First the obvious:
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)The NPT is the legal structure under which nuclear weapons agreements are approved and implemented. The U.N. Security Council is the relevant sovereign body for all NPT votes and actions.The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. A total of 190 parties have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States.
There is no way a nuke deal with Iran goes to the U.S. Senate as a treaty. It will exist as part of the international NPT, not as a treaty between Iran and the United States..
Put simply, the GOP47 are idiots. It's either that or, let's face it, the "Men in Black" little white worms have invaded the Senate:
The WormsAs an "open letter" that is crazy.It has come to our attention (as worms) while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system. Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution—the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices—which you should seriously consider as negotiations progress.
First, under our Constitution, while the president negotiates international agreements, Congress plays the significant role of ratifying them. In the case of a treaty, the Senate must ratify it by a two-thirds vote. A so-called congressional-executive agreement requires a majority vote in both the House and the Senate (which, because of procedural rules, effectively means a three-fifths vote in the Senate). Anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement.
Second, the offices of our Constitution have different characteristics. For example, the president may serve only two 4-year terms, whereas senators may serve an unlimited number of 6-year terms. As applied today, for instance, President Obama will leave office in January 2017, while most of us will remain in office well beyond then—perhaps decades.
What these two constitutional provisions mean is that we will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by the Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei. The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.
We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes mutual understanding and clarity as nuclear negotiations progress.
Sincerely,
Senator Tom Cotton, R-AR- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT
Senator Charles Grassley, R-IA
Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY
Senator Richard Shelby, R-AL
Senator John McCain, R-AZ
Senator James Inhofe, R-OK
Senator Pat Roberts, R-KS
Senator Jeff Sessions, R-AL
Senator Michael Enzi, R-WY
Senator Michael Crapo, R-ID
Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC
Senator John Cornyn, R-TX
Senator Richard Burr, R-NC
Senator John Thune, R-SD
Senator Johnny Isakson, R-GA
Senator David Vitter, R-LA
Senator John A. Barrasso, R-WY
Senator Roger Wicker, R-MS
Senator Jim Risch, R-ID
Senator Mark Kirk, R-IL
Senator Roy Blunt, R-MO
Senator Jerry Moran, R-KS
Senator Rob Portman, R-OH
Senator John Boozman, R-AR
Senator Pat Toomey, R-PA
Senator John Hoeven, R-ND
Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL
Senator Ron Johnson, R-WI
Senator Rand Paul, R-KY
Senator Mike Lee, R-UT
Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-NH
Senator Dean Heller, R-NV
Senator Tim Scott, R-SC
Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX
Senator Deb Fischer, R-NE
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV
Senator Bill Cassidy, R-LA
Senator Cory Gardner, R-CO
Senator James Lankford, R-OK
Senator Steve Daines, R-MT
Senator Mike Rounds, R-SD
Senator David Perdue, R-GA
Senator Thom Tillis, R-NC
Senator Joni Ernst, R-IA
Senator Ben Sasse, R-NE
Senator Dan Sullivan, R-AK
There is no way the diplomatic product, here, is a bilateral "executive agreement." And despite the egos at play here, the United States Senate does not get to veto actions of the U.N. Security Council.
Even for U.S. "sanctions" against Iran, a Security Council agreement with Iran under the NPT makes other country's compliance with U.S. demands problematic at best, then illegal as Iran obtains an order through the Hague. We can refuse to buy or sell, but other countries have no reason whatsoever to follow us.
These 47 GOPers, or the little white worms inhabiting them, do not know that.
In every possible case where a real deal goes through the diplomatic product will be generated under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1968. That means the Security Council. All such agreements are empowered through the United Nations.
Nothing, ever, out of the Security Council exists as an "executive agreement."
I don't know how or where these 47 Republicans get to be so bad at international treaties. Chances are, they are afflicted by some combination of poor education, willful ignorance, and/or they are beset by a neurological plague of unknown origins.
Like farce? Alien invasion cannot be ruled out. Capital Hill has been overrun by the "Men in Black" FX department. It's not just the senators. Their staff members are also suspect for basic mental competence.
Little white worms might could do better than this.
These conservative worthies have lost appreciation for what a fact is.
Let's review 10th Grade civics: the United Nations Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was approved in 1968 and ratified to be effective in 1970. It is the law for this planet (excluding non-ratifiers.)
This NPT is the sole instrument for enacting nuclear agreements at national level. Permanent Members of the Security Council ("the P5") do the negotiating. Agreements are ratified by votes of the 15 Members of the full Security Council.
Security Council. United Nations. Not the United States Senate.
This process is not connected in any direct way with the rights and prerogatives of the United States Senate. We ratified this UN NPT -- July 1st, 1968 -- which stipulates that further international actions are not subject to national restrictions. Actions at the Security Council under NPT are not subject to the restrictions or ratification processes embodied in the United States Constitution.
North Korea withdrew. India, Israel, Pakistan and South Yemen never ratified. There's history for each of them. The other 190 countries consider NPT to be a critical element for global survival.
Now possibly the GOP47 want to withdraw from NPT to pursue a war with Iran. I'll go back to the alien invasion scenario for that one. I also suggest that they could find themselves blindfolded and dumped off in North Korea with the other NPT withdrawers.
What else?
We've got 47 (R or LWW) Senators who fail the 10th Grade snap quiz on national and international agreements.
Corporate media cover up for them. They all cover up for them. Every single one.
This is flaming ignorant craziness. Yet not one commercial media outlet has run an item as of this morning explaining the difference between the reality of the U.N. NPT mechanisms and the fantasy claims in this "Open Letter" of the GOP47.
Amazed that MSM are covering up for them ??? Not me.
These wonderful servants of the public good covered up for Bush43's WMD frauds until after the 2004 general election. They continue to cover up for Ronald Reagan in Lebanon and his "teach them a lesson" hatred of Arabs that killed ~5,000 civilians in 1982-1985.
They'll cover up for anything and everything where it breaks totally bad.
Utter incompetence ain't news.... Surely not for these GOP47.... Not in America.