Daily Alert Archives

How Congress Can Make a Bad Iran Deal Better

(Politico) Danielle Pletka - Congress fought a bruising legislative battle in order to ensure its right to review the Iran deal. But what should it do now? The right course is to secure a bipartisan vote that rejects the deal in its current form, but doesn't stop there. Congress should outline a deal that the American people can accept; a deal that actually secures the positive outcomes the administration now claims. Many, including at times the president himself, Secretary of State Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, have laid out the parameters of an agreement with Iran that, while not optimal, would at minimum be acceptable. These provisions include a phased agreement linked to performance, an end to research and development on advanced centrifuges, a sharper reduction in operating centrifuges, shuttering the underground facility at Fordow and the Arak heavy water reactor, shipping out Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, anywhere-anytime inspections, and no lapse of Iran's obligations after 10-15 years. If Iran doesn't wish to sign on to a better deal, U.S. unilateral sanctions can still effectively limit even European cooperation with Iran. Bans on dollar transactions can constrain Iran's oil trade, and limit the $150 billion windfall now headed Tehran's way. And bans on weapons sales and ballistic missile work will certainly hinder Iran's conventional weapons efforts. There is common ground on Capitol Hill on the question of Iran. Finding it is the right call. The writer is vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
2015-08-05 00:00:00
Full Article