A bipartisan group of former Members of Congress issue a letter in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and urge bipartisanship in Congress in supporting the agreement.
Original Title
Bipartisan letter from former Members of Congress to POTUS 9.2.15
A bipartisan group of former Members of Congress issue a letter in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and urge bipartisanship in Congress in supporting the agreement.
A bipartisan group of former Members of Congress issue a letter in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and urge bipartisanship in Congress in supporting the agreement.
September 2nd, 2015,
“Let us not seck a Republican answer or a Democrat answer, but the right
answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame forthe past. Let us accept our
responsibilty for the future." John F, Kennedy
Dear Me. President,
‘As Members of Congress prepare to vote for or against the Iran
agreement, partisan polities shouldnt be allowed to dominate the debate.
But the intensity of the partisanship over how best to prevent Iran from
setting a nuclear weapon is almost unprecedented. We believe the
consequences of making the wrong decision would be a serious blow to
four future foreign policy decisions. We do not question those who have
legitimate concems about the risks involved in approving the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action. We do, however, stongly support the
agreement and offer here some thoughts on how Democrats and
Republicans might work together to implement it. We urge the President
and Congressional leadership to lead in the bipartisan approach necessary.
Bipartisanship has been the diving force behind US policy toward Iran for
decades. Since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, each President in close
collaboration with both partes in Congress has taken forceful measures
against Iran. Yet each President in seeking to probe Iran's willingness to
‘negotiate has found that Tehan seemed numb to sanctions and deaf to the
offers. America has taken advantage of 3 decades of a bipartisan strategy
and this agreement has been the result ofthis accumulation of pressure on
Iran,
Each President-elect has wished that his predecessor had worked out some
solution to the intractable and increasingly dangerous relationship with
“Tehran. Surely the President elect in 2016 would prefer not to have to deal
‘with the legacy of a rejection of an international agreement reached with
some of America's closes allies or inherits collapsing intemationalsanctions regime and an international coalition united against [ran. The
United States should not suffer a decline in stature as a dependable partner
and leader in an ever more disorderly international environment.
‘The advantages of testing whether this agreement can be made to prevent
an Iranian nuclear weapon outweigh the risks that we agree are inthe Joint,
Comprehensive Plan of Action. Therefore how might the US resolve its
domestic political standoff to best preserve America’s leadership role in
the world and prevent escalating development of an Iranian nuclear
weapon?
We believe the President should continue to articulate a clear and forceful
statement that his administration is committed to taking action necessary
{o prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon; will place @ highest priority
oon satisfying the security needs of its pariners in the region; and will
‘cooperate closely with all other nations to head off and stop Iran's support
for terrorism and other malign activity.
‘The President should appoint a Compliance and Oversight Panel, made up
fof senior former leaders ftom the scientific, military and political
community experienced in the Middle East. The responsibilty of the
Panel will be to oversee the strict and strenuous implementation of the
Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action and the inspection system that it
provides,
With our eyes wide open we believe it is an opportunity to provide
leadership for a world order that is changing and will continue to require
constant and forceful American participation and understanding,
Sam Nunn John Wamer
Carl Levin George Mitchell
David Boren Dick Lugar
‘Tom Daschle Nancy Kassebaum