Sen. Bob Menendez
August 19, 2015
By Lorra B.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the second of perhaps a growing list of Democrats to openly appose President Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal which would grant Iran liberation from economic sanctions in exchange for Iran tightening its belt on their nuclear agenda.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York was the first Democrat to openly oppose Obama on the deal.
Like many Americans, Menendez is troubled by Iran’s past record of violating a variety of different U.N. Security Council resolutions while at the same time moving forward with their nuclear agenda.
Menendez “says that he is concerned that the agreement doesn’t require Iran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure,” reports the Associated Press. “He says it’s not an issue of whether he supports or opposes President Barack Obama, who has pledged to veto a congressional resolution of disapproval.”
In a speech on Tuesday, Menendez stated, “Let’s remind ourselves of the stated purpose of our negotiations with Iran: Simply put, it was to dismantle all—or significant parts—of Iran’s illicit nuclear infrastructure to ensure that it would not have nuclear weapons capability at any time. Not shrink its infrastructure.”
Menendez went on to say, “We must send a message to Iran that neither their regional behavior nor nuclear ambitions are permissible. If we push back regionally, they will be less likely to test the limits of our tolerance towards any violation of a nuclear agreement.”
Unlike California’s Nancy Pelosi, who is certain of the ability to pull in all the votes needed to pass this deal, Menendez and Schumer are openly striving to convince others that this Iran deal is not the way to go.
President Obama uses a message of hope to convince Americans of the Iran deal and Menendez isn’t having any of that message.
“Whether or not the supporters of the agreement admit it, this deal is based on ‘hope’—hope that when the nuclear sunset clause expires, Iran will have succumbed to the benefits of commerce and global integration,” stated Menendez. Hope is part of human nature, but unfortunately it is not a national security strategy.”
By Lorra B.
The Silent Soldier 