Congress should end the partisan bid to stonewall Iran nuclear agreement

Two months ago when we urged Congress to rise to the occasion of statesmanship in debating the historic accord aimed at eliminating Iran’s capability of building a nuclear weapon, we said that “intelligent, knowledgeable discourse” was demanded.

In light of what occurred – or didn’t occur – this week when the debate in the House and Senate was supposed to begin, it appears that we had indulged in some wishful thinking in July.

We believed, wrongly it turned out, that members of Congress would recognize the importance of the issue and set aside their partisan bickering. Not only was partisanship alive and well on Capitol Hill, there even was dissension in the ranks of the Republican majority in the House.

Votes had been scheduled in Congress on the Iran nuclear agreement, but GOP leaders insisted on first putting forth a resolution of disapproval of the treaty.

While that was going on, the Republican majority in the Senate was trying to figure out a way of overcoming the strong support for the pact from Democrats. With 42 members of President Barack Obama’s party saying they were in favor of the agreement reached between the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran, Republicans were scrambling to find a way of stopping the agreement.

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked that Republican resolution and thereby scored a significant victory for the White House.

VETO-PROOF

Even if the Republican-controlled Congress succeeds in passing legislation aimed at undermining the pact by next week’s deadline, President Obama would veto the measure. Minority Democrats command enough votes to sustain the president.

This highly charged political atmosphere – it was made all the more intense by a rally organized by the tea party that featured Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, among others – dashed any hopes the American people may have had to hear intelligent discourse on an agreement that has far-reaching ramifications.

As we said in the July editorial, “We would hope that the talking-heads syndrome does not afflict members of the House and Senate. What is demanded is intelligent, knowledgeable discourse about the details of the agreement and whether it contains sufficient safeguards to ensure Iran’s compliance. What is not needed is grandstanding by members of Congress, especially those who have their eyes on the presidency, and misinformation designed to influence the American people.”

It’s unfortunate that the Republicans who have circled the wagons in their opposition to the Iran nuclear accord have embraced the notion that the public is so shallow that it will be swayed by the simplistic argument that “Iran, the supporter of Islamic terrorist organizations in the Middle East, cannot be trusted.”

OTHER NATIONS WON’T FOLLOW

The GOP also has put forth the ridiculous notion that if the United States ultimately rejects the agreement, the other signatories will follow blindly. The thinking seems to be that when America says, “Jump,” the rest of the world says, “How high?”

The reality, however, is that Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are fully committed to preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon and believe that the agreement is the last hope of accomplishing that goal.

Many Americans are apprehensive about trusting the Iranians and would be willing to hear what ideas the Republicans have to strengthen the agreement or to force compliance.

It’s not enough for President Obama’s critics to say that his administration has sold out the United States and its chief ally in the Middle East, Israel.

Without the pact, Iran will be free to continue its nuclear program. Then, the only option would be military action. There is no guarantee that European countries, even those long considered friends of the United States, would join in such a risky endeavor.

As for the lifting of the United Nations economic sanctions that have been in place for many years, the other nations that were involved in negotiating with Iran have said they want to restore economic relations with the theocracy.