Netan-yahoo Republicans in Congress Want War on Iran

Senate Republicans are shifting the focus from passing an authorization for the use of force against ISIS, to trying to sabotage a diplomatic agreement with Iran. The New York Times reports:

“With so much attention focused on Iran, it is doubtful that Congress can make much quick progress on the use of force measure, which lawmakers were struggling with even before Iran took center stage.”

Politico also reports that Republicans are planning to fast-track a bill which would allow Congress to approve or reject any agreement that the the P5+1 powers reach with Iran — even at the risk of having Democrats who otherwise support the bill, vote against it. When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on March 3 that he is planning to bring anti-Iran legislation directly to the floor without going through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee first, an “outraged” Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he’ll vote against his own bill if he has to. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) blasted McConnell’s push as “rushed and partisan.” Politico reports that McConnell’s drive to bring the legislation quickly to the Senate floor “has two of the bill’s Democratic sponsors in full rebellion mode, potentially presaging a Democratic filibuster on the floor if the bill doesn’t go through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee first.”

As to Congress’s enthusiasm to follow Netanyahu to war against Iran, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank noted that:

“It’s a rare thing for Congress to declare war — and rarer still to do it at the request of a foreign leader.”

Another Washington Post columnist, Walter Pincus, who is generally aligned with the military-intelligence establishment, wrote a strong attack yesterday on any Congressional interference with Iran diplomacy, not only taking apart Netanyahu’s arguments, but pointing out that any Iran agreement would be hammered out not just by Obama, but by six great powers—Russia, China, Germany, and France, in addition to the U.S. and Britain—which is something Netanyahu never brings up.