Senator Sanders Statement on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress

[cal04]

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2015, 07:57 PM - Edit history (1)

In a statement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today renewed his support for diplomatic efforts by the United States and other world powers to negotiate an agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

“More than a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost us thousands of lives and trillions in treasure and made a difficult situation even worse. Those experiences should reinforce our resolve to make every diplomatic effort to avoid another rush to war,” Sanders said.

“It goes without saying that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. It goes without saying that the United States will stand by our long-standing friendship and support for the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not offer any serious alternatives to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“At this point, harsher sanctions won’t stop Iran’s nuclear program. Neither would a dangerous resort to military action. The sanctions currently in place have brought Iran to the bargaining table and current negotiations resulted in Iran freezing its nuclear program. And for the past year, Iran has been subject to heightened international inspections. All of those things have made us safer.

“I commend President Obama for his continued cooperation with the United Kingdom, France, China, Germany and Russia to reach a final agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Sanders said.

Sanders did not attend Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress. He had said beforehand that the address, arranged without consultation with the White House, improperly interfered with President Barack Obama’s leading role in charting U.S. foreign policy. With Israeli elections set for two weeks from now, Sanders also said it was inappropriate for any foreign leader to use an appearance before Congress for their own domestic political purposes.


http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-sanders-statement-on-prime-minister-netanyahus-speech-to-congress



https://twitter.com/SenSanders

[longship]

1. Sanders nails the issue, as usual.

Glad to be the first kick here.

R&

[99th_Monkey]

2. K&R -nt-

[BrotherIvan]

3. I note the clear, concise language of this statement

And from Senator Sanders I have yet to be disappointed with anything less. Pelosi's statement is a shambles. I support Bernie Sanders.

[Oilwellian]

10. I completely agree

Sanders is the most articulate of all Senators, bar none. Although Warren is a very close second. Those two would be my 2016 dream team.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

16. Mine too, if only there there were a snowball's chance in post-climate-change Alaska that they

could win. Telling the truth only works on reasonable people. The Fox Noise faithful have no logical thinking skills and are ruled by the RW's extremely successful propaganda campaign to convince them what they should be for and against.

Oh, and then there's the gerrymandering.

[JDPriestly]

4. Exellent response to the affront by Netanyahu and Republicans to our system of government.

Netanyahu has damaged Israel. I hope he loses the upcoming election. Interfering in the internal affairs of another country in this way demonstrates a lack of ability for diplomacy.

[panader0]

5. It seems that so many are forgetting that

the UK, France, Germany, China and Russia are part of these negotiations. What if they approve the pact and the US doesn't?
The repubs seem to think that this is Obama's deal alone.

[kacekwl]

6. Bingo,

when is Netanyahu going to speak in these other countries ?

[Fred Sanders]

9. He was not invited, secretly or not, to address their top political institutions as a campaign stop.

[hollowdweller]

7. Has Hillary Clinton made any statement yet?

[ladjf]

8. He might be the smartest and most articulate Senator. nt

[lovemydog]

11. When Senator Sanders speaks, I listen.

“More than a decade of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost us thousands of lives and trillions in treasure and made a difficult situation even worse. Those experiences should reinforce our resolve to make every diplomatic effort to avoid another rush to war,” Sanders said.

I wish we had 99 more Senators like him. Think of how much better off we'd all be. We'd have higher wages, the rich would be paying their fair share in taxes, we'd be improving our infrastructure and putting more people to work, and we wouldn't have so many veterans dealing with the awful affliction of post-traumatic stress disorder.

[RufusTFirefly]

12. I've got it! What if Iran halts its nuclear program in exchange for Israel's nuclear disarmament?

Oops! We're not supposed to admit that Israel has nuclear weapons and that this not only constitutes a gigantic double standard but is also a major threat to the region.

My bad.

[karynnj]

13. Maybe Rouhani has to appear at the US Congress calling those weapons on existential threat to Iran

Maybe he could cite - actually in the historic record stories of ancient Iran and the ancient Jews.

[PedXing]

14. Why does it go without saying that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons?

[PedXing]

15. And why does it go without saying that we will stand by Israel?

[blackspade]

17. Hammer, meet nail.

Sanders is exactly correct.
This is about neocons in this country undermining Obama, and Bibi shoring up his wingnut base in Israel.

[spanone]

18. yes sir!

k&r...