18 January 2014

US politicos distrust the veracity of Iranian politicos. I wonder why?

Life in the US Congress is getting interesting. The last report I saw suggested that 58 (out of 100) US Senators had signed up in support of the current Bill to hold further sanctions on Iran in reserve in case of a failure in 5+1 talks with Iran. In case you missed it, this happened because many Senators don't believe that the Iranians intend to stop working towards making nuclear weapons. Given that past behaviour is a reasonable guide to future behaviour (especially of the powerful), this qualifies as clear thinking.

It only needs 17 more Senators for a 2/3rds majority in the Senate. Now we have rumblings in the House of representatives. This article in The Tower has the following from a Democratic Representative: "House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer blasted the White House on Tuesday for accusing U.S. lawmakers who favor pressuring Iran of seeking to drag America into a war. 'There have been some that have suggested in the White House that those folks were more interested in war than they were in the resolution by peaceful means'."

Disentangling the syntax, what the Rep. is saying is that the White House (shorthand for the Administration in general and, probably, John Kerry in particular) is so anxious to get on with its love fest with the Ayatollahs that they are prepared to diss Congress. Too late. Congress has already rumbled (what the Administration doesn't want to hear) that the Iranians are not to be trusted. After all, the Iranians are saying that they can carry (and are carrying) on with enrichment of uranium beyond 5% and up to 20%, whatever the 5+1 group thinks.

Further, given that he was brought on board because of his foreign policy experience, why wasn't the Veep, Joe Biden, involved in the 5+1 negotiations?

Just a thought.

By Brian Goldfarb.

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