Patterico's Pontifications

7/14/2016

Cruz and Rubio on the Iran Deal, One Year Later

Filed under: General — JVW @ 12:23 pm



[guest post by JVW]

Both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have pieces up on National Review Online marking the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s disastrous deal with the mullas in Iran. As expected, neither Senator is particularly impressed with the progress that has been made in “containing” Iranian ambitions:

Senator Cruz:

[. . .] one year ago, the United Nations Security Council ratified the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and imposed it on the world. The individual legislatures of the parties involved (the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, and the European Union) were not consulted — although the Iranian parliament did get a vote. So, from the American perspective at least, the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran] has lurched into effect — unsigned, unratified and so, in fact, illegal. Its supporters insist that the deal is the only way to avoid war, and they assure the world that it will stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, at least for a while.

[. . .]

Now we are one year into the JCPOA. As many commentators have noted, the Iranian leadership’s general behavior — including ballistic-missile tests, capturing and humiliating American servicemen and women, the continuing detention of American service men and women, and the ongoing genocidal rhetoric against the United States and Israel — remains unchanged. But of course the JCPOA deliberately did not cover any of these issues. So what of their nuclear program, which it was ostensibly designed to address? The news this week has not been encouraging:

* A German Domestic Intelligence report documents Iran’s attempts to procure illicit nuclear technology in Germany. During 2015, there were 141 registered attempts to procure technology used for the development of nuclear weapons and launchers.

* The Institute for Science and International Security reported Iran’s attempt to procure tons of carbon fiber from German companies. Carbon fiber is classified as a nuclear dual-use good by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

[. . .]

We have, of course, no visibility into any possible dealings with known proliferators such as Pakistan and North Korea. After hundreds of attempts to procure these materials in Germany, why would they would not turn to a lower-quality but more agreeable trading partner?

Senator Rubio adds:

[. . .] Meanwhile, at every opportunity, Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials have encouraged foreign companies to do business with Iran’s terrorist-supporting regime and have attempted to provide Iran access to the U.S. financial system. Secretary of State John Kerry often seems to be more interested in acting as Iran’s de facto trade representative than holding Iran accountable for its actions.

One of the more egregious and recent concessions from this administration was allowing Boeing to sell aircraft to Iran nominally for use as commercial passenger aircraft. Iran has a history of using its airlines to ferry fighters and cargo to terrorist groups. In fact, Boeing even markets the ease of converting passenger aircraft for cargo use.

[. . .]

On today’s anniversary, the Obama administration will try to distract the American people by claiming it has ended Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. The reality is that the Iranian threat has not disappeared. Iran appears to be continuing its efforts to build up its nuclear capability, as recent reports from the German intelligence agency indicate.

Back in 2008, candidate Barack Obama declared that he would have direct negotiations with Iran without any pre-conditions. Eight years later, he seems to have pulled off the neat trick of holding the negotiations capitulations without having any post-conditions either.

– JVW

11 Responses to “Cruz and Rubio on the Iran Deal, One Year Later”

  1. Interesting side note: Wouldn’t you have expected that Sens. Cruz and Rubio might have collaborated on an essay for NRO? Are the separate essays a sign that there is still a great deal of enmity between the two?

    JVW (eabb2a)

  2. Those two have never been on the same page.

    mg (31009b)

  3. For any voter who understands or cares at all about foreign policy, the Democrats are running completely on fumes: They have a single plan, whether voiced by Obama, Hillary, Treebeard, or any other Democrat, which is to keep spinning by lying fiercely (a la “we have always been at war with Eastasia” and “peace for our time”), and to kick every single can farther down the road, tripping over as few as possible in the shortest of short terms (whose bounds are measured between this news cycle and this election cycle).

    (Now that I think about it, that’s actually the Dems’ domestic plan too.)

    But this Iran deal is pathetically indefensible. Too damned bad the GOP is about to nominate the one possible candidate who can’t capitalize on that, and indeed, who refuses to say he’ll rip it up.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  4. Obama knows the mid Eastern mind and his legacy will be carried forth by Hillary.

    Pts (ce7fc3)

  5. Eiffel Tower ablaze after Nice rundown. How’s the J.V. Team doing obama?

    mg (31009b)

  6. @ JVW (#1), re the non-collaboration: If they had collaborated, that would have been at least minor news in and of itself. I don’t think either particularly wants to be in the news between now and the GOP convention.

    But you may be right about the grudge. I certainly bear one toward both Rubio and Kasich, one that I’ll carry ’til death do us part. It’s not on my own behalf, it’s on behalf of the Republican Party, which those two losers have handed, temporarily, to Trump and his Trumpkin shills, for no better reason than Rubio’s and Kasich’s selfish egotism. Aside from any personal grudges, for which I think Sen. Cruz has ample grounds, everyone who’s dismayed to see Trump as the GOP nominee has cause to shun Rubio and Kasich.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  7. Rubio and Kasich had to be promised bags of gold from the C.O.C.

    mg (31009b)

  8. Sounds like what Washington needs is someone who’s good at firing people.

    Dystopia Max (76803a)

  9. the key thing is how fascist slut Valerie Jarrett’s persian pimps is gonna have the tools at hand to do genocide on Israel soon soon soon

    a lot of y’all are losing sight of that

    all you do is criticize

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  10. Reminder: Both Cruz and Rubio voted for the Corker bill, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which empowered Obama to make this deal. The bill passed the senate 98-1. Tom Cotton voting against, Barbara Boxer absent.

    The Vichy Republicans help the fascist Obama at every opportunity.

    Anon Y. Mous (9e4c83)

  11. If Israel gets genocided, thats what it gets for trying to be both an independent country and an international citizen lobbyist of the world at the same time. (Not that we don’t have the same problem!) No man can serve two mindsets without eventually being destroyed under the strain.

    Dystopia Max (76803a)


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