By Steve Guest. President Barack Obama told an audience at American University that the only option aside from Congress approving the Iran nuclear deal is war.
“Rejection of this deal leaves any U.S. administration that is absolutely committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon with one option — another war in the Middle East,” Obama declared Wednesday. “I say this not to be provocative. I am stating a fact.”
(Read more from “Obama: Approve Iran Nuclear Deal or We’re Going to War” HERE)
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The President Gets Personal About the Iran Deal
By Alan M. Dershowitz. President Obama, in his desperation to save his Iran deal, has taken to attacking its opponents in personal ways. He has accused critics of his deal of being the same Republican warmongers who drove us into the ground war against Iraq and has warned that they would offer “overheated” and often dishonest arguments. He has complained about the influence of lobbyists and money on the process of deciding this important issue, as if lobbying and money were not involved in other important matters before Congress.
These types of ad hominem arguments are becoming less and less convincing as more Democratic members of Congress, more liberal supporters of the President, more nuclear experts and more foreign policy gurus are expressing deep concern about, and sometimes strong opposition to, the deal that is currently before Congress.
I, myself, am a liberal Democrat who twice voted for President Obama and who was opposed to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Part of the reason I was opposed was because I considered, and still consider, Iran a much greater threat to the security of the world and to the stability of the Middle East than Iraq ever was. In my newly published e-book The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Now Stop Iran From Getting Nukes?, I make arguments that I believe are honest, fair and compelling. I recognize some advantages in the deal, but strongly believe that the disadvantages considerably outweigh them and that the risks of failure are considerable. My assessment is shared by a considerable number of other academics, policy experts and other liberal Democrats who support President Obama’s domestic policies, who admire Secretary Kerry for his determination, and who do not see evil intentions in the deal.
The President would be well advised to stop attacking his critics and to start answering their hard questions with specific and credible answers. Questions that need answering include the following:
Even after the expiration of the nuclear agreement, will American policy remain that Iran will never under any circumstances be allowed to develop nuclear weapons? Or is it now our policy that Iran will be free to do whatever it wants to do once the deal expires?
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-08-06 03:59:532015-08-06 03:59:53Obama: Approve Iran Nuclear Deal or We’re Going to War [+video]
Why are Republicans playing into Obama’s hands and employing a strategy on Iran that is designed to fail? And why are they using this administration’s lawlessness and malfeasance as a baseline from which to pursue their strategy of fighting this treaty?
These are questions that should bother any elected conservative in the House and Senate.
Yesterday, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution of disapproval to block Obama’s Iran deal. On the Senate side, Mitch McConnell implored the Democrats to permit a vote on this resolution and allow for a “thorough, thoughtful and respectful debate.”
Once again, they are agreeing to Obama’s unconstitutional premise that this deal is valid unless Congress actively disapproves of it and sustains that disapproval over the president’s veto. The fact that Republicans are still assenting to this failed process despite the fact that Obama has violated it on multiple fronts, along with the knowledge that the vote is destined to fail shows that they are not serious about fighting the Iran deal at all.
As noted before, Obama has already locked in the agreement on an international level before even sending the agreement to Congress, a flagrant violation of the Corker-Cardin bill he signed into law. Moreover, they have made it clear that even if Republicans muster the votes to disapprove of the deal, the wishes of Congress will not be respected. Kerry has warned Republicans not to “screw with the Ayatollah.” The Obama administration has treated this deal as a fait accompli despite the Corker-Cardin review process, so why are Republicans still honoring this already-flawed agreement?
And this agreement is already flawed because the Senate must ratify any treaty with two-thirds affirmatively supporting it in order to take effect. As Andy McCarthy reported yesterday at National Review, John Kerry basically admitted to Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) that the Iran deal is a treaty, but treaties have become “physically impossible” to pass in his estimation. He has therefore decided to thumb his nose at the constitutional process. Why should Republicans continue to tolerate this flagrant and arrogant abrogation of our most basic laws?
What’s worse, Kerry has negotiated a number of side deals with Iran and refuses to disclose them to Congress, even though that was part of the agreement in Corker-Cardin. Every day this administration violates a new promise or prior agreement.
Not only is Corker-Cardin unconstitutional and already disavowed by Obama, it is destined to fail. There is no way Republicans will ever secure enough Democrat votes to override the veto. A number of key Democrats needed to sustain the override have already endorsed the deal. As we’ve seen with Obamacare and amnesty, polling data doesn’t dissuade Democrats from maintaining partisan unity.
Perforce, by playing the Obama game and indulging this unconstitutional process, and then losing the vote, Republicans will wind up legitimizing the deal. Either way, Obama will ultimately do what he wants unless he is stopped by the congressional power of the purse wielded against the State Department budget. If Republicans are unwilling to engage in a budget battle, they should at least publicly vote down the agreement in the Senate and declare the deal null and void for the international community to see and put them on notice that the next president will repeal it.
Instead of voting on a resolution of disapproval and then failing to disapprove of the deal, they should call up a resolution of approval and debate this as a treaty, while making it clear that failure to round up 67 votes in support of the deal will render it invalid.
Sadly, Obama has learned that the more lawless and duplicitous he acts with Congress, the more Republicans are willing to legitimize his policies. I’m told by several conservative members that Republican leaders like the Corker-Cardin bill process because, as always, it allows them to lodge their protest vote with the public but not actually have to fight the deal and, in their mind, risk being accused of sabotaging diplomacy.
Is there any wonder so many Republicans are willing to lodge a protest vote in support of Donald Trump? (Re-posted with permission from the author, “The GOP’s Pre-Destined Failure on Iran Explained”, originally appeared HERE)
At first, Obama said we couldn’t talk about his Iranian Nuke Deal unless it was finalized. Then, Obama said we couldn’t talk about his Iranian Nuke Deal unless we read it all – and simply didn’t disclose all of his side-deals. Now, he says Mike Huckabee’s comparison of shipping the Jews of Israel to the new ovens of the Iranian Auschwitz-Nuke is “ridiculous.”
Perhaps Obama wants to wait until Iran nukes Israel for it to be politically correct to call Iran’s wiping Israel off the map a “Holocaust.” But, make no mistake, Obama knows full well that Iran intends to wipe Israel off the map with its Obama-blessed Nukes.
Come on, does anyone (except the American left-wing cool-aid drinking Jews) really believe that Iran will abide by their “voluntary” protocols under the Vienna announcement? Of course not! Are Obama or any of the European Union leaders so rank stupid and naïve that they think Iran won’t build a bomb just like North Korea? Does anyone not know that one of Iran’s first targets will be to annihilate Israel?
Of course Obama knows Iran will seek to annihilate Israel, so that must be what Obama wants. (Read more from “Op-Ed: Obama Knows Iran Will Use Its Nukes on Israel” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-30 04:00:082016-04-11 10:58:18Op-Ed: Obama Knows Iran Will Use Its Nukes on Israel
By Doug Ross. John Kerry is lying when he claims he doesn’t know what is in the Iranian side deals. He would rather pretend ignorance than admit their contents.
No one calls the ruling class on their lies. With a dysfunctional media — that is now fully intertwined with the government — the American people are left bereft of real news and thoughtful analysis.
We live in an alternate reality. Nothing is real, except their lies and only their lies. Lies are now the truth.
As for me, I believe the secret side deals with Iran are quite specific. Incredibly specific.
And I believe they call for an international military alliance and a protective force for Iran. An international force, sponsored by the United Nations.
And that deal is to protect Iran… from Israel.
We already knew this administration represented an existential threat to Israel, from its calls for pre-1967 “Holocaust borders” to its repeated intelligence leaks.
This sets the stage, ladies and gentlemen, for global aggression. Against Israel. And reprisals. Financial. Diplomatic. Even the boys in blue, firing their weapons for the very first time in recorded history.
Against the Jews.
It’s called Armageddon.
(Published with permission from the author, “You Won’t Believe This Stunning and Credible Theory on the Secret Iranian Nuclear Side Deals”, originally posted HERE)
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U.S. Secretary of State Suggests America Could Use Military Force Against Israel
By Lauren Richardson. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry indirectly agreed that the U.S. would defend Iran’s nuclear program from Israeli sabotage on Thursday, in a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he was grilled over the Iran nuclear deal.
When Senator Marco Rubio pushed Kerry for an answer if the U.S. would use military force to protect Iran from Israel, Kerry would not answer. His answer was “we will be coordinating very closely,” and “wait till we get to that point.”
That is as dangerous as Nancy Pelosi saying, ‘but we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it away from the fog,’ about Obamacare and look how well that turned out.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) put Kerry on the spot when he asked him and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz whether the controversial articles in Annex III on page 142 of the 159-page deal would stipulate that the U.S. block Israeli attempts to scupper the Iranian nuclear threat. (Read more from “Iranian Nuclear Side Deals May Result in US Force Against Israel” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-27 01:43:162016-04-11 10:58:27You Won’t Believe This Stunning and Credible Theory on the Secret Iranian Nuclear Side Deals
By Shiryn Ghermezian. Jews in America should take a stand against the White House and oppose the nuclear deal recently agreed between world powers and Iran, famed Soviet dissident and now Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said on Friday in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
“Those of us who believe that the nuclear agreement just signed between world powers and Iran is dangerously misguided are now compelled to criticize Israel’s best friend and ally, the government of the United States,” Sharansky said.
Sharansky acknowledged that standing up against the White House in support of “what we think is right” for both Jews and the world, puts American Jewry at odds with the “power best able to protect us and promote stability.” Nevertheless, he said Jews must even risk giving the impression “that we somehow prefer war” rather than join those who believe “peace is on the horizon.”
The human rights activist noted that the U.S. Jewish community similarly stood up to the White House 40 years ago in a historic move that helped secure freedom for Soviet Jews at the time.
In the early 1970s, Democratic Sen. Henry Jackson of Washington spearheaded an initiative to condition the removal of sanctions against the Soviet Union on the allowance of free emigration for its citizens, including Jews. By that time, tens of thousands of Soviet Jews had requested permission to leave for Israel, according to Sharansky. (Read more from “Sharansky Calls on US Jews to Stand up to White House Over Iran Nuclear Deal” HERE)
As Jews Mourn Destruction of Temples, Palestinian Authority Denies They Ever Existed
By David Daoud. As Jews around the world mourned the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples on Sunday with the observance of Tisha B’Av, Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash told Israel’s NRG that an Israelite temple never stood atop the Temple Mount.
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located atop the Temple Mount, and not the Temple. Look for your Holy Temple in another place,” said Al-Habbash.
Al-Habbash also assailed Jewish visitors who visited the holy site on Sunday, saying that “there is no room for religious pluralism” on the Temple Mount.
Al-Habbash added that, “this is a holy site for Islam, and only for Islam. Al-Aqsa Mosque is a Muslim site, and we do not recognize [as legitimate] any of the stories about the Temple.”
In fact, the entire platform, known as the Temple Mount, atop which the Al-Aqsa Mosque now stands was built by Herod the Great and previously housed two Jewish Temples: the First Temple built by Solomon in 957 BCE, and the Second Temple built by the prophet Ezra in 538 BCE and improved by King Herod. (Read more from this story HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-27 01:39:542016-04-11 10:58:28Famed Soviet Dissident Sharansky: US Jews Must Stand up to White House Over Iran Nuclear Deal
It’s not too often that wayward politicians are presented with a second chance to rectify their colossal mistakes, especially with regards to an issue as consequential as Obama’s treaty with Iran. Obama’s appalling, yet predictable, abrogation of the Corker-Cardin congressional process and his reneging on core promises has provided Congress with just that opportunity. But the question remains: will they pursue it?
Cotton Takes a Stand
Ultimately, if Obama is unbendingly committed to governing like a king and usurping our Constitution, there is little Congress can do to stop him, especially after they ruled out the vital check vested in the power over the purse. The check of impeachment has been rendered moot because of the dynamics of party politics. But the worst thing Republicans in Congress can do is validate and legitimize Obama’s harmful and unconstitutional policies.
This understanding was the rationale behind the letter Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and 46 other Republicans sent directly to the Iranian government. Seeing that Obama was relentlessly devoted to cementing this alliance – no matter how egregiously the Iranians behave – Cotton saw the value in publicly declaring that any deal reached without either two-thirds of the Senate affirmatively ratifying it as a treaty or majorities in both chambers of Congress affirmatively approving it as a congressional-executive agreement, would not be recognized as legitimate.
GOP Self-Immolates
For reasons only known to God, Republicans seamlessly retreated in May from their stated position and agreed to pass the Corker-Cardin bill. This bill and the messaging used to promote it accepted Obama’s premise that he has the authority to fully implement the Iran treaty unilaterally without any congressional input. By “allowing” Congress the ability to read the agreement for 60 days and the opportunity to disapprove of it if they could muster two-thirds in opposition, Obama was not only granted legitimacy and the green light to forge the worst possible deal, he was credited for taking a compromising stance with the legislative branch.
Consequently, the public was given the impression that Congress would have a meaningful say in the final deal, but in reality this deal co-signed the GOP-led House and Senate to an unconstitutional process designed to fail.
Some Republican supporters of the capitulation defended Corker-Cardin as the only way to secure congressional scrutiny of the deal. But as we noted at the time, Obama was always destined to release the public text of the deal (he can’t hide it), but with or without Corker-Cardin he would never disclose the more important parallel agreements and private commitments he has made to Ayatollah Khamenei. For example, why is our air force serving as the Iranian protection force in Iraq? Why are we arming enemy Shiite militias but not the Kurds? Why is Obama silent in the face of endless violations of sanctions and acts of aggression, such as seizing ships in international waters? Why are the Iranians saying they can now import and export arms and military hardware “anytime and anyplace?” Those agreements will never be made public to Congress or the American people, even though their existence is quite apparent.
Obama Double-Crosses Congress
Fearing that his pact with Iran would be indefensible even for many Democrats, Obama was too cowardly to wait 60 days and rely on merely one-third of a single body of Congress to sustain his potential veto. He went straight to the UN Security Council on Monday to lock in support for lifting sanctions in a move that Secretary of State John Kerry proudly proclaimed will place Congress “in noncompliance with this agreement and contrary to all of the other countries in the world” – even if they secure two-thirds in opposition to the deal.
This act of betrayal alone should immediately prompt members of Congress to repeal Corker-Cardin. But it gets worse. As we’ve noted, Obama was never going to release the details of his private dealings with Iran to Congress – with or without a formal review process. Now, Senator Cotton and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R- KS) have exposed the details of two secret deals Obama has cut with Iran, based on conversations these Republicans had with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Cotton and Pompeo are asserting that Iran has secured an agreement to keep any process for inspection of their secretive Parchin military complex and issues related to the broader military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program classified from any U.S. officials. These issues cut to the core concern – that between the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s military, ballistic missile and advanced weapons program, as well as the lack of inspections at military sites and disclosure of their clandestine program, Iran will have the ability to break out with a bomb and delivery system long before the agreement expires. As Cotton and Pompeo note, this is a direct violation of the Corker-Cardin bill, which requires the administration to provide Congress with all information and documents, including the details of side deals.
Obama has not only violated every red line he committed to in 2013 and subsequently promised during the April framework agreement, he has added new components to the deal, such as the promise to help Iran develop their nuclear program and protect it from Israeli “sabotage.” Obama has also allowed all sanctions to be lifted almost immediately, removed restrictions on their ballistic missile program, phased out the embargo on the sale of advanced weapons, and agreed to an unenforceable inspections scheme. The plain language of the deal seems to indicate that even the tepid requirements of Iran might be “voluntary.” As it relates to the ballistic missile program, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) pointed out at today’s Senate Foreign Relations hearing with Kerry that page 9 of the UN Security Council resolution uses non-binding language when discussing restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program even for 8 years.
As late as last September, the administration said they would allow Iran no more than 1,500 centrifuges. Now they will have over 6,000, according to the parameters of the deal. After the framework was forged in April, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said “we expect to have anytime, anywhere access” to weapons and nuclear sites. Now, that has turned into “nowhere, no time” for the important sites and 24 days for the public sites.
Obama has betrayed the very deal he pushed to give his Democrats cover.
A Path Forward
Republicans now have the opportunity to repeal the Corker-Cardin bill because Obama has already vitiated it. Rather than remaining a victim to a failed and unconstitutional process Obama refuses to abide by, it’s time for Republicans to go on the offense. Here are six immediate steps they can take:
1.) Republicans should immediately vote on a concurrent resolution (which doesn’t need the president’s signature) rendering this pact, at the very least, a congressional-executive agreement and canceling the already-nullified Corker-Cardin deal.
2.) They should then proceed to conduct votes, one after another, on individual provisions of this deal to put the Democrats on record.
3.) After establishing the Iran pact as a treaty or congressional-executive agreement the Senate should then bring the public text of the deal to the floor and conduct an up-or-down vote. It will be voted down and it will be up to the Democrats to decide whether they want to be on the wrong side of history and public opinion.
4.) Instead of going home for the entire month of August, a bicameral group of Republicans should rotate shifts of members willing to stay in session for a few days at a time and relentlessly draw attention to every aspect of the deal, Obama’s on-the-side agreements and alliance with Iran, and expose all of the promises that have been broken by this administration.
5.) Republicans should follow Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) lead by using budget bills and authorization bills for the State Department functions to defund any aspect of the nuclear deal that expends money for implementation or helps Iran develop their R&D for its nuclear program.
6.) Members of Congress should pressure their state governors into committing now to preserving their state’s Iran divestment laws.
At this point, the only alternative is to crawl into a fetal position and beg 13 Senate Democrats and 44 House Democrats to join them in an unconstitutional process that Obama has already violated and will never respect. Anyone who cares about our national security would be wise to go on offense. (Published with permission from the author, “Iran Deal: How It Came to This and Where We Go From Here”, originally appeared HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2015-07-24 03:08:512016-04-11 10:58:32Iran Deal: How It Came to This and Where We Go From Here
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
By Steve Guest. President Barack Obama told an audience at American University that the only option aside from Congress approving the Iran nuclear deal is war.
