Juan Cole: Netanyahu Imported by GOP to ensure Iran War

[eridani]

http://www.juancole.com/2015/01/netanyahu-imported-again.html

Republican House Majority leader John Boehner secretly invited Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Washington to address Congress and then once it was set up he let Barack Obama know about it.

The reason for bringing Netanyahu is that Boehner wants to craft a super-majority in Congress that can over-ride Obama’s veto of new sanctions on Iran. He doesn’t have enough Republican votes to do so, but if he can get Democrats beholden to the Israel lobbies of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to join the veto over-ride effort, he might succeed.

Obama has spent a great deal of time and effort trying to negotiate with Iran over its civilian nuclear enrichment program, intended to allow Iran to replicate the success of France and South Korea in supplying electricity. (That would allow Iran to save gas and oil exports for earning foreign exchange).

Because nowadays producing enriched uranium for fuel via centrifuges is always potentially double use, this program has alarmed the US, Europe, and Israel. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has given several fatwas (akin to encyclicals) orally in which he forbids making, storing or using nuclear weapons as incompatible with Islamic law (a position also taken by his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini). So maintaining that Iran is committed to making a nuclear bomb is sort of like holding that the Pope has a huge condom factory in the basement of the Vatican.

But, there are no doubt Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders and maybe some engineers and scientists who really wish Khamenei would change his mind (he won’t).

[Demeter]

1. Well, if there are Democrats stupid enough to kowtow to Israel

it will be good to have them stand forth and be unelected and/or impeached for being traitors.

[Hubert Flottz]

2. Setting the stage for the return of BushCo 2016...the final chapter?

Jeb and all the usual neocon crew, are waiting to grab the levers of power again and drain America dry once and for all. The next "Crusade" in the middle east could be the real Armageddon. "The Great Bear," his chosen his side too.

I'd hate to have to vote for another hand picked Corporate Clinton, but the other choice would could be far worse.

[pampango]

3. A republican congress inserting itself into Democratic international negotiations. What could

possibly go wrong?

It would be nice if they would keep their obstructionism confined to domestic issues - but that obviously is not going to happen.

[yellowwoodII]

4. It's all about money

http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/J5100/view/all

Top Senate Recipients Funded
Mark Kirk $643,598
Mitch McConnell $400,022
Robert Menendez $341,170
Cory A. Booker $322,099
Kirsten E. Gillibrand $295,637
Gary Peters $278,289
Sherrod Brown $272,551
Harry Reid $267,708
Lindsey Graham $263,050
Bill Nelson $263,000
Tim Kaine $256,020
Charles E. Schumer $255,499
Barbara Boxer $245,179
Benjamin L. Cardin $238,493
Ron Wyden $235,031
John McCain $222,677
Claire McCaskill $212,671
Tammy Baldwin $180,980
Jeff Merkley $179,830
Richard J. Durbin $173,625
Barbara A. Mikulski $169,250
Debbie Stabenow $167,852
Martin Heinrich $162,423
Robert P. Casey, Jr. $147,975
Christopher A. Coons $146,974
Dianne Feinstein $141,541
Al Franken $140,564
Kelly Ayotte $137,898
Bill Cassidy $136,394
Jon Tester $133,971
Pat Roberts $133,025
Jeanne Shaheen $132,682
Tom Udall $125,929
Sheldon Whitehouse $121,900
Roger F. Wicker $120,861
Roy Blunt $120,500
Brian Schatz $119,350
Jeff Flake $119,350
Susan M. Collins $117,660
Joe Manchin, III $117,110
Tim Scott $112,910
John Thune $112,675
Mark R. Warner $110,300
John Cornyn $110,201
Edward J. Markey $109,700
Michael F. Bennet $109,126
Marco Rubio $108,780
David Vitter $104,619
Bob Corker $102,950
Ted Cruz $98,754
Thad Cochran $94,500
Maria Cantwell $91,562
Orrin G. Hatch $91,500
Amy Klobuchar $88,797
Elizabeth Warren $87,838
John Barrasso $85,700
Lisa Murkowski $83,400
Daniel Coats $82,733
Patty Murray $81,550
Richard Blumenthal $80,640
Joe Donnelly $80,062
Patrick J. Leahy $74,062
James E. Risch $72,460
Dean Heller $71,100
Richard Burr $70,850
Michael B. Enzi $69,725
James Lankford $69,300
Rob Portman $68,815
John Hoeven $67,535
Thomas R. Carper $62,700
Heidi Heitkamp $62,188
Chuck Grassley $58,600
Jerry Moran $53,400
Tom Cotton $52,900
Shelley Moore Capito $52,400
Steve Daines $51,600
Christopher Murphy $49,050
Angus S. King, Jr. $46,500
Mike Crapo $45,750
Mike Lee $45,030
Lamar Alexander $41,900
Patrick J. Toomey $40,750
Deb Fischer $39,900
Mazie K. Hirono $39,050
John Boozman $34,250
Johnny Isakson $31,600
Richard C. Shelby $27,250
Jack Reed $23,350
James M. Inhofe $23,325
Cory Gardner $18,100
Ron Johnson $10,400
Jeff Sessions $6,000
Rand Paul $5,500

Contributions shown for the last six years of available data, Jul 1, 2008 - Jun 30, 2014, including contributions to presidential campaigns.

Top House Recipients Funded
Edward R. Royce $142,700
Eliot L. Engel $127,450
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen $123,750
Nita M. Lowey $117,546
Steny H. Hoyer $111,250
Patrick Murphy $104,585
Tammy Duckworth $102,101
Robert J. Dold $96,990
Theodore E. Deutch $96,680
John A. Boehner $89,800
Bill Foster $88,654
Cheri Bustos $78,575
Ann M. Kuster $63,446
Janice D. Schakowsky $62,450
Eric Swalwell $58,700
Peter J. Roskam $57,450
Lois Capps $56,249
Ami Bera $53,543
Sean Patrick Maloney $53,375
Paul Ryan $52,940
Scott H. Peters $47,500
Nancy Pelosi $39,950
Mario Diaz-Balart $39,650
Raul Ruiz $39,100
Jackie Walorski $38,150
Harold Rogers $36,130
Marcia L. Fudge $33,400
David P. Joyce $32,250
Debbie Wasserman Schultz $31,400
Kay Granger $31,250
Doug Lamborn $31,153
John Garamendi $30,600
Adam B. Schiff $30,400
Aaron Schock $29,150
Joseph Crowley $28,550
Brad Sherman $28,500
Frank A. LoBiondo $28,200
Adam Smith $27,895
Frank Pallone Jr. $27,250
Suzan K. DelBene $27,000
Lois Frankel $26,850
Matt Salmon $25,450
James R. Langevin $24,849
Gerald E. Connolly $24,100

[Delphinus]

5. A friend

of mine said that immediately ...

[Enthusiast]

6. If you want more war, vote Republican!

The war party!

Pass it on.