U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday he “profoundly disagrees” with the reasoning behind decisions by two prominent Democratic lawmakers to vote against the nuclear deal he negotiated with Iran.
Speaking in the Vietnamese capital, Kerry said the facts do not bear out the arguments made by the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat Chuck Schumer, and the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel. He said he respects the right of lawmakers to make their own decisions about the merits of the deal, but said rejection does not offer any alternative than a drumbeat to conflict.
Schumer and Engel, both from New York, made their announcements on Thursday. Schumer is the first Democratic senator to say he will vote no on the deal, which would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from crippling sanctions.
Schumer, who is Jewish, complained that the pact does not allow inspections “anywhere, anytime” and that the United States cannot demand inspections unilaterally.
Kerry said he has great respect for both Engel and Schumer, and called Schumer a friend, noting he served with him in the Senate.
“I obviously profoundly disagree with the judgements made,” Kerry said. He said that with 25 years of uranium tracking, “it is physically impossible to build a bomb.”
“It’s a question of eliminating options in a realistic way,” he added. “I would respectfully suggest that rejection is not a policy for the future, it does not offer any alternative.”
Kerry said that if the deal is rejected, “there will be a hue and cry about Iran’s continued activity and that will lead people to put pressure on military action since the United States would have walked away from the diplomatic solution.”
(AP)
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6 Responses
Duh!
Charles Krauthammer’s checkmate question:
The theme of his American University speech Wednesday was that the only alternative to what he brought back from Vienna is war because sanctions — even the more severe sanctions that Congress has been demanding — will never deter the Iranians. But if sanctions don’t work, how can you argue that the Iranians will now be deterred from cheating by the threat of . . . sanctions? Snapback sanctions, mind you, that will inevitably be weaker and more loophole-ridden than the existing ones.
This is the man that threw some one else’s medals over the W H dense. Came to convention and said reporting for duty. Married well and has been a phony all along. And still doesn’t get it America doesn’t want this deal so he can get the chamberlain award for peace in our time. Duff-us
Who would expect Kerry to say anything different?
No Matter…If Chas v’sholom…the deal goes through…Kerry will have a long life after he finally retires to rue the biggest mistake in his career
Someone aught to tell this Anti Semetic duffuss, who played down the murder of Jews in France by terrorist’s, that Jewish lives do matter. He can always give Iran a “big hug” if the sanctions are becoming to difficult for them. The Lurch is just a useful idiot for team Obama. And to think that the old war hero was a hairs breath away from becoming President?
lets not forget his iranian muslim shiite son in law will make a killing from all this, so not only did he marry the Heinz forture he wants his own.