Posted on 07/30/2015 7:29:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
President Obama’s claim that Congress must either back his deal with Iran or plan for war does not square with the advice he has received from his top general, Senate lawmakers learned on Wednesday.
Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, never presented Obama with such a binary choice. “At no time did that come up in our conversation nor did I make that comment,” Dempsey told Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) during a Senate hearing on the Iran deal. “I can tell you that we have a range of options and I always present them.”
Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that Obama was not misrepresenting the situation. “It’s not a choice the president wants to make, but it’s the inevitable consequence of them moving to assert what they believe is their right in the furtherance of their program,” he said.
Dempsey also acknowledged that he advised the president not to agree to the lifting of sanctions pertaining to Iran’s ballistic missile program and other arms. “Yes, and I used the phrase ‘as long as possible’ and then that was the point at which the negotiation continued — but yes, that was my military advice,” he told Senator Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.). In the event the new deal goes into effect, the arms embargoes will expire over the next several years.
Citing chapter and verse of the deal, Ayotte pointed out that the “plain language” of the bargain requires the United States “to help strengthen Iran’s ability to protect against sabotage of its nuclear program” — even to the point of warning Iran if Israel tries to launch cyberattacks against the program.
Dempsey seemed caught off guard when asked about that provision. “I hadn’t thought about that, senator, and I would like to have the opportunity to do so,” he told Ayotte.
That exchange came shortly after Dempsey and other administration officials acknowledged a concern that Iran could launch cyberattacks against the United States and even the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is tasked with key oversight of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program under terms of the deal.
“It’s not just Iran, but it’s others as well, but that’s why we’re trying to make investments in that area and pull up our socks in the cyber area, but I can’t reassure you on the cyber front,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Ernst.
— Joel Gehrke is a political reporter for National Review.
Monkeys copulating with footballs? 7 year olds hashing out rules to a game of wiffle ball? Eskimos making fire with ice? Capturing farts in a field with nets?
Either the collective IQ of our government leaders can be counted two hands or they beleive the collecive IQ of the world can be counted by a 3rd grader.
I am still lost about whether they are evil traitors that should be tried as such or if they are so incompetent and stupid that they should be working for Barnum and Bailey.
Looks as though Dempsey is getting uncomfortable playing the role of Quisling!
Dempsey hung on to Obama’s coattails to get that prestigious slot at JCS.
Now it’s time to bail: retire & start making speeches & cranking out books.
Obama is starting to learn what gratitude & loyalty are really worth inside the Beltway.
I smell a high-level retirement at DoD in the near future...
I smell a high-level retirement at DoD in the near future...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.