’s passage. “I thank Majority Leader Skelos and Speaker Silver for their leadership and hard work on this important law.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 1/10/12 9:47am

Foreign Affairs

Senator Dean Skelos announces the passage of the Iran Divestment Act. (Photo: NYSenate.gov)

State Legislature Passes Iran Divestment Act

The New York State Legislature returned to work yesterday and passed its first agreement of the 2012 session–the Iran Divestment Act. Modeled after similar legislation in California, the Iran Divestment Act will prohibit companies from signing or renewing state or local government contracts if they provide good, services or credit worth $20 million or more to Iran’s energy sector. The bill was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

“When I introduced this bill last fall, I said the Senate would take it up very early in the 2012 session and we are keeping that commitment,” Senator Skelos said in a statement after the bill was passed. Read More

By Hunter Walker 12/01/11 9:07am

Diplomatic Relations

Michele Bachmann (Getty)

Michele Bachmann Wants You To Know She's Not Confused About Iran

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s staff claimed she was “speaking in the hypothetical” when she said she would close the (nonexistent) U.S. embassy in Iran. In a statement released last night, Congresswoman Bachmann’s communications director, Alice Stewart, assured the world the Congresswoman knows we haven’t had an embassy in Tehran since the Iranian hostage crisis. “Congresswoman Bachmann is a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and is fully aware that we do not have an embassy in Iran and have not had one since 1980,” Ms. Stewart wrote. Read More