November 26, 2013 by David K. Sutton
Iran Nuclear Deal: Republicans Are Running Out Of Countries To Bomb
We live in a different time from the real-world events depicted in the movie Argo. It was 1979 when the United States embassy in Iran was overtaken as part of the Iranian revolution that led to the hostage crisis that saw fifty-two Americans held captive for 444 days.
While Iran is still an Islamic state ruled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it’s elected president Hassan Rouhani has shown a willingness to bring his country out of the darkness and onto the world stage. There is every reason to approach this change with caution, but we do not improve human relations around the globe by continuing to entrench ourselves in a war of rhetoric that serves only as political posturing, or to enable gutless practitioners of war to make their case. It’s the geopolitical equivalent of the chest pump.
So over the weekend President Obama kept his promise to use diplomacy instead of war to make the world a safer place. After months of secret negotiations, Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama administration announced a long overdue agreement that would essentially freeze Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the next six months, with the goal of achieving a more comprehensive agreement in the coming months. In exchange, the United States will lift some of the sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy and currency. And how did Republicans react to this historic accord?
Before the details of the agreement were announced, Texas (of course) Senator John Cornyn tweeted, “Amazing what WH will do to distract attention from O-care.” This is the worst of political gamesmanship. Cornyn must know this has nothing to do with distracting the public away from Obamacare news coverage, but he also understands the audience his message was crafted for, and he played them like a cheap fiddle.
Dana Milbank: Republicans mindlessly oppose Iran nuclear deal – The Washington Post — In the eyes of Republicans, the agreement with Iran has a fatal flaw: It was negotiated by the Obama administration. This president could negotiate a treaty promoting baseball, motherhood and apple pie, and Republicans would brand it the next Munich.
The opposition in this case is particularly mindless. Certainly there are reasons to be skeptical that Iran will act in good faith. But the deal is temporary — six months — and easily reversible. In the (likely) event that Iran doesn’t agree to a permanent accord to end its nuclear program, the tougher sanctions contemplated in Congress could be applied. Would it be better to go to war now without exhausting diplomatic options? We’ve been there and done that — when Ari Fleischer stood on the White House podium.
But it isn’t just about scoring cheap political points, as many neo-conservative Republicans see Iran as one of the last countries on Earth they can openly talk about bombing. These pro-war conservatives saw an opportunity to invade a country slip through their fingers when the Obama administration, by proxy of Russia, was able to negotiate with Syria, getting that regime to agree to destroy all their chemical weapons. These war hawks now see the same thing happening with Iran, which means they may soon face a less hostile, less dangerous globe where their ideology of death and destruction is judged by all as the antiquity of 20th century thinking.
Now Republicans want to derail the peace process by arguing for fresh new sanctions that would breach the agreement with Iran. To these Republicans I say, “Argo fuck yourself.”
