United States Senators warn Iranian leaders of doing business with President Obama
Tucson Post Tuesday 10th March, 2015
• 47 U.S. senators, all Republicans write to leaders of the Islamic State of Iran
• Warn any agreement involving President Obama may not last after he leaves office
• Agreement threatened is being negotiated by UN Security Council plus Germany
WASHINGTON D.C. - Scores of U.S. senators have made an unprecedented attack on their country's president in a bid to undermine international peace negotiations underway with Iran.
The senators, all of whom are Republicans, have told Iran's leaders any agreement reached involving President Barack Obama will be of little consequence as it could be cancelled when he leaves office.
The senators, which include three likely 2016 presidential candidates, have reminded Iran that any United States president is limited to 8 years in office, whereas they, senators, could be in office for decades.
In the midst of tense and sensitive negotiations with a foreign government, the Republican bloc has sought to weaken America's hand at the negotiating table. The Republican senators have made no secret of the fact they want the talks to fail. This is the position presented to those senators and other members of Congress, mostly Republicans, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to the Congress last week. Mr Netanyahu does not want a deal with Iran due to his concerns that any deal will not stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied it is pursuing nuclear weapons, but rather is developing a nuclear energy program, a position the U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies largely concur with.
Iran's economy has been decimated by sanctions to date, which have brought the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse. Israel says more sanctions must be imposed and those that have been lifted should be re-imposed. Mr Netanyahu has consistently pressed the United States to pressure Iran, on several occasions warning the Islamic republic was on the precipice of having a nuclear bomb.
Whilst pressuring the United States on Iran, Israel has maintained a vast nuclear arsenal of its own, for which it neither accounts for or even admits it has. Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty, as is the United States, however Israel refuses to sign the treaty which has been in force now for 45 years.
While the U.S. is heavily involved in the talks with Iran in a bid to reach an agreement that will ensure Iran pursues a peaceful path, it is not the only country taking part in the talks. The U.S. senators in writing to Iran's leaders are effectively undermining the efforts of the P5 plus 1, being the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, comprising the U.S, the UK, Russia, China, and France, plus Germany.
The letter by the 47 Republican senator dated Monday 9 March 2015 is addressed to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system," the letter states.
The letter sets out how international treaties have to be ratified by two-thirds of the senate, and a congressional-executive agreement has to be approved by a majority vote of both the House and the senate. "Anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement," the letter says.
The letter reminds the Iranian leaders the president can only serve two 4-year terms, whereas senators can be elected to any number of 6-year terms, and could be around for "decades."
What this means, the senators point out is that any agreement not approved by Congress will be "nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei."
"The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time," the letter says.
The senators do not address the implications of the withdrawal of agreement by the United States to what would be an international treaty signed on to not only by the United States, but by the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany.
The senators conclude their communique by saying, "We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes mutual understanding and clarity as nuclear negotiations progress."
The senators that have sent the letter headed by Senator Tom Cotton, include the chamber's entire party leadership as well as probable 2016 presidential contenders Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
Senator Cotton representing Arkansas is the youngest member of the senate at age 37. He was sworn in as a senator in January after serving two years in the House of Representatives.
Senator Rubio, representing Florida, is one of three Latinos in the senate. He was elected in 2010.
Senator Paul of Kentucky was elected in 2010. He is the son of former U.S. Representative Ron Paul.
Senator Cruz, the first Latino senator from Texas, entered the senate in 2012. He was a major supporter of Prime Minister Natanyahu's speech to the Congress, describing it afterwards as "Churchillian." The senator, speaking to reporters, described the current situation with Iran as similar to events leading up to World War II.
"The deal being negotiated today is reminiscent of Munich in 1938," he told reporters after the Israeli premier's speech. "And when the administration comes back to America and promises peace in our time, we shouldn't believe them now any more than we should have believed them then."
"There is one threat, and one threat only, on the face of the globe with the potential to once again annihilate 6 million Jews," Cruz said. "A nuclear Iran poses an existential threat to the nation of Israel, that's what Prime Minister Netanyahu has told us."
"It is worth underscoring that the word existential does not mean a Frenchman in a black beret chain-smoking," Senator Cruz said. "It means going to the very existence of the nation of Israel."
"What the Obama administration doesn't understand is these are radical Islamic zealots who have pledged global jihad and have openly stated their desire to murder as many Jews and as many Americans as possible. And if history teaches one lesson, it is that if somebody tells you they want to kill you, believe them," the senator said.
David Perdue, the junior senator for Georgia, Joni Ernst, the junior senator from Iowa, James Inhofe, senior senator from Oklahoma, John Cornyn, senior senator from Texas, Mitch McConnell, senior senator from Kentucky and the Majority Leader of the Senate since January, Roger Wicker, junior member of the senate representing Mississippi, John Hoeven, senior senator from North Dakota, Richard Shelby, senior senator from Alabama, Thom Tillis, junior senator from North Carolina, Richard Burr, the senior senator from North Carolina, Steve Daines, junior senator from Montana, Jeff Sessions, junior senator from Alabama, John Boozman, senior senator for Arkansas, Cory Gardner, the junior senator of Colorado, Shelley Moore Capito, junior senator from West Virginia, Ron Johnson, senior senator for Wisconsin, Mark Kirk, junior senator from Illinois, James Lankford, junior senator for Oklahoma, Chuck Grassley, the senior senator from Iowa, Roy Blunt, junior senator from Missouri, John Thune, senior senator from South Dakota, Mike Enzi, senior senator from Wyoming, Pat Toomey, junior senator for Pennsylvania, Bill Cassidy, the junior senator from Lousiana, John Barrasso, junior senator from Wyoming, Jim Risch, the junior senator from Ohio, Mike Crapo, senior senator from Idaho, Deb Fischer, senior senator from Nebraska, Ben Sasse, the junior senator from Nebraska, Orrin Hatch, the senior senator for Utah and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, Dean Heller, the junior senator of Nevada, Pat Roberts, the senior senator from Kansas, John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona and the 2008 Republican candidate for president, Rob Portman, the junior senator from Ohio, Lindsey Graham, the senior senator from South Carolina, and Mike Rounds, the junior senator from South Dakota were the other signatories.
House Representative Adam Schiff, representing California, and the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told MSNBC Monday he was "appalled" by the letter. "On an issue of this seminal importance while sensitive negotiations are going forward, for these senators to interfere in this way, it's really unthinkable," Schiff said.
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