Although there are some Americans who are not overwhelmingly fond of sending their sons and daughters to fight and die in wars, it does not mean that many of their representatives in Congress feel the same. In fact, it is clearly evident that Republicans almost unanimously support war against anyone, but particularly the Muslim nations on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘hit-list.’ However, it is unfair to single out congressional Republicans as part of the Netanyahu caucus in both the Senate and the House, especially since a Republican-lite senator representing New York, Charles Schumer (D-Israel), announced he was joining forces with war monger Republican Lindsey Graham (R-Israel) to thwart the United Nations P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran.
It appeared that Lindsey Graham, the man who never sees peace as an option, decided that to better serve his leader Netanyahu’s need for America to wage a war on Israel’s behalf, he would attempt to defund the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Graham got some encouraging war news late last week and looked as if he was going to wet himself making a giddy statement of support of Schumer for publicly stating his allegiance is to Israel, not America. Graham said he stands with his new “Republican-lite“ pro-Netanyahu cohort in seeking war with Iran and praised Schumer, the man who pants to lead Democrats in the Senate, for aligning with a foreign leader against his own country and President; a typically Republican act.
Graham said, “The fact that he (Schumer) announced his no vote this early makes me believe that he’s not playing politics. We’ve got 30 days to engage with other members of the House and the Senate. So, Sen. Schumer and I have worked well together, he’s very pro-Israel, and time will tell as to whether or not we can get enough votes.” Graham is seldom truthful, but it is true that Schumer is “very pro-Israel,” and “very pro-war” against whichever Muslim nation Netanyahu targets; likely because the “pro-Israel lobby” has donated handsomely to the senator from New York representing Wall Street and Netanyahu’s war lust.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
When the U.N. P5+1 and Iran announced they had reached a nuclear agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Netanyahu and his congressional caucus and GOP presidential candidates reacted like savage beasts even though they were not part of Security Council’s deal or negotiation team; that is the constitutional purview of the Executive Branch. In fact, Netanyahu announced he would use his considerable foreign authority over America to leverage real congressional resistance to the deal by using “every available means at his disposal; including persuasion directed at the Congress, and American public opinion in general.” It does not matter that the American people support the Iran deal, or that it is a United Nation’s Security Council deal, not America’s, Netanyahu is just not going to allow it to go forward with American participation. He is confident his Israeli caucus in the U.S. Congress is solidly against peace and will serve his interest in attempting to scuttle the deal. However, there are just as significant numbers of Americans, Israelis, nuclear scientists, and the U.N. Security Council that support peace with Iran. Still, Netanyahu’s pro-Israel congress seriously want to wage a war for the nation where their true allegiance lies and it is not America, it is Israel.
It was reported here yesterday that Netanyahu has been suppressing intelligence reports and advice supporting the Iran nuclear agreement from the Israeli and American public. The security, intelligence, and military leaders, like experts in America and around the globe, support the deal in spite of Netanyahu’s “reliably, totally wrong” predictions about the existential threat from Muslim countries he wants America to go to war against on Israel’s behalf. According to Ami Ayalon, former head of the Israeli navy and Israel’s state security service, Shin Bet, “This deal is the best possible alternative from Israel’s point of view, given the other available alternatives,” including the only alternative acceptable to Netanyahu and his congressional caucus which is, as President Obama explained, another extremely dangerous Mideast war that Netanyahu wants more than anything.
About a week ago, close to 50 members of Israel’s military signed on to a letter to Netanyahu telling him they support the U.N. P5+1 deal with Iran, and urged him to support the deal to avoid war. It is noteworthy that the signatories were not low-ranking soldiers unwilling to fight a war with Iran, not that any Israeli will fight that war, American soldiers will be deployed on orders from Netanyahu. The “high-ranking Israeli military brass” included generals, admirals, and several upper-echelon national security leaders as well as the director of Israel’s “super-secret” Nuclear Energy Commission. However, no fool should think for a second that Netanyahu or his American caucus will listen to Israel’s military leaders because they certainly turned a deaf ear to 29 of the nation’s leading nuclear scientists who support the deal.
The twenty-nine top scientists, including Nobel laureates, veteran makers of nuclear arms, and former White House science advisers wrote a letter to President Obama on Saturday to praise the Iran deal calling it innovative and stringent; words the scientists used over a half-dozen times such as; “The Iran accord has more stringent constraints than any previously negotiated nonproliferation framework. We congratulate you and your team for an accord that will advance the cause of peace and security in the Middle East and serve as a guidepost for future nonproliferation agreements.” It is natural that Republicans would oppose any agreement that ‘advances the cause of peace and security‘ in the Middle East, and as a devout “pro-Israel” sycophant it is natural that Charles Schumer joined the GOP war mongers despite the deal’s real “pro-Israel” protection from a nuclear-armed Iran.
The scientists welcomed, as “without precedent,” the deal’s explicit ban on research of nuclear weapons “rather than only their manufacture” as established in the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty which was previously “the top arms-control agreement of the nuclear age.” The scientists answered Netanyahu’s congressional caucus and debunked criticism that the deal allows Iran to develop nuclear arms without constraint in ten years. They wrote that, “In contrast, we find that the deal includes important long-term verification procedures that last until 2040, and others that last indefinitely.” The idea of no war with Iran indefinitely may explain why pro-Israel, pro-war, Charles Schumer embraced Lindsey Graham’s crusade to advance foreigner Netanyahu’s interest in an American war with Iran instead of supporting his President’s efforts to prevent sending Americans to fight and die for Israel.
Apparently, the pro-war, pro-Israel contingent in Congress still cannot comprehend that it is not customary for American legislators to align with, and adamantly support, a foreign leader over their “alleged” home nation’s diplomatic efforts; particularly as a member of an international team seeking peace. It is also glaringly apparent that the foreigner Benjamin Netanyahu carries more weight with Republicans and Republican-lite Democrats like Schumer than international nuclear scientists, Israeli intelligence agencies, Israeli military commanders, and of course the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. One may have thought that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is full of hubris in believing he has god-like power over the U.S. Congress, but one has to admit that the foreigner certainly controls pro-Israel anti-American legislators of which Charles Schumer is now a member in good standing.
This affair may not have reached this juncture if the Netanyahu Congress had not transformed the constitutional principles of treaty ratification into an abomination that requires a two-thirds majority not to approve, but to defeat America’s involvement in an international peace accord to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions; something a white Republican president would never have faced. All Americans, regardless which party they support, should take note of exactly who, or which nation, their representatives in Congress support because it is apparent that a significant number of them do not support America, or peace. Instead, they are supremely devoted to, and enamored with, Benjamin Netanyahu and his call to march Americans into another Middle East war against another Muslim country on Israel’s behalf. It is, after all, why there is a very well-funded “pro-Israel” lobby doling out substantial amounts of campaign cash to congressional representatives to fund Israel’s military and continue sending Americans to fight and die for Israel.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
