Back on Planet Earth, the handicappers give the Republicans better than even odds of retaking the Senate.
But maybe you would see that as a positive development. After all, as every young Trotskyist knows, Worse Is Better.
Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1
On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 4:41 PM, Carl G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> wrote:
> Bob--
>
> This appears to be another dodgy MoveOn petition in support of the
> administration's murderous Mideast policies.
>
> Those policies are in the interest of the American 1% (and no one else),
> who wish to continue their control of the world economy by dominating
> Mideast energy flows.
>
> It is simply false to say that the US is trying "to provide assurance to
> the international community that Iran will never try to build a nuclear
> weapon." That is the made-up reason for US attempts to exert control over
> the Iranian economy, particularly its production and distribution of gas
> and oil.
>
> Since Iran rejected US control in 1979, every US administration up to and
> including the current one has sought to reassert it.
>
> "In 2010, Iran accepted a proposal by Turkey and Brazil to ship its
> enriched uranium to Turkey for storage. In return, the West would provide
> isotopes for Iran's medical research reactors. President Obama furiously
> denounced Brazil and Turkey for breaking ranks, and quickly imposed harsher
> sanctions. Irritated, Brazil released a letter from Obama in which he had
> proposed this arrangement, presumably assuming that Iran would reject it.
> The incident quickly disappeared from view.
>
> "Also in 2010, the NPT members called for an international conference to
> carry forward a long-standing Arab initiative to establish a zone free of
> weapons of mass destruction in the region, to be held in Helsinki in
> December 2012. Israel refused to attend. Iran agreed to do so,
> unconditionally.
>
> "The U.S. then announced that the conference was canceled, reiterating
> Israel's objections. The Arab states, the European Parliament and Russia
> called for a rapid reconvening of the conference, while the U.N. General
> Assembly voted 174-6 to call on Israel to join the NPT and open its
> facilities to inspection. Voting "no" were the United States, Israel,
> Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau" - apparently the
> "international community" to whom you say "U.S. negotiators [wish] to
> provide assurance..."
>
> Obama, in his usual mendacity, has been quite consistent in his hostility
> to Iran, even though his threats violate the UN Charter: during his
> campaign for a Senate seat a decade ago, Obama supported the possibility of
> a pre-emptive attack on Iran. On 25 September 2004, the Chicago Tribune
> wrote, "…the United States should not rule out military strikes to destroy
> nuclear production sites in Iran, Obama said … ‘having a radical Muslim
> theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse [than] us launching
> some missile strikes into Iran…’ he said."
>
> Instead of this dishonest MoveOn petition, we should demand Obama lift the
> sanctions on Iran, stop the bombing and the continuing threats (he's now
> bombed eight predominately Muslim countries - two more than George Bush),
> and remove US troops from the Middle East. That alone will "de-escalate
> tensions in the Middle East, helping us prevent war in the future.”
>
> Regards, CGE
>
> On Oct 22, 2014, at 12:46 PM, Robert Naiman <noreply at list.moveon.org>
> wrote:
>
> Dear C. G. Estabrook,
>
> U.S. negotiators are facing a *November 24 deadline* to try to conclude a
> comprehensive agreement with Iran on constraining its nuclear program to
> provide assurance to the international community that Iran will never try
> to build a nuclear weapon. The *New York Times* recently reported [1]
> that the White House has decided to try to avoid in the near future a
> Congressional vote on any agreement reached with Iran, using the
> President’s power – granted by Congress – to suspend U.S. sanctions on
> Iran, rather than seeking legislation to repeal them. *The U.S. Treasury
> Department has concluded that President Obama has the legal authority to
> suspend the vast majority of U.S. sanctions on Iran without seeking a vote
> by Congress.* It is widely accepted by experts that suspending U.S.
> sanctions on Iran will be a necessary ingredient of a diplomatic agreement
> that constrains Iran's nuclear program sufficiently to provide assurance
> that Iran will never build a nuclear weapon.
>
> But some Members of Congress, like Republican Senator Mark Kirk and
> Republican Senator John Cornyn, *want to derail President Obama and
> Secretary of State Kerry’s efforts to achieve a diplomatic agreement*. [2]
>
> If key Democratic leaders don’t support President Obama’s diplomacy, an
> agreement with Iran will be much less likely. *Urge key Democratic
> leaders to support President Obama’s diplomacy with Iran by signing our
> petition at MoveOn:*
>
> *http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/key-Dems-Iran-diplomacy*
> <http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/key-Dems-Iran-diplomacy>
>
> Here’s the text of our petition:
>
> *“Democratic leaders Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and
> former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should strongly back President
> Obama's efforts to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with Iran on
> constraining its nuclear program by the November 24 deadline, thereby
> ensuring that Iran will not build a nuclear weapon and de-escalating
> tensions in the Middle East, helping us prevent war in the future.”*
>
>
> President Obama will have a brief window of opportunity after the U.S.
> election in November to negotiate an agreement – *a window of opportunity
> that may not come again*. [3] When President Obama and Secretary of State
> Kerry negotiated the interim nuclear deal with Iran, Senator Warren [4] and
> Senator Sanders [5] were early supporters. Former Secretary of State
> Clinton attacked the deal through surrogates [6], only finally embracing
> the deal [7] when opponents of the deal were about to concede. [8]
>
> *Support from key Democratic leaders will help thwart efforts by
> Republicans to sabotage President Obama’s diplomatic efforts. Urge key
> Democratic leaders to support President Obama’s diplomacy with Iran by
> signing and sharing our petition:*
>
> *http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/key-Dems-Iran-diplomacy*
> <http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/key-Dems-Iran-diplomacy>
>
> Thanks for all you do to support diplomacy and help prevent war,
>
> Robert Naiman
> Just Foreign Policy
>
> References:
> 1. “Obama Sees an Iran Deal That Could Avoid Congress,” David Sanger, New
> York Times, 10/19/14,
> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/us/politics/obama-sees-an-iran-deal-that-could-avoid-congress-.html
> 2. “Report: White House to bypass Congress on Iran nuclear deal,” Peter
> Sullivan, The Hill, 10/20/14,
> http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/221231-report-white-house-to-bypass-congress-on-iran-deal
> 3. “A Nuclear Deal, Now or Never,” Vali Nasr, New York Times, 10/21/14,
> http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/22/opinion/vali-nasr-a-nuclear-deal-now-or-never.html
> 4. “Senator Elizabeth Warren Endorses Interim Iran Nuclear Deal,” Robert
> Naiman, Huffington Post, 12/13/2013,
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/senator-elizabeth-warren-_b_4437313.html
> 5. “Leahy opposes new sanctions on Iran; Sanders: Increased sanctions
> might help hardliners,” Nicole Gaudiano, Burlington Free Press, 1/6/14,
> http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20140106/NEWS03/301060029/Leahy-opposes-new-sanctions-on-Iran
> 6. “Does Hillary's Silence on Iran Deal Show Neocon Influence on Her
> Presidential Run?” Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, 12/2/13,
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/does-hillarys-silence-on-_b_4372394.html
> 7. “Hillary Clinton backs Obama on Iran sanctions,” Maggie Haberman,
> Politico, 2/2/14,
> http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/hillary-clinton-iran-102997.html
> 8. “Bill Clinton, AIPAC urge delay on Iran sanctions,” Manu Raju and
> Burgess Everett, Politico, 2/6/14,
> http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/bill-clinton-iran-sanctions-103219.html
>
>
>
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