From the Desk of Senator Jack M. Martins

Must be a Duck

     Like most kids growing up, my friends and I would occasionally get into some trouble. And like most kids we blamed everyone and everything but ourselves, half-believing our half-baked excuses. But I remember an old neighborhood priest who’d see right through it, saying, “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it must be a duck.” Believe it or not, that simple lesson about taking things for face value is easily forgotten by many. Case in point would be the Obama administration’s pending nuclear deal with Iran.

     Remember that the goal of the negotiation was to continue the United States and world community’s efforts to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, period. The end result, however, virtually guarantees a nuclear-armed Iran by ignoring its illicit nuclear program and rewarding the Iranian government for thumbing its nose at the rest of the world. I strongly urge you to become familiar with the situation as this may be one of the most critical decisions our nation has made in the last 50 years and the consequences will impact every one of us, our children, and grandchildren.

• ŸFor starters the U.S. Department of State still recognizes Iran as the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. This is not disputed. Lifting sanctions will literally allow hundreds of billions of dollars in now frozen assets to flow freely into Iran and its government coffers. To assume that this money will not make its way into the hands of the terrorist organizations that Iran supports throughout the world is wishful thinking at best. The world has collectively given precious lives and treasure in the war on terrorism. This undoes that and worse still, ensures that the war and unrest will continue.
• Secretary of State, John Kerry acknowledges the existence of two “side deals” whose details are known only to Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and which will remain hidden from the U.S. government. They involve the inspection of Iran’s Parchin military complex and issues regarding possible military aspects of Iran’s nuclear effort. To be clear, our intelligence community has long suspected Parchin of manufacturing nuclear ballistic missiles. In essence, this administration is approving a deal with an international sponsor of terrorism without details on its nuclear military effort. But that’s what this is all about! The world community wants to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. Secret “side deals” have no place in a legitimate agreement.
• The United Nations’ American and Canadian inspectors will not be allowed to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran will allow only those that have diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic and even in that scenario has stipulated that the IAEA “will not have access to sensitive and military documents.” Iran can also delay the process for up to 24 days, long enough to hide damning evidence. Their Brigadier General Hossein Salami brazenly exclaimed, “They will not even be permitted to inspect the most normal military site in their dreams.” This is certainly not the “anytime, anywhere” inspections the White House promised.
• Proponents of the agreement argue that lifting sanctions will eventually lead to the moderation of the current regime and possibly the rise of more level-headed, pro-Western young leaders. History tells us different. In fact, up until 1997 Iran engaged freely in trade with Europe and reaped billions of dollars in oil profits. The regime got richer and only stepped up their support of radical terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and others. Let’s be honest - hostility toward the West has only grown since then.
• Last but not least is the most disconcerting. The most rigorous parts of the uranium enrichment restrictions for Iran would expire in 10 years. That means in as little as 12 years Iran could develop a nuclear weapon that could be used against the rest of the world and, most particularly, Israel, the state they’ve continuously promised to destroy. We could hope against hope that thousand-year-old enmity will somehow make a dramatic turnaround in ten years but that would be nothing short of naïve and irresponsible. Lifting sanctions and placing Iran on a path to develop nuclear weapons would further destabilize the Middle East with the surrounding countries, Arab and Jewish, threatened by the realignment. In short, this deal threatens the United States’ longest and most loyal ally in the region, actually the only democracy there: Israel. And it threatens all our other allies in the region as well. The only thing worse than no deal is a bad deal.

     At this point, members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have called on President Obama to impose longer and better constraints on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. And in poll after poll, the American people are dead set against this current deal. There is absolutely nothing there that makes a compelling argument to the American people. And those who argue that “any deal is better than no deal” are dreaming. International sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table and they should remain in place until they negotiate in good faith. This much is for certain: you don’t give a bully a wider berth. You band together with friends to confront them.

     I’ll say it plainly: Iran cannot be trusted. They have a long history of defying nuclear agreements and blocking IAEA access to their nuclear sites. Why should we trust them now? What’s changed besides President Obama’s mind? No, I’ll stick to the wisdom of childhood lessons. If it walks, quacks, and looks like a duck my friends, it’s a duck.