NY Times, in contrast, are going out of their way to avoid identifying the fundamental, high school civics fail of Republican ignorance at the core of their recent "Open Letter" to Iran. ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN are doing the same thing.
Al Jazeera got it dead on, a bull's eye:
The key element missing from the GOP Senators’ letter, however, is that the deal is not being negotiated between Iran and the United States; it is being negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 group, in which the U.S. is joined by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. Even if the U.S. is the key player in that group, the deal being pursued reflects an international consensus — the same consensus that has made sanctions against Iran so effective.Germany was added to the "P5" Permanent Members of the Security Council because they are a major trading partner with Iran.This was likely in the mind of Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who dismissed the letter as “of no legal value” and a “propaganda ploy.” Zarif noted that the deal would indeed be an international agreement adopted by the U.N. Security Council, which a new administration would be obliged to uphold — and that any attempt by the White House or Congress to abrogate, unilaterally modify or impede such an agreement would be a breach of U.S. obligations.
The GOP47, a.k.a. "The Worms," never learned that Non-Proliferation Treaty actions for non-nuclear-weapons States are made part of international law at the United Nations. Yes, enacted in 1968; in force from 1970. Each agreement becomes a Security Council Resolution. That is how these things work, complying with terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT.)
NY Times and Friends go so far as to identify GOP47 "idiocy." They just make sure to avoid identifying the fundamental ignorance of the GOP47 world view.
"The letter was an attempt to scare the Iranians from making a deal that would limit their nuclear program for at least a decade by issuing a warning that the next president could simply reverse any agreement. It was a blatant, dangerous effort to undercut the president on a grave national security issue by communicating directly with a foreign government."Sure. That's correct. But what should matter is that 47 Senators are incompetent at high school civics.
The GOP47 are clueless about the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
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.D'oh.
The GOP47 slept through high school civics.
Al Jazeera stops short of calling the GOP47 idiots. That's kind of them. Fact is, we're looking at what will be a Security Council Resolution -- exactly as what is presented to Americans in 10th Grade civics -- and here's what the GOP47 believe:
"...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."The one explanation for this mass ignorance that makes sense is that most of these guys are Birchers. John Birch Society adherents and paranoids. Their spiritual lives are tied to Holy Writ claiming that the United nations is a communist conspiracy, home for secret armies, a scheme to steal home firearms... a cousin to Sharia Law.
Plus, they skipped school when international law and treaties came up. And the concept of national sovereignty. As with all of Sarah Palin's Real Americans, they know that all that stuff is evil.
And they're in the United States Senate. And the voting machine tallies tell us that Americans changed over from voting a steady 39% to 41% in midterm elections, down to 34% in the one step from 2008 to 2012.
Why would anyone want to vote when if you don't vote, you'll be represented by an ignorant, arrogant loon ???
We don't care who governs us. No way.
Documentation below the fold........