Senate GOP fails to block Iran deal
Listen to this articlePhoto above: Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois speaking on behalf of the Iran nuclear deal in the U.S. Senate. (C-Span)
In a political victory for President Obama, the Senate bill proposed to block the nuclear deal with Iran did not meet the 60-vote threshold to make it to the Senate floor for a vote. The defeat for Mitch McConnell and the Republicans — as well as a few Democrats who are opposed to the Iran Deal — means the president won’t have to veto the resolution, which would drag out the process of implementing the nuclear deal.
House Republicans don’t have enough support either, although GOP leadership in both the House and Senate plan on more votes, which will most likely have the same result: there won’t be enough opposition to the historic accord that will effectively stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons for at least 10 years.
In a statement released to the media, President Obama said, “This vote is a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world. I am heartened that so many senators judged this deal on the merits, and am gratified by the strong support of lawmakers and citizens alike.”
If the GOP is anything since Barack Obama was elected president, it is unrelenting in its zealotry to oppose everything that bears any stamp from the Obama Administration. So, like the Affordable Care Act before it, Republicans have vowed to reschedule votes and file court challenges ad infinitum until someone on their side of the aisle gets tired of it.
There are five other nations that have signed on to the deal: The United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Russia — and all agree this is the best deal that can be made with Iran at this time and if the plan doesn’t go into effect, there will be no boundaries on Iran to keep it from creating nuclear weapons.
What’s more, the sanctions that are in place will expire and the European nations are not likely to renew them.
From around the world military officials, nuclear physicists, non-proliferation experts, and more than 100 countries have all voiced their support for the deal because it is the best solution available to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon without taking military action.
On Meet the Press former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that after looking at the deal and the opposition to it, the accord is, “…a pretty good deal.” Former Republican Senator Dick Luger of Indiana said, “This agreement represents our best chance to stop an Iranian bomb without another war in the Middle East.”
The plan will increase the time it would take for Iran to acquire enough material to make one bomb, from two months to one year. It reduces Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium so it won’t have enough to make even one bomb. Iran must get rid of two-thirds of its centrifuges, keeping only the older, less efficient ones. Far less than what Iran would need to make a bomb. It stops Iran from making weapons-grade plutonium and allows the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to vigorously inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities.
You can read the deal here.
Other issues with Iran still need to be negotiated, not the least of which are Americans being held in Iranian jails on bogus charges. Then there is Iran’s support for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, but for many international observers, this historic deal could be just the first step in a long road of diplomacy with Iran.
For his part, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, put an exclamation point on the proceedings, by declaring Israel would not exist in 25 years. Despite the fact that Arab leaders across the Middle East have been saying similar things about Israel for almost 70 years, with no effect.
Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the elected government officials and business were so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that.