Bernies Vote On Sanctions Was About Protecting The Iran Deal From Trump

[Donkees]

07/30/2017 11:21 am ET

Excerpts:

This week, when the Senate voted 98-2 to pass new sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea, the only senators to vote against the measure were Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY). While the Russia sanctions were the focus of nearly every big media outlet’s headlines, it is the Iran sanctions that are likely to be the most consequential due to their impact on the Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Trump Administration has been sending strong signals that they intend to unravel the JCPOA and even pursue Iraq-style regime change against Iran. Yet this did not stop Democrats from joining with Republicans to give Trump new tools to unravel the Iran deal. These narratives that Senator Sanders is working to benefit Russia, perhaps because of resentment for his loss to Clinton, are nothing short of absurd. In fact, Sanders was the only progressive lawmaker to approach this bill responsibly.

In response to the criticism, Sanders tweeted: “I am strongly supportive of sanctions on Russia and North Korea. However, I worry very much about President Trump’s approach to Iran. Following Trump’s comments that he won’t re-certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement I worry new sanctions could endanger it.”

H.R. 3364 lumps Russia and Iran sanctions together, giving both parties incentive to ensure its passage. With Democrats eager to punish Russia for its election interference in order to put Trump in a bind, and Republicans unhappy with Obama’s Iran deal wanting to crack down on Iran, politicians on both sides had incentive to overlook potential problems with the bill.

However, lawmakers must be cautious of supporting politically expedient legislation at the cost of destroying one of today’s most important international agreements. Although there is ambiguity regarding whether or not the Iran sanctions violate the JCPOA, it is evident that they undermine the spirit of the deal and remove the incentive for Iran to comply. Without actual sanction relief, Iran has no reason to abide by the agreement and continue to pull back its nuclear program. It is very concerning that the same Democrats who previously fought for and voted in support of the JCPOA are willing to accept the risks of this legislation with little thought as to how Trump could exploit it to fulfill his campaign promise of tearing up the nuclear deal. This is especially pressing in today’s political climate, in which President Trump has said he will likely not re-certify Iran’s compliance with the deal in October, despite all the evidence.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernies-vote-on-sanctions-was-about-protecting-the-iran-deal-from-trump_us_597df7f8e4b0da64e879b55e

[Autumn]

1. Yes it was.

[Jim Lane]

2. Some people just don't want to hear that.

In multiple threads on this subject in GD, Bernie's actual reasoning has been posted several times. That hasn't stopped the bash-Bernie contingent from characterizing him as soft-on-Putin.

We on the left pride ourselves on being the reality-based community. Our sense of superiority may not be entirely justified.

[beam me up scottie]

3. Thank you. I actually saw someone call him a Bolshevik.

Jewish Bolshevism, also known as Judeo-Bolshevism, is an antisemitic and anti-communist canard which alleges that the Jews were at the origin of the Russian Revolution and held the primary power among Bolsheviks. Similarly, the Jewish Communism theory implies that Jews have been dominating the Communist movements in the world. It is similar to the ZOG conspiracy theory, which asserts that Jews control world politics. The expressions have been used as a catchword for the assertion that Communism is a Jewish conspiracy.

In Poland, "Judeo-Bolshevism" was known as "Żydokomuna" and was used as an antisemitic stereotype.

The expression was the title of a pamphlet, The Jewish Bolshevism, and became current after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, featuring prominently in the propaganda of the anti-communist "White" forces during the Russian Civil War.

The theory was later propagated by the Nazi Party and their American sympathizers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_Soviet_Union

American Jews have had their loyalty questioned since they started immigrating here, and they've been accused of being disloyal for far longer than that in other countries. Calling a Jew a communist or a Bolshevik is an anti-Semitic slur, it's disappointing to see those terms still being used.

[Donkees]

4. Propaganda is an opiate

v

[beam me up scottie]

5. Lol!

What an appropriate gif. I'm often reminded of Pavlov's experiment.