Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Times Square Wednesday evening in protest over the recent landmark nuclear deal with Iran.
As CBS2’s Jessica Schneider reported, some ten thousand are rallying in solidarity with signs and voices raised against the nuclear deal.
Protest organizers proclaim: “Washington is prepared to give Iran virtually all that it needs to get to the bomb. To release $150 billion to Iran will result in the expansion of worldwide terror” . . .
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry led back-to-back, closed-door briefings, trying to sway lawmakers to approve the deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
“We are convinced that the agreement that we have arrived at with world powers is an agreement that will prevent Iran from the potential of securing a nuclear weapon. It will make the region, our friends and allies safer, it will make the world safer,” Kerry said. “And we are convinced that the absence of any viable alternative absolutely underscores that fact.” (Read more from “Thousands Rally in Times Square to Protest Iran Deal” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-23 02:21:312016-04-11 10:58:36Thousands Rally in Times Square to Protest Iran Deal
The new nuclear deal with Iran gives Tehran full legitimacy to engage in further atomic work and will set off a regional nuclear and conventional arms race, a senior Israeli official warned on Friday.
Ram Ben Barak said Iran was plainly still determined to break out to the bomb at a time of its choosing, and that its insistence in the deal on preventing inspectors from gaining instant access to suspect facilities, and on winning the right to continue R&D on fast-enrichment centrifuges, demonstrated that the regime remains committed to attaining nuclear weapons.
Ben Barak, who is director general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry and a leading candidate to be the next head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, told Channel 10 that the 10-year deal between the US-led P5+1 world powers and Iran signed Tuesday, which is aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for lifting harsh international sanctions, is “very bad.”
Ben Barak is one of three candidates vying for the coveted position of Mossad chief, contending with current National Security Council chair Yossi Cohen and an unnamed deputy to current Mossad chief Tamir Pardo. Pardo is slated to step down in January 2016.
“This is a very bad deal,” he told Channel 10, “mainly because it gives Iran legitimacy to engage in nuclear work. Also, in 10 years from now, Iran will be able to enrich uranium to whatever grade it wants and however much it wants, without any limitations.” (Read more from “Iran Deal Will Set off Middle East Nuclear Arms Race, Warns Top Israeli Official” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-18 03:01:082016-04-11 10:58:46Iran Deal Will Set off Middle East Nuclear Arms Race, Warns Top Israeli Official
In an interview published Wednesday, President Obama said it was “doubtful” many current Republicans would support the Iran nuclear deal. The president also argued the “yardstick” for success cannot be whether or not Iran can obtain a nuclear weapon.
Speaking to Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times after the terms of the deal were announced, Obama, when asked if any of the “400 Republican candidates” running for president would support the deal, said, “I think it’s doubtful that we get a lot of current Republican elected officials supporting this deal.”
“I think there’s a certain party line that has to be towed, within their primaries and among many sitting members of Congress,” he continued. “But that’s not across the board. It’ll be interesting to see what somebody like a Rand Paul has to say about this. But I think that if I were succeeded by a Republican president — and I’ll be doing everything that I can to prevent that from happening — but if I were, that Republican president would be in a much stronger position than I was when I came into office, in terms of constraining Iran’s nuclear program.”
Obama also did not mince words after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal “an historic mistake for the world.” The two world leaders spoke on the phone Tuesday after the deal was announced.
“[I] think it’s fair to say that under my administration, we’ve done more to facilitate Israeli capabilities,” Obama said. “And I’ve also said that I’m prepared to go further than any other administration’s gone before in terms of providing them additional security assurances from the United States.” He continued:
The thing I want to emphasize is that people’s concerns here are legitimate. Hezbollah has tens of thousands of missiles that are pointed toward Israel. They are becoming more sophisticated. The interdiction of those weapon flows has not been as successful as it needs to be. There are legitimate concerns on the part of the gulf countries about Iran trying to stir up and prompt destabilizing events inside their countries…
(Read more from “Obama Just Responded to Attacks on Iran Nuke Deal in a Way That Could Worry Critics Even More” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-17 02:48:352016-04-11 10:58:48Watch: Obama Just Responded to Attacks on Iran Nuke Deal in a Way That Could Worry Critics Even More
While there is never a replacement for fighting federal malfeasance at a federal level, there are often at least partial solutions at the state level. States might seem distant from the debate over Obama’s alliance with Iran, but they actually wield power over billions in assets and funds that could be used to indirectly thwart, at least in part, the Iran deal with the devil. States can fight back by divesting from companies that do business with Iran. Now is the time for these much-vaunted GOP governors, particularly those running for president, to step up to the plate.
In 2010, Congress passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act with near unanimous support and it was signed into law by President Obama. Section 202 of the bill explicitly grants states the authority to divest from companies that do business with Iran’s energy sector. Thirty states, beginning with Florida in 2007, passed some sort of divestment law banning state pension funds from being invested in companies that do any sort of business with Iran. With several trillion dollars of state and local pension funds at stake, this has been a serious leverage point against companies seeking to do business with Iran.
In addition to divesting from investments in these companies, 11 states have laws against entering into contracts with those companies and entities that do business with Iran, according data compiled by United Against Nuclear Iran.
Not only should these states continue their divestments even if Congress fails to block the deal, they should expand the sanctions.
Now is the time for presidential candidates like Chris Christie, John Kasich, Bobby Jindal, and Scott Walker to shine. Scott Walker especially has an opportunity to go on offense because Wisconsin has yet to pass anti-Iran legislation.
There are also a number of red states that currently have no divestment legislation where conservatives could easily mount an anti-Iran campaign. Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia are all good targets.
Part of what is fueling this rapid push to remove sanctions is that the global business community is hungry to do business with a large country that has been untapped. A strong message from the states would go a long way in disrupting their pursuit of appeasement and would help build momentum and outrage against the immoral alliance with Iran.
Obama and his allies will undoubtedly sue the states in court for thwarting new federal laws over international commerce. And indeed, section 25 of the deal (page 18) directs the federal government to “take appropriate steps” to ensure that states are not blocking implementation of sanctions relief. This provision is also in a 14-page draft resolution UN Ambassador Samantha Power plans to submit before the UN Security Council early next week. [As an aside, this is exactly the sort of anti-sovereignty language that conservatives fear in international agreements such as TPP and TISA.] But this is not federal law; it is an international treaty that is counter to federal laws on the books and can only be overturned via ratification with two-thirds support in the Senate. This deal will never be properly ratified, and is thereby null and void as it relates to existing federal sanctions and the ability of states to uphold federal law.
There is not much time for this to work. The Obama administration is acting with lightning speed to implement this colossal disaster. If there was ever an opportunity for governors to show some leadership, that time is now.
Any takers? (“How States Can Help Stop Iran”, originally posted HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-17 02:47:592016-04-11 10:58:48Believe It or Not, U.S. States Can Help Stop Iran in the Face of Obama Complicity
The White House dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to Capitol Hill Wednesday to sell Democrats on the newly announced Iran nuclear deal, as several influential members voiced reservations about giving it their seal of approval in a vital vote this fall.
Biden was meeting first with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, though the tougher lift may be on the Senate side. In the aftermath of the deal announcement in Vienna, senior Democratic senators made clear they were withholding judgment.
“We’re basically legitimizing Iran’s nuclear program,” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., told Fox News, voicing concerns about what Tehran gets in return, including the likely lifting of an arms embargo and leverage over the timing of certain nuclear inspections.
“At the end of the day, the challenge here is that 10 to 12 years from now, does Iran have a pathway towards a full industrial-sized nuclear program and the possibility of breaking out to a weapon? And if so, all you’ve done is delayed the question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
Menendez is a leading skeptic but plenty more are staying on the sidelines and could face more pressure from constituents during the August recess. (Read more from “Democrats Divided: Biden Dispatched to Hill to Twist Arms on Iran Deal” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-16 03:56:302016-04-11 10:58:50Democrats Divided: Biden Dispatched to Hill to Twist Arms on Iran Deal
[Yesterday], the leader of Iran’s evil regime, Hassan Rouhani, declared, “today major world powers recognized Iran’s nuclear program. Our dreams have come true.”
And indeed, this nuclear deal that Obama essentially cut with Iran months ago, recognizes much more than just their nuclear program.
Today, you will hear many references to Neville Chamberlain, but the truth is that Chamberlain merely appeased the enemy of his country; he didn’t create an alliance with Germany.
Moreover, he was negotiating from a position of weakness, whereas America had Iran on the ropes from years of sanctions. Obama is handing them their nuclear program and regional hegemony on a silver platter as a reward for killing and maiming thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq over the past decade. John Kerry even apologized for the years that sanctions were in place.
Here are the important details and outcomes of this alliance Obama has forged with Iran:
1) Keep the Centrifuges: Iran can keep more than 5,000 centrifuges with one-third of them continuing to spin in perpetuity. For context, Pakistan created a bomb with just 3,000 centrifuges. In return for them keeping most of their infrastructure, they are entitled to receive $140 billion in sanctions relief.
2) Phony Inspections: Iran will have the discretion to block international inspectors from military installations and will be given 14 days’ notice for any request to visit any site. But there are several layers of bureaucracy that will elongate any period of inspection beyond the 14 days, and that is assuming the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will pursue an inspections regime in any meaningful way. Iran’s objections to inspections at military sites can be overturned by an international commission, something that will never occur. Also, the inspectors can only come from countries with diplomatic relations with Iran. Hence, no American inspectors.
3) Lifting of Weapons Embargo: One of the latest additions to the alliance deal was a lifting of the embargo on the sale of weapons to Iran. The embargo will officially be lifted in 5 years, but as we’ve seen from the past few years of negotiations, the embargo has already been de facto lifted because nobody will enforce any violations.
4) If you like you’re delivery system…: The embargo on Iran’s ICBM program will be lifted after 8 years (again, lack of enforcement will likely occur earlier). Coupled with the nuclear materials they will be allowed to keep and the operation of advanced centrifuges, they could have a delivery system in place by the time they break out with a nuclear weapon.
5) Keep Your Infrastructure: The heavy water reactor in Arak and the underground nuclear facility in Fordo will be kept open, in direct contravention to Obama’s own red lines.
6) Arms Trades Already Underway: As if on cue, the Russians are already agreeing to sell Iran s-300 anti-missile rocket systems in exchange for 500,000 barrels of oil. This makes it clear they will never agree to reinstate sanctions on Iran if they cheat on the agreement.
7) Covert Program Untouched: The P5+1 nations already dropped demands that Iran disclose its past research. The publicly-discovered nuclear sites are irrelevant because Iran has already hid the ball.
8) Sanctions Already Laughed Off: Iran knows they don’t have to agree to any significant concession because the sanctions have already been ignored across the board by the West. Iran is already boasting about record oil exports.
9) All Sanctions Fall Together: Needless to say, Iran is continuing to build their ballistic missile program and expand their terrorism and regional hegemony. None of this was even a part of the negotiations from day one. For months, the Obama administration swore that the sanctions targeting Iran’s terror, human rights abuses, and its ballistic missile program would remain in place. But last month, the AP reported that all of the sanctions will collapse once the nuclear sanctions are removed.
10) Paying Iran to Make a Bomb: If you thought this “deal” was a joke, you are not missing anything. The AP has reported that Obama has agreed to help Iran with technical assistance to develop their nuclear program…all for domestic purposes of course. It appears that this will be part of the final deal.
11) Killing U.S. Soldiers Pays Off: Sanctions were lifted on critical parts of Iran’s military, including restrictions on the Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. This man is responsible for the deaths of numerous U.S. soldiers in Iran.
12) Continue to Illegally Torture American Prisoners: While Soleimani is being freed to travel abroad, the U.S. hostages in Iran will remain in prison.
Where Things Stand
Thanks to the unconstitutional Corker-Cardin bill, the Senate has ceded its power to ratify a treaty, which would have required two-thirds of the Senate to affirmatively approve of the deal in order for the sanctions to be lifted. Now, the sanctions will automatically be lifted unless Congress musters two-thirds in opposition to the deal in both bodies of Congress – 67 votes in the Senate and 290 in the House. Given the radical nature of the modern-day Democrat Party, there is no way Republicans will come close to mustering the votes. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has already expressed support for Obama’s Iranian alliance.
Rather than play defense, it’s time for conservatives to go on offense and force leadership to jettison their liberal agenda and use every must-pass bill to block the Iran deal. Next week, Congress plans to approve the annual defense bill. This is a perfect vehicle for blocking a deal with Iran. They must also use the upcoming budget bill as well to block any sanctions relief. A steady and relentless stream of legislative pressure on Democrats is the only way they will feel the heat on the issue.
Congress can’t afford to wait until September to block the lifting of sanctions. This deal was not written with the “Corker-Cardin review process” in mind. The UN Security Council can approve the lifting of sanctions within a few weeks while members of Congress are having fun in the sun. Shouldn’t Republicans assert the prerogative to keeping members in session until this deal is blocked?
Some things are worth fighting for, and if Republicans can’t muster the courage to wield the power of the purse over the worst international capitulation of our generation, there is no purpose to their existence. (“Iran Deal Endangers the US”, originally posted HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-15 03:52:022016-04-11 10:58:5312 Reasons Iran’s “Dreams Have Come True” and Why the Deal Endangers the US
By Associated Press. Iran, the United States and other world powers struck a historic deal Tuesday to curb Iranian nuclear programs and ease fears of a nuclear-armed Iran threatening the volatile Middle East. In exchange, Iran will get billions of dollars in relief from crushing international sanctions . . .
In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “a new chapter” had begun in his nation’s relations with the world. He maintained that Iran had never sought to build a bomb, an assertion the U.S. and its partners have long disputed.
Beyond the hopeful proclamations from the U.S., Iran and other parties to the talks, there is deep skepticism of the deal among U.S. lawmakers and Iranian hardliners. Obama’s most pressing task will be holding off efforts by Congress to levy new sanctions on Iran or block his ability to suspend existing ones. (Read more from “Iran Nuclear Deal: Fine ‘New Chapter’ or ‘Historic Mistake’?” HERE)
By Ishaan Tharoor. After more than two weeks of wrangling and missed deadlines in Vienna, Iran and its international interlocutors have finally clinched a historic accord over Tehran’s nuclear program. The diplomacy with Iran, an endeavor that faced vociferous opposition throughout, was aimed at curbing the Islamic republic’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon. A tentative framework was inked in April between Iran and its negotiating partners, which include the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany.
The deal’s proponents argue that the talks have yielded the best guarantee possible that Iran won’t be able to move toward nuclear weapons, while also, for the time being, reducing the risk of yet another military escalation in the Middle East . . .
Here’s a guide to how it works.
The main benchmark by which analysts gauge Iran’s ability to produce an atomic bomb is the “breakout” time — the time needed for Iran to produce enough weapons-grade enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. It is currently estimated at a couple of months; under the terms of the deal, that time frame has been extended to at least one year.
The implication here is key: One year gives world powers enough time to mobilize action to interrupt Iran’s pathway to a bomb. The extended breakout time also presents, in its own right, a strategic obstacle to Iran’s leadership, raising the stakes if it ever considered rushing toward building a nuclear arsenal. To be sure, Tehran has always insisted that it has no interest in obtaining a nuclear weapon, but its covert activities in the past raised the world’s suspicions and led to tough international trade, banking and financial sanctions. (Read more from “The Historic Nuclear Deal With Iran: How It Works” HERE)
By Jethro Mullen and Nic Robertson. After tortuous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators have reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program.
The agreement, a focal point of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, appears set to reshape relations between Iran and the West, with its effects likely to ripple across the volatile Middle East.
Representatives of Iran, the United States and the other nations involved in the marathon talks were holding a final meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the session, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the deal a “historic moment,” although he cautioned that it was “not perfect.”
“It’s a good day for diplomacy, it’s a good day for compromise, it’s a good day for a new beginning between Iran — a pivotal state in the Middle East — and the United States,” said Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle East studies at The London School of Economics. (Read more about the final Iran talks HERE)
___________________________________________________________ What Happened Yesterday During Negotiations
By Matthew Lee and George Jahn. Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted at Iran nuclear talks on Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up a deal by midnight — the latest in a series of deadlines for the negotiations.
The diplomats said two other issues still needed final agreement — Iran’s demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the nuclear deal be written in a way that stops describing Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal. They demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the negotiations.
With a temporary deal set to expire at midnight Monday Vienna time (6 p.m. ET), diplomats said they hoped to complete and announce a final agreement before day’s end.
But they warned there was no guarantee, and some said the talks could stretch into Tuesday despite there being little appetite for what would be a fourth extension of the interim agreement since the current round began on June 27.
Grim-faced foreign ministers from the countries negotiating with Iran declined to answer questions about another possible extension as they gathered for a group meeting at the 19th Century palace that has been hosting the talks. (Read more from “Iran Talks Hit Final Stage but Deal Remains Elusive” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-14 02:28:292016-04-11 10:58:55Persian Negotiators Played the West: Final Deal Reached With Iran
Iran and six world powers were close to nailing down a historic nuclear deal that would bring sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s atomic program, but the Iranian foreign minister said no agreement would be announced on Sunday.
After more than two weeks of negotiations in Vienna, Iranian and Western officials said the earliest an agreement could be ready was Monday, the self-imposed deadline for clinching a deal, though that could be extended again.
“We still have got work to do tomorrow,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters from his hotel balcony. “No deal today.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has cautioned that “major issues” remain to be resolved, and comments from both senior Republican and Democrat Senators on Sunday suggested that any final deal would also face tough scrutiny in Congress.
Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian delegation, said on Twitter that the draft agreement Iran and the powers – the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China – were working on was “a 100-page document”. (Read more from “Iran, Powers Nearing Nuclear Deal, No Agreement Seen” HERE)
[Pastor Joel Richardson talks about the role of Iran and the regional war that it will initiate soon]
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-13 03:58:172016-04-11 10:58:58Iran, Powers Nearing Nuclear Deal, But No Final Agreement Yet
Photo Credit: Free Beacon By Adam Kredo. Millions of Iranians took to the streets on Friday to rally against the United States and Israel, burning the flags of both countries and chanting, “Death to Israel,” according to multiple regional reports.
Iranians marched across the country in support of Quds Day, an annual anti-Israel, anti-American holiday in which citizens lend their support for Palestinian violence against the Jewish state.
Hoards of Iranians could be seen in the streets in cities across the country. They waved signs advocating the destruction of Israel and America and also rallied in support of the Palestinians seizing Jerusalem.
“Demonstrators chant[ed] slogans in condemnation of the Zionists’ crimes in the occupied Palestinian lands,” Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency reported.
Chants of “Down with the U.S.” and “Down with Israel” could also be heard echoing through the streets, according to Fars. (Read more from “Iranians Burn US Flag, Chant ‘Death to Israel'” HERE)
[Listen to Joel Richardson predict a regional war instigated by Iran]
Pro-Tehran Lobby Demands Iran Be Given Ballistic Missiles
By Adam Kredo. A pro-Tehran advocacy group long accused of concealing illicit ties to the Iranian regime is lobbying Congress in support of a demand that America repeal a United Nations arms embargo limiting the Islamic Republic’s ability to stockpile arms, including ballistic missiles, which could be used to carry nuclear payloads, according to a copy of an email sent by the group to various lawmakers.
The National American Iranian Council (NIAC), which has long been suspected of acting as Tehran’s lobbying shop in Washington, D.C., sent lawmakers an email on Friday asserting that “the Iranian arms embargo will need to be disposed of as part of a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.”
The email comes roughly a week after Iranian diplomats issued a similar demand during ongoing talks in Vienna between world powers and Iran. The new condition has been blamed for grinding negotiations to a halt, as diplomats blew through a third self-imposed deadline this weekend.
The NIAC email on ballistic missiles is in step with Iran’s potentially deal-breaking demands.
“The UN embargo imposed on Iran’s trade in certain conventional arms was specifically imposed by the Security Council to deal with the nuclear dispute,” wrote Tyler Cullis, who is identified in the email as a legal fellow at the council. (Read more from “Pro-Tehran Lobby Demands Iran Be Given Ballistic Missiles” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-11 03:47:482016-04-11 10:59:00Millions of Iranians March, Burn US Flag, Chant ‘Death to Israel’
