Foreign Policy Debate - Threat from Iran: What is the thr...

SEN. OBAMA: Testimony to you, Jim.

MR. LEHRER: Well, I don't know about that.

But the bad news is that all my little five-minute things have

run over. So anyhow, we'll adjust as we get there. But the amount of

time is even.

New, new, new lead question and it goes two minutes to you,

Senator McCain.

What is your reading of the threat from Iran right

now to the security of the United States?

SEN. MCCAIN: My reading of the threat from Iran is that if Iran

acquires nuclear weapons, it's an existential threat to the state of

Israel. And it is a threat to the region, because the other countries

in the region will feel a compelling requirement to acquire nuclear

weapons as well.

Now, we cannot allow a second Holocaust. Let's just make that

very clear. But I have proposed for a long time -- and I've had

conversation with foreign leaders about -- forming a league of

democracies.

Let's be clear and let's have some straight talk: the Russians

are preventing significant action in the United Nations Security

Council. I have proposed a league of democracies, a group of people

-- a group of countries that share common interests, common values,

common ideals. And they also control a lot of the world's economic

power. We could impose significant, meaningful, painful sanctions on

the Iranians that I think could have a beneficial effect.

The Iranians have a lousy government, so therefore their economy

is lousy even though they have significant oil revenues. So I am

convinced that together we can, with the French, with the British,

with the Germans and other countries -- democracies aro