“He [Kennedy] rejected the prevailing attitude among some foreign policy circles that equated security with a perpetual war footing”. “When the Israeli government is opposed to something, people in the United States take notice; and they should”.
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The preference for unilateral U.S. action and disdain for the judgments of most of the rest of the world is another of those elements, with the parallels extending even to some of the same major U.S. allies being the object of disdain.
Credit: ReutersObama reasserted his view that the deal is the only alternative to war. “It’s not even close”, he said.
Washington (CNN)With the fate of his Iran deal firmly in the hands of Democrats on Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama on Wednesday deployed new, sharpened rhetoric to frame the decision lawmakers now face as a choice between war or peace. The SEC received more than 280,000 comments on the issue since it floated the proposal two years ago, and lobbying by business interests against the requirement was intense.The SEC acted under a mandate from the 2010 law that reshaped regulation after the financial crisis.
Obama admitted that Iran might use cash coming its way under sanctions relief to fund “terrorist organizations”.
Obama’s diplomatic overtures to Iran, a centerpiece of his foreign policy agenda, have put him at odds with Republicans and some Democrats, as well as with Netanyahu, who has campaigned vigorously against the deal.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said Obama s suggestion that Republicans had found “common cause” with Iran hardliners “goes way over the line of civil discourse”. The president said the nuclear deal with Iran builds on the tradition of strong diplomacy that won the Cold War without firing any shots.
“If Schumer does, in fact, come out against the deal, it might mean that the future Dem leader understands that Obama’s victory is secure”, tweeted The Atlantic columnist Jeffrey Goldberg. “Walk away from this agreement, and you will get a better deal – for Iran”.
If more than two thirds of congress go against the agreement President Obama will lose his veto power and the administration’s long-sought nuclear deal will be stopped dead in its tracks.
He added: “Let’s not mince words”. “How can we, in good conscience, justify war before we’ve tested a diplomatic agreement that achieves our objectives?”
“Perhaps not tomorrow, perhaps not three months from now, however quickly”.
“Israel would bear the brunt of a US military strike”, Obama told 22 American Jewish leaders during a meeting at the White House, according to reports in US media.
“President Obama is a predictable propagandist”, “Evaluating critics of his nuclear cope with the Islamic radicals operating Iran is past insulting, it is idiotic”. “It’s those hardliners chanting “Death to America” who have been most opposed to the deal”.
Besides challenging opponents at home, Obama cast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an isolated worldwide opponent of the historic accord, saying, “I do not doubt his sincerity, but I believe he is wrong”.
The US has long been seeking to block Iran’s pathways to a nuclear bomb, while Tehran maintains it’s nuclear activities are peaceful. If it passes and survives a presidential veto, a resolution rejecting it would cripple the agreement by eliminating Obama’s ability to waive many sanctions. Also joining the no votes is Democrat Steve Israel, a New Yorker and member of House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.
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“We will have lost something more precious”. The top Democrat on the panel, Senator Ben Cardin, said it was important for members of Congress to at least be able to see key portions of the IAEA-Iran agreements.
