None Dare Call Them Treason: Obama’s Iran Nuclear Weapons Deal & the Corker Bill


When asked what the lesson of the first Gulf War was General S.F.Rodrigues, formerly Chief of Staff of the Indian Army said, "Don't fight the Americans without nuclear weapons." The corollary to that observation is “You don’t seek nuclear weapons unless you plan to fight the United States.”


The Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism, has been “fighting” the United States for almost 40 years. And for the same period of time American policy toward Iran has been to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons.
To advance that policy the United States Congress has imposed economic sanctions on Iran and past Presidents have made it clear that the United States was prepared to enforce that policy with all means necessary – implying at least the potential for military action if necessary to stop the Iranian nuclear weapons program.


The nuclear weapons deal President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have “negotiated” with Iran discards that wise policy and, in conjunction with legislation written and sponsored by Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, turns American constitutional processes for ratifying a treaty with other nations on their head.


If a group of Americans act in concert to advance the purposes of a nation (the Islamic Republic of Iran) that has an avowed and public policy of acquiring a nuclear weapon for the purpose of fighting the United States is not committing treason, we invite those who disagree to suggest an alternative term.


To those who accept the argument advanced by President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry that engaging the Iranian regime will “advance the cause of peace” we must observe that while Obama and Kerry readily ignore the Constitution of the United States there’s no evidence that the leaders of Iran are prepared to ignore the constitution of the Islamic Republic.


And the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran is quite clear on what the purpose of their government is; and it is not to preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the blessing of liberty for its citizens and their posterity.


The purpose of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its armed forces, is to spread Islam across the world.


It is foolish and dangerous in the extreme to assume, and to base a nuclear treaty on that assumption, that the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism, governed by Islamist clerics, will ignore the call for worldwide jihad in their Constitution and in Islamic law once they acquire nuclear weapons.


And make no mistake – it is the combination of Iran’s expansionist Islamism and nuclear weapons technology that is the threat.
We don’t fear a nuclear armed United Kingdom or France, because they share our values, but we should fear, and do everything we can to prevent the emergence of a nuclear armed Iran precisely because the Islamic Republic of Iran wishes to impose upon the entire world a set of values totally inimical to ours – and to do so by force when they think they can win.


In Real-world Nuclear Deterrence, The Making of International Strategy by David G Coleman and Joseph M. Siracusa made the point that “Nuclear proliferation remains an urgent problem not only because of the risk of a terrorist organization getting its hands on nuclear weapons, but because the proliferation of weapons also means a proliferation of nuclear deterrents.”


As Siracusa and Coleman point out, nuclear weapons have long been a force multiplier, able to make up for imbalances in conventional military power. Paradoxically, they say, “the unassailable lead of the United States in military power and technology, thanks largely to the so-called revolution in military affairs of precision guided conventional munitions and advanced battlefield and strategic intelligence, might invite other nations to acquire the bomb as a way to influence or even deter American foreign policy.”


What would you call a group of Americans who acted in concert to throw away America’s “unassailable lead” in military power if not traitors?


The Corker bill and Obama’s still secret nuclear weapons agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran legitimize and advance the Iranian nuclear weapons program.


The result of this 180 degree change in American policy will be to hand to Iran the means of spreading their version of Islam across the Middle East and eventually the world – a goal they will readily pursue once they have the nuclear weapons that enable them to do so by deterring military action by the United States and other potential opponents.


Defeating the Corker bill and stopping Barack Obama from legitimizing and advancing Iran’s nuclear weapons program by lifting economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic must be a top priority of conservatives.


Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have once again betrayed conservative and constitutional principles and have indicated they will support the Corker bill – an abject betrayal of the Senate’s constitutional role in offering advice and consenting to treaties, that almost guarantees the acceptance of Obama’s deal to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.


Senate debate on the Corker bill has begun.
The one alternative to the guaranteed acceptance Iran’s nuclear weapons program through the Corker bill is an amendment to that bill offered by Senators Ted Cruz and Pat Toomey.


Their amendment (#1152) to the Corker bill* (the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015) would require affirmative Congressional approval of any Iranian nuclear deal before sanctions relief can occur. This approach uses the plenary constitutional power of Congress to regulate trade and commerce to restore the constitutional balance in the process and require Members of Congress to take an affirmative vote to overturn the policy of the past 40 years to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.


We urge conservatives to contact their Senators and Representative (the Capitol Switchboard is 1-866-220-0044) to demand they vote for the Cruz-Toomey amendment to the Corker bill and against the Corker bill if Cruz-Toomey does not pass.

http://www.conservativehq.com/node/20197