As if they didn’t know this was a bad idea. Well, we are talking about Republicans here – a group that has been on the wrong side of all popular issues since Obama took office – so maybe they absolutely thought this was the right thing to do. In any case, and rightly so, the rest of the nation is coming down on these 47 Senate Republicans who signed this letter and thus, decided that they should have more say in international policies than the President.
Rachel Maddow highlighted some of the national pushback, including editorials from districts where some of these senators serve. And now, Maddow!
On the eve of Netanyahu’s divisive and political speech to a joint session of congress, the US and Iran continued their negotiations to derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
By the shores of Lake Geneva in the town of Montreux, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif as they try to pin down a political framework for a deal to rein in Tehran’s nuclear programme by a March 31 deadline.
US officials said they began their talks at 9:33 am (0833 GMT).
After months of discussions, the two men launched this latest round of talks on Monday, and are due to continue negotiating until Wednesday afternoon, when Kerry will fly to Riyadh to meet King Salman.
Few details of the emerging deal have publicly come to light so far, but aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have threatened that may change when the Israeli leader makes a controversial address to the US Congress later Tuesday.
Kerry and his staff have warned Netanyahu against betraying US trust by revealing classified briefings about the course of the negotiations.
Netanyahu’s lobbying trip to Washington is seen as a last-ditch bid to derail one of the last key goals of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.
But the US insists that a deal forged through diplomacy would be the best way to ensure Iran does not acquire a nuclear bomb.
Since day one of this gross mistake engineered by John Boehner and the Republican party, Vice President Joe Biden had already said that he would not be attending. The vice president said a scheduling conflict was the culprit for him missing the Republican event. Then, various mention of the Congressional Black Caucus said they were not going. And now the list is growing.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said Monday he would skip the event, and that it was “wrong” that Obama was not consulted ahead of time. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) dismissed the speech as a “stunt” to the Chicago Sun-Times.
A few notable lawmakers said Monday they did plan to attend the address, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who said she was “deeply troubled that politics has been injected” into the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Obama did not directly address a question Monday on whether he thought lawmakers should skip the event, but acknowledged he and Netanyahu “have a very real difference around Iran sanctions.”
He also looked to shore up popular support for his diplomacy, saying he had no intention of allowing a third delay in the nuclear talks, and warning that if they failed, “options are narrow and they’re not attractive.”
Netanyahu was joined by Boehner’s office in offering public signals that the speech would go on.
Someone please remind me, why is this dude called a “Democrat” again? He fights with Obama more than McConnell does! His latest battle with the administration came after Obama said in the State of the Union address, that if any bill comes before his desk recommending sanctions for Iran, he would veto them.
The administration’s goal of course, is to turn back the clock on Iran’s nuclear weapon development, and since lifting some sanctions on the Iran’s government, noted progress is seen as Iran slows down their nuclear ambitions. Menendez has always been against lifting certain sanctions and wants to impose more. So hearing about Obama’s veto threat made Menendez fume.
“The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran,” Menendez said. “And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they are the ones with original sin — an illicit nuclear weapons program going back over the course of 20 years that they are unwilling to come clean on.”
Menendez and Obama reportedly got into a tense exchange over the nuclear talks last week at the Senate Democratic Issues conference, according to the New York Times.
Two anonymous sources who witnessed the exchange told the newspaper that Menendez said he took “personal offense” at the President’s urging lawmakers not to pursue sanctions against Iran for short-term political gain.
Six Iranians are behind bars after they appeared in a fan video set to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” the American hit song that has sold millions of downloads worldwide.
Tehran Police Chief Hossein Sajedinia ordered the arrests of the three men and three women because they helped make an “obscene video clip that offended the public morals and was released in cyberspace,” the Iranian Student News Agency reported Wednesday.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may think differently, if a post on his Twitter account is any indication.
U.N. report: Iran developing new missiles Pharrell cries from making people ‘Happy’ Analyzing a region in flux Mother slaps, then forgives son’s murderer
“#Happiness is our people’s right. We shouldn’t be too hard on behaviors caused by joy,” the post read in what appears to be a restatement of a Rouhani comment from 2013, based on a date accompanying the tweet.
Pharrell himself denounced the arrests.
“It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness,” the Grammy Award winner said on his Facebook page.
(AP) A deal has been reached between six world powers and Iran that calls on Tehran to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, the French and Iranian foreign ministers said early Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, “Yes, we have a deal,” as he walked past reporters crowding the hotel lobby where marathon negotiations had taken place over the past five days.
Asked if there was a deal, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said “Yes” and gave a thumbs-up sign.
The goal had been to hammer out an agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear program for six months, while offering the Iranians limited relief from crippling economic sanctions. If the interim deal holds, the parties will negotiate final-stage agreements to ensure Iran does not build nuclear weapons.
The deal came after the personal intervention by Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers whose presence had raised hopes for a breakthrough.
Diplomats refused to spell out details of the talks, which dragged on past midnight. As the meetings continued into Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the talks as being in “their 11th hour,” with most issues resolved but an agreement still elusive.
Consensus came after nearly a decade of inconclusive international efforts to halt Iran’s expanding nuclear program. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes and not aimed at building nuclear weapons.
The agreement built on the momentum of the historic dialogue opened during September’s annual U.N. gathering, which included a 15-minute phone conversation between Obama and Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, after three decades of U.S.-Iranian estrangement.
After his success with getting Syria to agree with the United Nations to give up their Chemical weapons, President Obama took on another challenge, a task over 30 years in the making. President Obama spoke with President Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Could this be the start of Iran agreeing to turn over their nuclear ambitions? Time will tell…
Ahmadinejad is finally admitting that the steep decline in his country’s currency is due to the sanctions imposed by President Obama and other supporting nations. The Iranian president calls the sanctions “psychological pressures.”
In the past few days Iran’s currency, the rial, has lost more than half its value against the U.S. dollar. It has prompted fears that the economy is on the verge of collapse, crippled by sanctions which means Iran has lost markets where it can export oil. The price of goods has also risen, as many have to be imported.
The U.S. and its allies have imposed the punishing measures in attempts to force Iranian concessions over its nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Tehran insists it is for peaceful purposes.
President Obama’s speech at AIPAC – American Israel Public Affairs Committee – reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the safety of Israel.
But as you examine my commitment, you don’t just have to count on my words. You can look at my deeds. Because over the last three years, as President of the United States, I have kept my commitments to the state of Israel. At every crucial juncture – at every fork in the road – we have been there for Israel. Every single time.
Four years ago, I stood before you and said that “Israel’s security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable.” That belief has guided my actions as President. The fact is, my Administration’s commitment to Israel’s security has been unprecedented. Our military and intelligence cooperation has never been closer. Our joint exercises and training have never been more robust. Despite a tough budget environment, our security assistance has increased every year. We are investing in new capabilities. We’re providing Israel with more advanced technology – the type of products and systems that only go to our closest friends and allies. And make no mistake: we will do what it takes to preserve Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge – because Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.
Don’t look now, but Glenn Beck has a new conspiracy theory, one that he has verified (in his head) and has determined to be true. According to this nut-job, Google is a “government propaganda” machine responsible for the uprising in Egypt and those in Iran in 2009.
But in order not put words in Beck’s mouth, let me pass the chalk over to the man worshiped by millions of followers in radio land and on Fox-We Make This Stuff Up-News!
In it’s strongest statements thus far, the Obama Administration is distancing itself from the embattled dictator in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on ABC’s Sunday morning news program and stated that real stability can only be achieved through a democratic process. She said;
Real stability only comes from the kind of democratic participation that gives people a chance to feel that they are being heard. And by that I mean real democracy, not a democracy for six months or a year and then evolving into essentially a military dictatorship or a so-called democracy that then leads to what we saw in Iran.
Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak has been a strong ally of the United States, and the relationship between the two nations is important in maintaining peace in the area. Israel, another strong United States ally is also watching the events as they unfold, as the wrong outcome in Egypt immediately puts them at risk, thus, putting the United States in a position to defend its stronger ally.
The Obama administration has therefore found itself between a rock and a hard place – they must be on the right side of history and support the people of Egypt fighting for freedom, but they must also look out for the protection of our strongest supporter in the Middle East.
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