Sen. Tom Cotton said he'd "welcome" presidential candidates -- including Hillary Clinton -- to sign a controversial letter to Iran .[/caption]The U.S. media have been sadly incurious about the origins of yesterdays unprecedentedOpen Letter of 47 Republicansto the Iranian leadership seeking to block the presidents likely deal with Iran. The press has portrayed the letter as the work of Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, a 37-year-old freshman senator so new to the limelight that the New York Times got his name wrong on first impression. But as a Times commenter writes, Does anyone really believe the freshman senator from Arkansas wrote the letter? No.
The media are all over theunprecedented natureof the letter which informs Iranian hardliners that Obamas likely deal with Iran is a mere executive agreement. Chris Matthews and Chris Hayes and Michael Steele on MSNBC last night all expressed outrage or surprise. Paul Waldmanat the Washington Postcalls the letter stunning and appalling. But apart from a passing reference to neocons from Matthews, no one is looking under the hood.
I dont know who wrote the letter, but I can tell you whose fingerprints are on it: the only folks who are supporting it publicly, the hard-right Israel lobby. Even as Cotton himself splutters on national television, rightwing lobby groups are the main voices out there defending the letter.
Like Bill Kristolof the Emergency Committee for Israel:
Cotton open letter: Just so you know, were a constitutional democracy. Congress (or next president) has a say. Dem response: Hysteria.
J Streets Dylan Williamsfingers Bill Kristol for writing the letter:
Who gave @SenTomCotton & others the awful idea for the Iran letter? Seems like Sarah Palin-for-VP-level bad advice doesnt it @BillKristol ?
Theres a reason for Williamss suspicion. Kristols Emergency Committee for Israel gave Tom Cotton nearly $1 million in his race for the Senate just five months ago,Eli Clifton reported. Cotton received $960,250 in supportive campaign advertisingin the last month. (Thanks to Kay24 in comments).
Cotton alsogot $165,000 from Elliott ManagementPaul Singers hedge fund. Singer isthe billionaire who is trying to stop ObamasIran talks (Cliftons reporting again). He funds the Israel Project too Josh Blocks efforts.
Josh Block has been standing up for the letter on Twitter.And the rightwing Israel Project offered support for the letter in an email last night:
Many analysts believe that without congressional approval, if a final deal with Iran is reached, it will not outlast President Barack Obamas tenure as President of the United States. Without congressional involvement, the Obama administration would strike a deal with Iran through executive action which could signal to the Iranians that the deal would be with the President alone,writesHarvard Law School Professor Jack Goldsmith. He continues, The bottom line, then, is that any deal struck by President Obama with Iran will probably appear to the Iranians to be, at best, short-term and tenuous. And so we can probably expect, at best, only a short-term and tenuous commitment from Iran in return.
When it comes to the Iran negotiations, the Obama administration says that they only see arole for Congresswhen it comes to sanctions. If a final agreement is reached, they will eventually look to Congress for the lifting of sanctions. The White House said that Congress hashad a role to playwhen it has drafted and passed the sanctions legislation that President Obama subsequently signed into law. The White House does not believe that an agreement with Iran over its nuclear programwould requirecongressional approval.
The letter has gotten support from David Frum, the former Bush aide who wrote of taking on Saddam Hussein, Its victory or Holocaust.On twitter:
Time after time, Obama has told Congress to go to hell. Now Congress is telling Obama to go to hell.
TheRepublican Jewish Coalition, a pro-Israel group, has also supportedthe letter.
Josh Block used to work at AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and is sometimes thought to speak for AIPAC. AIPAC is staying silent,while pushing further sanctionson Iran.
But former AIPAC staffer MJ Rosenberg hasexplainedwhy he believes AIPAC penned the letter.As he tweeted today:
Nothing happens on Capitol Hill related to Israel unless and until Howard Kohr (AIPAC chief) wants it to happen. Nothing.
What network is behind this letter? People have a right to know. The media should be sending reporters out to dig into these connections. Imagine if the Koch Brothers were pushing some initiative on states rights or abortion. Would the media be so incurious? No. The scandal of the Netanyahu speech and the efforts by Israel to derail US negotiations with Iran has surely exposed the workings of the Israel lobby to the eyes of the American public to an unprecedented degree. But the media have to do more.
This article was written by Philip Weiss for Mondoweiss on March 10, 2015. Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
