Famed attorney Alan Dershowitz is giving up hope of Congress blocking the Iran nuclear deal but he says Congress can still play a key role in demanding that Iran honor its commitments and having a pre-approved military response ready to go in the event of any violations.
Dershowitz taught for many years at Harvard Law School and also served as defense counsel in several high profile cases. He comments frequently on Middle Eastern Affairs. His most recent book is “The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Now Stop Iran from Getting Nukes.”
Dershowitz says the moment the Corker-Cardin deal was approved, requiring a two-thirds majority to reject the plan in both the House and Senate, there was no chance of lawmakers stopping the president. However, he says all hope is not lost and the best path to preventing an Iranian nuke lies in the first part of the agreement.
“The deal itself starts with a re-affirmation by Iran that it will never, ever, under any circumstances seek to obtain, develop or secure nuclear weapons. Nobody has ever heard of that because there is, I believe, a private, secret agreement between the United States and Iran that that part of the deal is not enforceable,” said Dershowitz, directly suggesting that the U.S. and Iran are guilty of a major deception that essentially gives Iran a nuclear green light a decade from now.
“I think we’re being sold a pig in a poke. I think we’re being sold a different agreement than the agreement that the two parties, in fact, signed off on,” he added.
Regardless, Dershowitz says that language in the opening of the deal gives Congress a major opening for a two-pronged strategy. Part one, he says is to turn Iran’s anti-nuclear rhetoric into policy.
“(They should) say, ‘We accept as American policy Iran’s re-affirmation, Iran’s own promise that it will never, ever, under any circumstances, seek to develop nuclear weapons.’ We have to make that an enforceable, integral part of the deal, regardless of what the president of the United States had as a side deal with the Iranians. The deal itself says that. We’re entitled to hold them to their word,” said Dershowitz.
The second part of the Dershowitz plan is to promise a fierce response for any violation of that commitment by Iran.
“We need deterrence. We need to make sure that the Iranians know that there is a military option on the table if they cheat and rush to develop a bomb. Right now, they do not believe that the president of the United States will ever engage in military action against them. They think they’re free to do whatever they want,” said Dershowitz.
“We need Congress to authorize the president in advance to use whatever is necessary, including military, to prevent Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons. I think if we get Congress to pass such a statute, it will send a very powerful message,” he added.
Dershowitz admits Obama may refuse to sign that type of legislation, but that would put the president in a curious position.
“If he vetoes it, he’s going to have a hard time explaining to his Democratic colleagues why he’s vetoing a law which only repeats what’s in the deal, number one, and number two, which repeats what he has already said. He believes he has the authority and the will to use whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from developing weapons,” he said.
Either way, Dershowitz believes the legislation would have a positive impact.
“The strength of this proposal is that it puts President Obama’s feet to the fire and it makes him tell the American public what this deal really is and what he’s promised the Iranians,” said Dershowitz.
His ideas are already getting a favorable response on Capitol Hill, especially from lawmakers who reluctantly supported the Iran deal.
“I’ve gotten a number of calls from congressmen and senators who voted for the bill and who like my proposal and who think my proposal will make them more comfortable with their own votes,” he said.
Stunningly, Dershowitz says many of those same lawmakers were quite candid about their opinions of the Iran deal, even though they ended up supporting it.
“I have to tell you, I’ve spoken with a number of senators and congressmen, all of whom voted for the bill pretty much. Not a single one of them told me they liked the deal. Not a single one of them told me they thought it was a good deal. The best they could come up with is maybe it’s better than the alternative or it would be bad it Congress voted it down. But nobody that I’ve spoken to has a good word to say about the deal itself,” said Dershowitz.
He says that reaction is because it is a bad deal, created by poor negotiating on the part of the Obama administration.
“We gave up our competitive advantage. We’ve taken the military option off the table. We’ve taken the sanctions off the table. We have nothing. That’s why we crossed several of our own red lines and Iranians really didn’t cross any of their red lines. They’re going around boasting (about) how great this deal is,” said Dershowitz, who says all the wrong people like this deal.
“Virtually every anti-American person in the world is jumping up and down with joy. People like Noam Chomsky, who hate America, love this deal. People who have been antagonistic to America over the years love this deal,” he said.
Dershowitz says Obama may have gotten the deal to move forward but it came despite huge majorities in the House, Senate and in public opinion polls roundly rejecting the plan.
“You have to ask yourself, in a democracy, is this the way we ought to make important foreign policy decisions?” said Dershowitz.
