It’s not everyday that you see foreign policy hawks accuse others of “fear-mongering,” which is their forte, but today is the day.
Senator Robert Menendez (D) not only opposes the Obama administration’s deal with Iran, he also believes the administration is engaging in fear-mongering by trying to avoid a war.
“What I don’t appreciate is when I hear remarks out of the White House spokesman that … if we’re pursuing sanctions we’re marching the country off to war. I think that’s way over the top, I think that’s fear-mongering,” Menendez said on the National Public Radio program “All Things Considered.” [...]
Menendez who often supports Obama, but is a hawk on Iran, said he would push ahead with fresh sanctions measures that would take effect if Iran stops cooperating with Western powers.
Fear-mongering would be senators such as Menendez essentially declaring that no deal can be trusted unless its utterly one-sided in favor of the U.S. or Israel. And if we’re being honest, that’s not a realistic scenario. It would be foolish and irresponsible to assume that the Iranians will receive nothing for backing down.
And while we’re on the subject, I’ve found Democratic senators who oppose the deal to be utterly embarrassing.
I expect Republicans to oppose any and all deals the administration negotiates because opposing the administration is their reason for being. When I see Democratic senators oppose the administration in a situation like this, I see politicians who don’t want to let go of this particular avenue of fundraising. I see the anti-deal lobby whispering sweet-nothings in their ears.
It would be difficult to convince me that security is at the heart of their opposition because I believe those who would move to scuttle the administration’s deal are the biggest threat to security.
If new sanctions have the support of Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it would be a good bet to say that new sanctions will pass.
This would be good time to claim that you can see into the future by predicting a uniting of very serious people on the left and right in the media to attack the president for vetoing sanctions on Iran.