Burr, Tillis add their names to outrageous letter to Iran
Published March 11, 2015
Editorial by News and Observer, March 10, 2015.
Vice President Joe Biden, who spent 36 years in the United States Senate, said he’d never seen anything like it.
The New York Daily News proclaimed “TRAITORS” on its front page, with pictures of four Republican senators riding above it. Ted Cruz of Texas was no surprise in a reprehensible attempt to undermine President Obama’s foreign policy, and Rand Paul, the tea party darling from Kentucky, has long perched on the extremes.
Mitch McConnell, the majority leader from Kentucky, vowed to make Obama a one-term president. But the instigator of an outrageous breach of foreign policy protocol was a first-term senator from Arkansas, Tom Cotton. How proud he must have been to be in the league with Cruz, Paul and McConnell.
Unfortunately, North Carolina’s two Republican senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, also signed with 45 others a letter to the leaders of Iran basically telling them that President Obama’s word was no good and whatever was negotiated to stem Iran’s nuclear program could be undone by the next president. Perhaps charged up by a recent joint-session address from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 47 Republican senators simply set out to disrupt a delicate foreign policy negotiation now in progress between Iran and five world powers. They rebuked their own president and their own secretary of state.
This is one of the most horrid and tangible examples of pure partisanship run amok in modern times. So much do Republicans resent the fact that President Obama has won two terms they’ll now resort to blowing up a negotiation aimed at preventing war in the Middle East. This, despite the fact that since the presidency of George Washington, America has always tried to present a united front to the world. Time and again, Congress has stood behind presidents in war and in peace in the name of national unity..
Many Democrats went along, for example, with President George W. Bush’s ill-fated invasion of Iraq.
The White House called the Republicans’ action a “rush to war.” Indeed, the Middle East is as it always has been volatile. And while Israel doesn’t acknowledge having nuclear weapons, it is virtually certain that it does. That’s one reason Iran wants them. But President Obama and other chief executives have long believed that keeping the lid on Iran’s nuclear program is vital to keep the peace in the Middle East and in eventually, bringing Iran back into the world community.
Yes, that’s daunting given Iran’s government. But that government is aging as the country’s population is changing. Republicans who dismiss diplomatic efforts as useless simply ignore that fact and want to try to keep the antagonism felt toward Iran at a fever pitch.
But if the president, Secretary of State John Kerry and American allies are able to negotiate, for example, a 10-year hold on nuclear development, the Iran of 2025 may be much different than the Iran of today. Isn’t trying diplomacy better than a war into which United States forces most certainly would be drawn?
March 11, 2015 at 8:09 am
Frank Burns says:
The problem is not with Congress, the problem is with Obama. People are concerned with his poor record of negotiation along with the poor record of compliance with any agreement with the Iranian Mullahs. Obama will be remembered for his poor negotiation where the the terrorists received 5 high level terrorists back into the fold, while we received.............. one US traitor. Is that a one sided deal or what? The Democratic Senator from New Jersey admitted that Obama was just repeating the Iranian talking points.
The answer is the letter was proper and needed. We can no longer trust Obama to act in this country's best interests.
March 11, 2015 at 10:25 am
Kelli Horne says:
There's already a war in middle east, there will ALWAYS be a war in middle east, your claiming the reason to negotiate with iran to deter a war is invalid.
There is NO PLACE nor ANY TIME that would make it a good idea for iran to have nuclear capabilities.
I am happy Burr and Tillis signed along with others who see the foolishness of any negotiations with iran. Iran has proven themselves untrustworthy. What would it take to open the eyes of the blind?
Take care of AMERICAN interests. That is the job of all eleceted officials, even President Obama.
March 11, 2015 at 5:07 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Obviously this is an editorial that ran in the lib-ally N&D. Name earned, not given!
If the current community organizer unqualified occupier is FOR something, then so is the N&D. If Republicans are more aware of world affairs, more in tune with the disastrous nature of Islamic Fundamental Radicals than the anti-US, anti-Christian, pro-Muslim leader of the US, then the N&D can be counted on to side with the occupier. Makes no difference if the occupier's stand is logical, or workable, media allies seem to stick with him anyway.
How have other efforts of his foreign policy worked out?
And John 'i fought in viet nam' Kerry is no major supporter of US interests either. Why should either of these two socialist, America-haters be trusted? What part of the occupier's pro-Islam agenda should we trust to deter Iran from becoming nuclear?
Truth is if the occupier is for it, Kerry is for it, media allies are for it, then it MUST be bad for the future of the US! Reference socialized medicine. Reference unConstitutional amnesty for illegals. Reference XL pipeline. Reference the rest of the list on your own, cuz it's too long for me to list them all! And there's not a single lib/socialist who believes any of the scandals are meaningful because He's a socialist also!
March 11, 2015 at 11:20 pm
Tom Hauck says:
The editors have a short memory are they are being deceitful. Here are eight more flagrant cases -- by Democrats, including Senator Kerry.
And if Republicans supposedly violated the Logan Act, so did these Democrats:
ONE)
Senators John Sparkman (D-AL) and George McGovern (D-SD). The two Senators visited Cuba and met with government actors there in 1975. They said that they did not act on behalf of the United States, so the State Department ignored their activity.
TWO)
Tunney remarked that the senator wants to run for president in 1988. Kennedy does not discount that during the 1984 campaign, the Democratic Party may officially turn to him to lead the fight against the Republicans and elect their candidate president.
THREE)
FOUR)
In 1987, Wright worked out a deal to bring Ortega to the United States to visit with lawmakers. As The New York Times reported:
FIVE)
SIX)
SEVEN)
EIGHT)
