Sheldon Richman on Republicans' Iran Plans
Republican hardliners don't really want a "better deal" with Iran, they want war.
This week 47 of 54 Republicans in the U.S. Senate wrote to Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei that if he and President Obama negotiate a "mere executive agreement" on Iran's (civilian) nuclear program that is not approved by Congress, it will bind neither Obama's successor nor a future Congress. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the lead senator on the letter, says he merely wants to teach the Iranian leader about America's constitutional system. However, Cotton's letter clearly is meant to be more than a helpful civics lesson, writes Sheldon Richman.
Republican hardliners don't really want a "better deal" with Iran, what they want is war, argues Richman. Remember when John McCain sang "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"? Senate Republicans would be delighted if Iran stormed out of the negotiations and added centrifuges to its nuclear program. The hawks would have their casus belli at last.