Top Senate Foreign Relations Committee members have reported a compromise on the Corker-Menendez bill which will give it bipartisan support, and the White House has backed off a threatened veto.
The details of the compromise aren’t totally clear, but will include reducing the 60-day review period of the Iran deal to 30 days, though the period would be extended under certain circumstances, including if the deal is submitted during the summer recess, as it well may be.
The White House had long threatened a presidential veto on the bill, and the backing down seems to reflect the reality that the bill is going to have enough support to override such a veto. White House officials did express reservations about linking the nuclear deal with terrorism, however.
The broad purpose of the bill is to give Congress the ability to veto an international deal with Iran. Israel has been pushing hard for them to have such a power, since they would almost certainly block anything Israel objects to, which is basically any deal at all.
Apparently resigned to the likelihood of a veto override at any rate, Senate Democrats had been working with the White House to try to weaken the language of the bill in hopes of making it somewhat more palatable. Whatever the final language, it is a serious blow to the negotiations, and will make it harder for the US negotiators to credibly pledge to keep up their end of any deal.
There goes the well publicized, advertised Iranian deal. Once again Obama has managed to use his manipulation politics giving the end of the rope to to those who can cut it in peaces. Meanwhile he supports those who support terrorism in the region.
The US Senate does not control what the other five countries (not counting Iran) do. They are going to lift their sanctions against Iran. Whether the US does the same does not mean as much since there has been very limited trade between us and Iran since the 1980's.
The Republican's are right: Obama is a coward. Instead of forcing the choice of loyalty to the United States or loyalty to Israel on the Senate, a choice he could have made the Senate eat if he appealed on TV to the American people for support, he caved as always he does. There was earlier evidence of a wuss when he met a few days ago with the leaders of Jewish organizations, kissing their asses and begging for support for his negotiations. So the pest chance for peace with Iran in decades gets thrown onto the garbage heap. When this is all over, Iran, with justice will reject this deal.
Well, it seems that the Jew dominated UNITED STATES SENATE has won again. Iran should just walk away from this meddling mess.
Correct me if I am wrong. I have the impression that, whatever the outcome of the P5+1 negotiations, even if the Security Council lifts its sanctions on Iran, the President cannot lift Congressionally imposed sanctions on Iran without an act of Congress revising the current law. The bill agreed to, unanimously, by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would appear to do this. The President is obliged to submit the expected agreement to Congress, and cannot lift sanctions until Congress has been given the opportunity to bar such action. But, in order to impose such a bar, both houses of Congress would have to pass a resolution, over the President's veto, if necessary, and if it failed to do so, the President would then have authority to lift the sanctions. This is authority the President doesn't have now. And the only way Congress can withdraw it is by passing legislation over the President's veto, which is the same power it now enjoys in any event. How does bill not give the President all he could ask for?
To — rybo1
“Well, it seems that the” corporate rich “dominated UNITED STATES SENATE has won again.”
Courage is not given to many people but enough money is distributed to insure that Israel's little Bibi can place the bar as high as he wants.
Schumer doesn’t have to jump, he tap dances.
Obama’s hands are not tied. He can tell every country in the world they are sllowed to do business with Iran. There is nothing congress can do about that.
The President has this thing won – Republicans posturing on Iran have apparently been blowing hot air. They voted unanimously on the Foreign Relations Committee to give him near certain authority to lift sanctions as per a P5+1 agreement with Iran to do so :
"The essence of the legislation is that Congress will have a chance to vote on whatever deal emerges with Iran — if one is reached by June 30 — but in a way that would be extremely difficult for Mr. Obama to lose, allowing Secretary of State John Kerry to tell his Iranian counterpart that the risk that an agreement would be upended on Capitol Hill is limited."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/us/senators-rea…
As I've said all along, Obama is fully on board with a war with Iran – as long as he is not BLAMED for it and thus tarnish his Nobel Peace Prize. He also would like to be seen as the President who got a deal with Iran, since that would be his "legacy".
So what he is doing is: he gets the deal, THEN he allows someone else – Israel, Congress, anyone else – to ruin the deal. He can then claim to be blameless and still get the war his backers want. It's that simple.
Richard, you have nailed it!
I doubt that is the case. Obama does not stand to benefit at all from a war against Iran that would be a disaster for the USA. He is already pissed off at Israel and would not do Netanyahu the favor.
Remember: Congress does not control what the other five countries do. They will lift sanctions against Iran if there is a deal.
Remember, Obama is a devote' of Saul Alinsky who had noting but contempt for the U.S. By stepping aside and letting the U.S. get into another $Trillion plus dollar war with Iran, Obama will realize Alinsky's goal to forever change America into a bankrupt, failed state like the old Roman Empire.