Current Events > How Democrats set the stage for Trump's violation of the Iran Deal

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http://inthesetimes.com/article/21129/Iran_Deal_Donald_Trump_Chuck_Schumer_war_Russia_North_Korea

Leading Democrats have consistently pegged their anti-Trump resistance to a more confrontational stance toward Russiaand bundled this demand with a push for greater escalation against Iran. Now, the danger of this strategy is undeniable: These same Democrats helped set the stage for Trumps disastrous withdrawal on Tuesday from the nuclear deal with Iranand are playing a meaningful role in pushing U.S. foreign policy to the right.

Under the 2015 Iran deal, the United States ostensibly loosened sanctions in exchange for an agreement by Iran to roll back its nuclear program (Iran did not have an active nuclear weapons program). Trumps withdrawal puts the United States and its allies on course for further military confrontation with Iran and its alliesand forces ordinary Iranians to suffer the consequences of devastating sanctions, including medicine shortages and food insecurity.

Every single Democrat in Congress had a hand in creating the political climate for Tuesdays developments. Last summer, nearly the entire House and Senate voted in favor of legislation that grouped together sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The final version of the bipartisan legislation materialized after sanctions against Russia were tacked onto an existing Iran bill in a measure introduced by Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-N.Y.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.).

The only no votes on the House versionH.R. 3364: Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Actcame from the isolationist and nativist Libertarian-leaning Republican wing: Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). An anti-war front rooted in solidarity with the people of Iran, Russia and North Korea was nowhere to be found. Even Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who built her name on her courageous stand against war in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, voted for the bill.

Days later, on July 27, the Senate passed the same bill in a 98-2 vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the only lawmaker in Congress who caucuses with the Democrats to issue a no vote. Democrats showed they were willing to risk destroying the Iran agreement in an attempt to punish Moscow.

Obamas former Secretary of State John Kerry warned at the time that the new sanctions ran the risk of upending the Iran deal. At a fundraiser in San Francisco last June, Kerry said, If we become super provocative in ways that show the Iranian people there has been no advantage to this, that there is no gain, and our bellicosity is pushing them into a corner, thats dangerous and that could bring a very different result.

Democrats explicitly cited Russia when supporting the bill. Sen. Dianne Feinstein told Intercept reporters Alex Emmons and Ryan Grim last July: I just looked at the sanctions, and its very hard, in view of what we know just happened in this last election, not to move ahead with [sanctions].

At the time, Sanders was harshly criticized for his no vote. Adam Parkhomenko, who served as a former aide to Hillary Clinton and founded the Ready for Hillary PAC, said on Twitter last July: Feel the Bern? Bernie Sanders voted against Russian sanctions today. 98 Senators voted for Russian sanctions today. Sanders voted the same way anyone with the last name Trump would vote if they were in the Senate. No excuses stop making them for him.
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Schumer is correct about Iran not violating the agreement, butaccording to Iranthe United States had already effectively violated it last summer when Schumer and the vast majority of congress voted for the new sanctions. In our view the nuclear deal has been violated and we will show an appropriate and proportional reaction to this issue, Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview after the sanctions passed.

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...But Trump has been railing against the Iran deal literally since its inception. With that and the fact his only "agenda" is undoing everything Obama did, I'm not certain why we're acting like this move wasn't 100% just Trump being Trump.
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you can't blame trump for what trump did
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Garioshi posted...

you can't blame trump for what trump did

For DSA types everything is really the Democrats' fault and Russia did nothing wrong.
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7D chess
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ASithLord7 posted...

Garioshi posted...

you can't blame trump for what trump did

For DSA types everything is really the Democrats' fault and Russia did nothing wrong.

Moderate-ass John Kerry opposed these sanctions on Iran.
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Antifar posted...

ASithLord7 posted...

Garioshi posted...

you can't blame trump for what trump did

For DSA types everything is really the Democrats' fault and Russia did nothing wrong.

Moderate-ass John Kerry opposed these sanctions on Iran.

and that's why the democrats are responsible for what trump did
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Garioshi posted...

and that's why the democrats are responsible for what trump did

Responsibility lies with Trump. But every Democratic member of congress was willing to undermine the Iran deal they are now vociferously defending. They did so in order to get Trump to sign sanctions on Russia he proceeded to not enforce.
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I'm not saying these sanctions on Iran were a good idea. I just find the constant jump to blame Democrats for everything Trump does pretty baffling.
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Antifar posted...

Garioshi posted...

and that's why the democrats are responsible for what trump did

Responsibility lies with Trump. But every Democratic member of congress was willing to undermine the Iran deal they are now vociferously defending

oh of course the democrats are a bunch of hawkish morons who violated the iran deal but that's completely irrelevant to what trump did
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How is the suffering of the Iranian people America's fault, and not the fault of the de-facto terrorists in the Iranian government?
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Antifar posted...

But every Democratic member of congress was willing to undermine the Iran deal they are now vociferously defending

And that still has absolutely nothing to do with Trump doing what Trump always does. He was going to do this whether or not the Iran sanctions passed.
And, frankly, this assumption that Iran sanctions led to Trump dropping the Iran deal pins a lot more understanding of international politics on the Trump administration than is reasonable.
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