The letter, and the action, has been blasted by politicians and major publications since it was publicly sent. Iranian officials did not like it, White House officials did not like it, and many, many other people did not like it, either.
Of course, a large part of the reason that so many people are blasting these supposed leaders is that this action really is unprecedented in American history. I mean, think about what is at stake here: the White House is trying to broker a deal with Iran, in order to preserve the peace. And these idiots are basically saying that Iran should not sign any such agreements, because they are assuming that the new elected leader in 2016 will be from their party (which might just happen), and that this deal will be revoked from the incoming president and Congress.
It also seems to me that Congress is essentially trying to establish some sort of strange foreign policy of their own, separate from the White House. That, too, seems unprecedented.
Obviously, they took a gamble with this action. They assumed too much. On many levels, this has completely backfired on them. Even conservative publications, like The Daily News, were blasting these Congressmen and insinuating that these actions amounted to nothing short of treason.
Just a strange story, through and through. It is also remarkably short-sighted. Former GOP New York Governor, and possibly 2016 presidential candidate George Pataki suggested as much in dissenting from the conventional support among Republicans for the letter, asking fellow Republicans if they would appreciate the same gestures in 2017 if, theoretically, the White House was controlled by Republicans, and the Democrats in Congress took it upon themselves to send a letter similar in spirit and content. That seems such an obvious question, but the Republicans that sent the letter acted so hastily, that it seems almost like a knee-jerk reaction, rather than serious planning and consideration. And really, do we want our policies, foreign and domestic, to be controlled by those who react in such a hasty and reckless manner? Is it not better to think in the long term, and to proceed with caution, especially when you are dealing with something as serious as a potential war?
Given the GOP track record on wars in the last ten to fifteen years, you might think that they would, indeed, proceed with some measure of caution. Screw that! They seem ready to go to yet another war here! Let's go to Tehran, let's impose democracy through a shower of bombs. Let's get more corporations with no bid contracts, open up more concentration camps, and get the rest of the world to hate us even more than they did in the fall out from the Iraq invasion. For that matter, let's send thousands more body bags home, kills tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of locals, and let's get another costly war in every sense of the word, with people back home only getting outraged once they see the literal price tag of the war once again in the trillions, and what appears to be mishandling of the war from the very top!
You better believe that is what you are likely to see, if war once again breaks out, this time in Iran.
And you know what? It sure seems like that is what Republicans want. They want to engage in yet another war.
Much like they said to justify the war in Iraq over a decade ago, and like they will say to justify a war in Iran presently, when you make that much of an effort to build an arsenal for war, you can bet that it's going to be used. The United States spends more money on military expenditures than the next nine leading countries combined. So, you bet that is what some warhawks - or perhaps George Carlin's term of chickenhawks applies better here - really want. They spent all of that money and time in building a massive war machine like none other that has ever existed on the face of this earth, and you had better believe that they want the opportunity to play with all of those war toys for real.
Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of the notion that war truly was supposed to be absolutely a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.
Here we are, once again with Republicans leading the charge to war. They viewed Iraq as an immediate threat to world peace twelve years ago, and they acted on it. Sure, there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction that were found, which was the very basis upon which they advocated war. But never mind that they were wrong, and that the Iraq War proved to be such a quagmire. They are now pining for Iran, which is clearly a bigger threat now than Iraq was then. Why, they want to destroy Israel, and even America! Let's get a war started! Let's get boots on the ground!
Only, things are not going quite their way, because Obama, and not Bush, occupies the White House.
No matter! Let's just circumvent that, and make a threatening and irresponsible gesture aiming for war in the near future, as soon as Obama is out of office.
Do they even have limits to their hypocrisy?
Nobody seemed to like what they did, outside of Republicans themselves (and even they had some detractors to this action from inside their ranks).
So, what exactly does this letter signify? Is it, as some suggest, an act of treason? Is it something good and necessary, because the White House does not recognize the threat? How will this be viewed in history?
The debate continues. But I, for one, believe that it was a colossal mistake by some members of Congress who are, quite frankly, unqualified to take such actions and unequal to the task of making a truly compelling case in favor of the letter.
Indeed, I think it constitutes not just a breach of protocol, but a violation of the Constitution and, yes, even an act of treason!
Here is a link to an article that I recently wrote for the Guardian Liberty Voice on the subject. Hope you take a look!
GOP Letter to Iran Continues to Spark Controversy
http://guardianlv.com/2015/03/gop-letter-to-iran-continues-to-spark-controversy/
Bernie Sanders Explains How 47 Treasonous GOP Senators Tried To Sabotage World Peace By: Jason Easleymore from Jason Easley Tuesday, March, 10th, 2015
The Wrongest Man in America By Bill Maher, March 9, 2015:
http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/index/2015/3/9/the-wrongest-man-in-american-history
You know, since many Neocons always talk tough and are unforgiving of the opposition when they hold the White House, maybe it's time to begin to get tough on them, when they step out of line, as well. So, here is a link to hold the 47 Congressmen accountable for the letter to Iran, which frankly, may indeed amount to treason, and could potentially lead to a war. It was the height of irresponsibility and illustrated their presumptuousness, and we need to send a clear and strong message that this is not acceptable. If you feel this way, please take a look at the petition below and then go ahead and sign it.
You know, since many Neocons always talk tough and are unforgiving of the opposition when they hold the White House, maybe it's time to begin to get tough on them, when they step out of line, as well. So, here is a link to hold the 47 Congressmen accountable for the letter to Iran, which frankly, may indeed amount to treason, and could potentially lead to a war. It was the height of irresponsibility and illustrated their presumptuousness, and we need to send a clear and strong message that this is not acceptable. If you feel this way, please take a look at the petition below and then go ahead and sign it.
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