Netanyahu Addresses Congress

[JAD_333]

Pfftt....damn Republicans....so behind the times.

The Democrats were doing this 30 years ago.

CONGRESS - LETTER TO NICARAGUA - 'DEAR COMANDANTE' - NYTimes.com

Good find. Shoe on the other foot, but the same earth shaking problem.

[Sitting Bull]

I'm no pinko commie but U.S. support for the Somoza clan in Nicaragua was wrong; these guys were pocketing earthquake relief money, hardly a regime that you want to claim shared values with. Many regard the Contra rebels as a reincarnation of the Somozas' elite guard; supporting them only heaped more suffering on an already beleaguered people. Interestingly it was the Carter administration that first authorized the CIA to help the rebels, Reagan just inherited it.

That is a great example of precedent for Congress trying to go around the president's back in foreign affairs, but you have to admit you don't see it very often. If the GOP can play a part in derailing a deal with Iran, then maybe this will become the norm when the president's party doesn't control Congress. This will make many countries wary about negotiating with the U.S. if they feel the terms agreed upon are just going to be undone.

[JAD_333]

I'm no pinko commie...

Reassuring. :)

but U.S. support for the Somoza clan in Nicaragua was wrong;

Well, yes, but US policy objectives sometimes have to override moral considerations.

these guys were pocketing earthquake relief money, hardly a regime that you want to claim shared values with

.

The only value we shared was thwarting an attempt by Cuba etal to establish a communist beachhead in Central America.

That is a great example of precedent for Congress trying to go around the president's back in foreign affairs, but you have to admit you don't see it very often.

No, we don't see it often and we won't see it often.

If the GOP can play a part in derailing a deal with Iran, then maybe this will become the norm when the president's party doesn't control Congress.

There are different types of deals. Treaties have to be submitted to the Senate for ratification. The Iran deal won't be a treaty, but lifting any sanctions will require Congressional approval, so Congress will indeed have a way of scuttling the agreement. That was the not so subtle message of the letter, along with some other threats, which are somewhat dubious.

This will make many countries wary about negotiating with the U.S. if they feel the terms agreed upon are just going to be undone.

Any country that understands the US system, knows the risks. The same concern exists between all countries. The whole point of negotiations is to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement. That is the best protection for all deals.

In this case, the letter was unnecessary because Iran already understood the dynamics on the US side. I view it as largely a political move to pressure Obama and spike public awareness. Of course, it gave Cotton a lift as well, not that he won't come to regret it later. Ted Cruz has been trying to soften his image after the debt limit battles. Cotton may find himself doing likewise one of these days.

[Albany Rifles]

Good find. Shoe on the other foot, but the same earth shaking problem.

And it was just as damn wrong then as it is today. I do not recall what the overall reaction in what passed for the blogosphere back then (I was in ROTC Advanced Camp, Air Assault School & CTLT...not to mention trying to get laid at every turn) but it should have condemned this move.

Let's keep something else in mind here....ANYTHING we hope to do in regards to Iran will have to have the Europeans along for the ride. Anything which spikes the US involvement in a deal can cause Europe to go in a direction neither we nor the Israelis want.

So this interference in foreign affairs by the Senate...along with the wrong headedness of the House....may end up backfiring on The Cotton Club.

[JAD_333]

And it was just as damn wrong then as it is today. I do not recall what the overall reaction in what passed for the blogosphere back then (I was in ROTC Advanced Camp, Air Assault School & CTLT...not to mention trying to get laid at every turn) but it should have condemned this move.

I agree. But with this caveat. The potential to interfere should remain to counter extreme cases of executive wildness. Neither this case, the Dear Commandante case nor the Jesse Helms trekking to the UN to kill the missile deal meet that criteria.

There wasn't much of a blogosphere back in the Contra days. DoD hadn't been fleshed out with computer systems yet. Admin offices had them, but the rest of us were still tied to written memos, which by the way were carefully filed and preserved by admin units.

Since you brought it up...While you were doing ROTC I was at the Pentagon. Occasionally I was sent over to the WH to sit in on inter-agency meetings hosted by the NSC, re Nuclear freeze, Honduras, Contras etc. My boss hated sit room meeting. They really were boring after you got over the novelty of being in the belly of the beast. Sometimes they let us in on secret military ops, but mostly we talked about themes to use in our public diplomacy efforts.

Let's keep something else in mind here....ANYTHING we hope to do in regards to Iran will have to have the Europeans along for the ride. Anything which spikes the US involvement in a deal can cause Europe to go in a direction neither we nor the Israelis want.

That's a very good point. Participants in the current sanctions are not guaranteed to stick with them, especially Russia and China, who already circumvent them in some ways.

So this interference in foreign affairs by the Senate...along with the wrong headedness of the House....may end up backfiring on The Cotton Club.

A slight correction. The interference isn't from the Senate, but from 47 senators, unless you mean less audacious interference, like the pending bill to increase sanctions,
which hasn't passed and if passed, will surely be vetoed.

One way the Cotton Club (love the tie-in to the old NYC jazz joint) may ending up hurting the GOP is among the moderate, well informed rank and file and local leaders. They are not happy with this Tea Party inspired gambit. Also it could hurt Rand Paul's run for president (he signed). Jeb Bush stayed clear but is riding the fence. POLITICO Caucus: Iran-letter backlash spreads to early states - James Hohmann - POLITICO

[Double Edge]

I am terrible with predicitions BUT I GOT THIS ONE.



:danc: