Senators Pushing US To War With Iran

[Nbadan]

The White House on Thursday challenged a group of senators to admit they are working to push the country toward war with Iran, upping the tension between the administration and Senate advocates of tough new sanctions amid nuclear negotiations.

"If certain members of Congress want the United States to take military action, they should be up front with the American public and say so," Bernadette Meehan, National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Otherwise, it’s not clear why any member of Congress would support a bill that possibly closes the door on diplomacy and makes it more likely that the United States will have to choose between military options or allowing Iran’s nuclear program to proceed."

The "certain members" the White House is referring to are led by Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is pushing legislation, backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, that would tighten sanctions on the Iranian regime despite the ongoing negotiations.

Closing some lanes on the George Washington Bridge endangered some people's lives, but trying to push the United States into a shooting war with Iran could endanger millions of lives. Bob Menendez needs to be challenged in a primary and he needs to be defeated. The senators who are backing him on this need a major shot across the bow to warn them off their idiocy.

Here are their names: Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, Chris Coons of Delaware, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mark Warner of Virginia, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Mark Begich of Alaska.

It's a weird collection. Basically it is a group from the Mid-Atlantic that represents large Jewish populations and a group from red states that worries that they'll be attacked for being insufficiently belligerent.

The problem is, while they're worrying about covering their political asses, they're making a catastrophic war more likely.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/1/9/225357/2447

[TDMVPDPOY]

war terror seems like they are going away from fighting terrorists to fighting regimes = fail

while the main culprit is laughing all the way to the bank which are the saudis...didnt they make up 90% of the wankers on the 3 planes that took down the 3 buildings...

so when is US going to really go after the culprit?

u never hear news about attacks in saudi or any saudi assets worldwide targeted, but seems like everything around the saudi are targets....seems like they are trying to build some sort of market monopoly racket...

[EVAY]

At the risk of being targeted as anti-semitic (which I am not), as an American I am tired of our guys being sent off to fight Israel's proxy wars. I swear it seems to me that so many American politicians are ready, even eager, to go fight Israel's wars for them. Problem is the result is a twofold negative: one,that the US has its own blood and treasure expended in wars that have no immediate national security interest for us; and two, that we end up being seen as Israel's proxy and thus hated as much as Israel is hated by all the Islamic countries (except Saudi Arabia, of course, whom we support for their oil sales).

[scott]

At the risk of being targeted as anti-semitic (which I am not), as an American I am tired of our guys being sent off to fight Israel's proxy wars. I swear it seems to me that so many American politicians are ready, even eager, to go fight Israel's wars for them. Problem is the result is a twofold negative: one,that the US has its own blood and treasure expended in wars that have no immediate national security interest for us; and two, that we end up being seen as Israel's proxy and thus hated as much as Israel is hated by all the Islamic countries (except Saudi Arabia, of course, whom we support for their oil sales).

Take it with a grain of salt, but a close friend of mine who is an Army officer once told me "as long as there is a fight over there, there is one less fight here."

The cynic would say we prop up Israel to keep the battle off our own shores (with 9/11 being the collateral damage).

A disturbing but pragmatic approach to national security.

[LnGrrrR]

Take it with a grain of salt, but a close friend of mine who is an Army officer once told me "as long as there is a fight over there, there is one less fight here."

The cynic would say we prop up Israel to keep the battle off our own shores (with 9/11 being the collateral damage).

A disturbing but pragmatic approach to national security.

Eh, I'm doubtful to how much of a "war" ME countries could mount against us. The most probably successful attacks would seem to be the ones they could pull now (ie terrorist).

[TDMVPDPOY]

At the risk of being targeted as anti-semitic (which I am not), as an American I am tired of our guys being sent off to fight Israel's proxy wars. I swear it seems to me that so many American politicians are ready, even eager, to go fight Israel's wars for them. Problem is the result is a twofold negative: one,that the US has its own blood and treasure expended in wars that have no immediate national security interest for us; and two, that we end up being seen as Israel's proxy and thus hated as much as Israel is hated by all the Islamic countries (except Saudi Arabia, of course, whom we support for their oil sales).

u know those fkn dogs are doing deals with americas enemies...

america doesnt sell shit to vietcong, but has no problem giving isreal 3b annually who spends it on producing whatever military equipment and sells it to its enemies past/present/future, fkn i read they are selling semi-autos to vietnam...

[Jacob1983]

Haven't people been saying that America is going to war with Iran for the past 2 or 3 years and nothing has happened? Unless Iran had backing from a more powerful country like Russia, North Korea, or China, it wouldn't stand against America. Iran also wouldn't stand a chance against Israel. Israel would destroy Iran. It would be like the 2001 WCF with the Lakers just anal raping the Spurs in a 4 game sweep.

[Spurs da champs]

:lol Iran is stronger than North Korea & their must be a reason as to why the Israelis are so hesitant to attack Iran on their own, as they've had no problems violating other nation's sovereignty (i.e Syria, Sudan, & Lebanon) & proceeding to bomb away on them, yet they just talk when it comes to Iran.

[Nero5]

u know those fkn dogs are doing deals with americas enemies...

america doesnt sell shit to vietcong, but has no problem giving isreal 3b annually who spends it on producing whatever military equipment and sells it to its enemies past/present/future, fkn i read they are selling semi-autos to vietnam...

Pah! you sir are a moron.
1. Vietnam is not an enemy of the US and has not been for a long time so move on to modern times.
2. The USA has repeatedly don 'deals' with 'enemies' of it's allies- it's interests re not the same as other countries and it is foolish to think otherwise. A country looks out for it's own interest and no other, as it should.
3. Israel is, and it is a sad reflection on the area, the only viable democratic country in the area and the only real ally in the ME the USA has. The US has and continues to do 'deals' with enemies of Israel, which you might feel are justified, but then your stupid arse is sitting in a seat in suburban USA where you only concern is local and not the surrounding countries where many have a stated aim to wipe your country off the map. Easy to be complacent and smug in that situation, but hypocrisy stinks whichever way the wind blows.
4. Money...FFS the USA spends far more money on other countries in the area, up until recently, in order to exert influence. It is happening in Pakistan and Egypt, where you effectively fund a very large part of the defence forces. Hell you fund Pakistan when the the ISI fund the Taliban! You do this via cash and arms made in the US funding your economy and you also buy arms from russia to supply to other countries.
5. Selling technology - hey mister stupid. Israel stopped a big sale of defensive drone tech to Turkey b/c it was afraid the increasingly Islamic government may pass it on. Sounds like a good idea, no? Then what, well that is until two US companies are tendering for the contract...after all what are friends for?
6. BTW the US created the Taliban to fight the Russians.

A war with Iran is stupidity beyond belief.

[boutons_deux]

The Iran War for oil is a huge reason USA must not elect a Repug Pres, Senate, House.

[Nbadan]

Obama Will Veto Iran Sanctions During Nuclear Negotiations
Source: TPM


Today’s agreement to implement the Joint Plan of Action announced in November marks the first time in a decade that the Islamic Republic of Iran has agreed to specific actions that halt progress on its nuclear program and roll back key parts of the program. Beginning January 20th, Iran will for the first time start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium and dismantling some of the infrastructure that makes such enrichment possible. Iran has agreed to limit its enrichment capability by not installing or starting up additional centrifuges or using next-generation centrifuges. New and more frequent inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites will allow the world to verify that Iran is keeping its commitments. Taken together, these and other steps will advance our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

In return, over the next six months the United States and our P5+1 partners -- the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union –- will begin to implement modest relief so long as Iran fulfills its obligations and as we pursue a comprehensive solution to Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, we will continue to vigorously enforce the broader sanctions regime, and if Iran fails to meet its commitments we will move to increase our sanctions.

Unprecedented sanctions and tough diplomacy helped to bring Iran to the negotiating table, and I’m grateful to our partners in Congress who share our goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Imposing additional sanctions now will only risk derailing our efforts to resolve this issue peacefully, and I will veto any legislation enacting new sanctions during the negotiation.

With today's agreement, we have made concrete progress. I welcome this important step forward, and we will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed. In return, over the next six months the United States and our P5+1 partners -- the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union –- will begin to implement modest relief so long as Iran fulfills its obligations and as we pursue a comprehensive solution to Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, we will continue to vigorously enforce the broader sanctions regime, and if Iran fails to meet its commitments we will move to increase our sanctions. Unprecedented sanctions and tough diplomacy helped to bring Iran to the negotiating table, and I’m grateful to our partners in Congress who share our goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Imposing additional sanctions now will only risk derailing our efforts to resolve this issue peacefully, and I will veto any legislation enacting new sanctions during the negotiation. With today's agreement, we have made concrete progress. I welcome this important step forward, and we will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.



Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-veto-threat-iran-sanctions

[Nero5]

http://www.theage.com.au/tv/documentary/american-coup-4340402.html