Al Franken Calls Out Iran Deal Opponents for Failing to Learn Lessons of Iraq

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/09/10/al-franken-calls-iran-deal-opponents-failing-learn-lessons-iraq-invasion.html

Al Franken Calls Out Iran Deal Opponents for Failing to Learn Lessons of Iraq
By: Sarah Jones
Thursday, September, 10th, 2015, 3:55 pm


Senator Al Franken (D-MN) expressed “strong support” for the Iran deal and urged colleagues to support the agreement Thursday in a Senate floor speech. He also set fire to the deal’s opponents, charging some of them with seeking war with Iran, “One of my colleagues suggested that we should simply attack Iran now, an exercise he believes would be quick and painless for the United States.”

Franken scolded Republicans for failing to learn the lesson from Iraq, “And it’s certainly not the lesson anyone should have learned from the disastrous invasion of Iraq.”

snip//

And then he set fire to the opposition, calling out those who seek war with Iran:

Now, most opponents of the agreement do not seek or want war with Iran, even if opposition to the agreement makes such a war more likely. But some of them do.

One of my colleagues suggested that we should simply attack Iran now, an exercise he believes would be quick and painless for the United States. In fact, he compared it to Operation Desert Fox, intimating that it would be over and done within a matter of days. But this is pure fantasy, at least according to what our security and intelligence experts tell us. And it’s certainly not the lesson anyone should have learned from the disastrous invasion of Iraq.

The Middle East is an unstable, unpredictable, largely unfriendly region. We know that military undertakings in the region are likely to bring very painful, unpredictable consequences. That is part of why we should really give diplomacy a chance.

And yet, a number of my colleagues and others were intent on opposing such a diplomatic solution even before the agreement was reached. In March, 47 of my Republican colleagues took the unprecedented step of sending a letter to Iran’s leaders just as these sensitive negotiations were nearing an accord. It was a clear attempt to undermine American diplomacy — and a signal that they would oppose any deal with Iran, no matter its terms.

It’s not surprising that these critics now oppose the finished deal. But it is disappointing that they refuse to acknowledge, let alone take responsibility for, the dire consequences that would almost certainly result from killing it. It’s possible that there would not be a war if we reject the agreement. But what seems undeniable is that, if we and we alone were to walk away from an agreement that we negotiated alongside our international partners, that would be a grievous blow to our standing and our leadership in the world.

One of the worse results of the media allowing Republicans to get away with their Iraq invasion lies and continued denial to this day of the consequences of their agenda that led to the lies is that Republicans have never had to face reality, let alone learn from their mistakes.

Maybe it’s not possible for Republicans to learn from their Iraq decision, because they don’t view it as a mistake to invade a sovereign nation on a lie. If this is the case, they need to be held accountable. In any event, their thinking on matters of serious global import is critically flawed. They have placed partisan agendas ahead of the safety of the world and have chosen to undermine an agreement that world leaders are on board with.

There is no end to the war-mongering perfidy of the Republican Party. Senator Franken called out those colleagues who are gunning for war and those who tried to destroy our standing with world powers.

Watch Franken’s Senate floor speech here/at link.

[villager]

1. But, but, but... Franken is Jewish! How does that square...

...with some of the, ah, "retro" theories so readily bandied about 'round here?

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. K&R