Feinstein: 'We Cannot Let Israel Determine When and Where the United States
Goes to War'
by Joel B. Pollak 15 Jan 2014, 1:42 PM PDT
Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA) triggered controversy with a fiery floor speech in the Senate on Tuesday
night, accusing supporters of the bipartisan Kirk-Menendez bill on Iran sanctions of wanting "regime
change" and declaring that "we cannot let Israel determine
when and where the United
States goes to war." The bill includes
a provision offering support to Israel
in the event of an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran.
Feinstein, who chairs the Select Committee
on Intelligence and is considered pro-Israel, but her remarks, which echo those
of anti-Israel critics, have provoked outrage. The Republican Jewish Coalition
(RJC) called on her to apologize, noting that the bill includes a proviso that:
"Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed
as a declaration of war or an authorization of the use of force against Iran."
Adding that the Kirk-Menendez's bill's
language on Israel
is the same as that in another bill that Feinstein co-sponsored, RJC Executive
Director Matt Brooks blasted Feinstein: "We are deeply troubled to see
Senator Feinstein making such incendiary and inaccurate remarks on the Senate
floor. We call on her to retract this reckless and false charge and apologize
to her colleagues and to the millions of Americans who support a comprehensive,
robust strategy to prevent the Tehran
regime from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability."
In her speech, Feinstein said that "a
vote for this legislation will cause negotiations to collapse," arguing
that the six-month deal reached in Geneva
and finalized on Sunday represented "the best opportunity in more than 30
years to make a major change in Iranian behavior." The deal provides some
sanctions relief in return for suspending parts of Iran's uranium enrichment program
and allowing limited international inspections.
The Kirk-Menendez bill provides for
tighter sanctions in the event that Iran
fails to comply with the Geneva
agreement. Yet the Obama administration has vowed to veto the bill regardless,
believing that it sends a message of confrontation. Supporters of the
legislation, including former Bush and Obama administration Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates, believe that it will actually strengthen Obama's hand in
negotiations.
The legislation currently has 59
co-sponsors in the Senate, eight shy of the two-thirds majority needed to
override a presidential veto. Almost every Republican Senator supports the
bill, while only a minority of Senate Democrats are co-sponsors. Some
Democrats, including Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman
Schultz, have been caught both opposing and supporting the legislation to
different audiences.
Feinstein warned that hard-liners in Iran would use the bill to "argue that the United States
is not interested in nuclear diplomacy--we are interested in regime
change." That, however, is what they argue already. Scholar Kenneth
Pollack, who is opposed to war in Iran
and favors negotiations and "containment," says in his new book on Iran that the
Obama administration's failure to pursue regime change in 2009 was
"reprehensible."
Democrats who wish to support the Obama
administration's line are praising Feinstein's speech, and it will likely
provide political cover to those who wish to oppose the bill but wish to do so
without appearing to oppose Israel.
Her incendiary remarks about Israel
are not likely to be forgotten by Republicans, either.
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne
Feinstein is a U.S. Senate
senator, and married to Richard C. Blum.
Note: Richard
C. Blum is married to Dianne Feinstein,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros
is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Saban
Center for Middle East Policy is a policy center at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Martin
S. Indyk is a founding director at the Saban Center for Middle
East Policy, a director at the New Israel Fund,
a Middle East peace envoy for the U.S. Department of State,
was an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of State,
the U.S. ambassador for the Israel, and the
VP & director of the Foreign Policy Program for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
John F. Kerry
is the secretary at the U.S. Department of
State for the Barack Obama
administration, and married to Teresa
Heinz Kerry.
Teresa
Heinz Kerry is married to John F. Kerry,
and is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Haim Saban
is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), a benefactor for the Saban Center
for Middle East Policy, and a friend of Shimon Peres.
Shimon
Peres is a friend of Haim Saban, and
the president of Israel.
Keep your friends close, and your
enemies closer (Past Research)
Thursday, January 2, 2014
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