Issues Under Fire: GOP Promise Iran Deal Dies in Congress

Issues Under Fire: GOP Promise Iran Deal Dies in Congress 

As soon as Congress left for spring recess, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led a Congressional delegation to Israel, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Benjamin Netanyahu against President Barack Obama. Showing support for Israel has become such a high priority for Congress, many representatives will spend their time away from Washington, preparing legislation and writing letters to level more sanctions against Iran. After all, deal or no deal, Netanhayu has an ace in the hole. 

As long as the Israeli Prime Minister has Congress in his pocket, no matter what deal is reached between Iran and the P5+1, that outcome can and presumably will be reviewed reviled and rejected post haste. With members from both sides of the aisle publicly promising to make sure any agreement that does not meet Israel's specific demands will be voted down in Congress, it begs one to wonder, why Iran and the P5+1 are even bothering to continue the talks. 

Perhaps, that's why Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov left the negotiations on Monday for some other pressing occasion. What could be more pressing than these talks is only a mystery, if one fail to conclude the outcome has already been determined. Why would the Russians remain engaged, if entities outside the process were manipulating said process? Why would Moscow waste time negotiating with anyone other than the final decision makers? 

Since its no secret the Israelis have usurped the Obama administration's authority to seal a deal, perhaps the Russians saw the writing on the wall. To continue participating in what's now, merely a charade wrapped in a farce, clearly designed to derail progress, made no sense to Moscow. One can only speculate, but the Russians will likely return to the talks when or if the United States can assure negotiating participants it has the ability to speak with one voice and the authority make an independent commitment.  

It remains unknown, how Iran and other participants of this negotiation process are processing the dysfunctional and amateurish approach the United States brought to the table. But again, one can reasonably speculate, they too are concluding the talks may have been rigged from the onset. Perhaps, the P5+1 are already looking for a face-saving exit from the negotiations. And if that's the case, Iran will have won its case against the West, for not having its act together.  

Bottom line: If the world has to accept failure in reaching a deal with Tehran over its nuclear programs, at least its been made clear why failure was the outcome and who was responsible. While the consequences of failure are dire indeed, at least no one will be left in the dark as to who really controls U.S. foreign policy and by extension, the world. Podcast Below!