There is a predictable split in reaction. Nancy Pelosi coos that the Congress stands with Obama and the UN. But does it? Minority Leader John Boehner issues a statement:
Today’s action by the United Nations Security Council is long overdue but unfortunately doesn’t go far enough. What’s most disappointing is that the President’s 16-month ‘engagement strategy’ on this issue has simply given the Iranians 16 more months to work on acquiring a nuclear capability, and this sanctions resolution does nothing to stop that. At the request of the Administration, Congress has repeatedly delayed mandatory bilateral sanctions legislation. Any justification for delay is now at an end, and the Congress must act immediately.
Carly Fiorina declares that the sanctions are “no victory for peace” and rightly fingers Obama for allowing Russia to continue supporting the mullahs:
In order to get Russia and China on board, President Obama gutted the sanctions that were once promised to be “crippling” and later downgraded to “biting.” Today’s sanctions are so watered down that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, at a conference this week with the leader of Iran, vowed they would “not put Iran’s leadership or the Iranian people into difficulty.”
If Iran’s leadership is not put “into difficulty” by these sanctions, American interests and those of our allies will be. This is the fourth round of U.N. sanctions on Iran, yet Iran continues to work toward a nuclear weapon. Iran will also be allowed to continue arming itself — these sanctions include a loophole that will let Russia move forward with plans to sell Iran one of the world’s most sophisticated air defense systems, the S-300. Russia will also be allowed to continue building and delivering fuel to an Iranian nuclear reactor, even as the Obama administration moves toward a deal with Russia on nuclear cooperation that is now pending in Congress. And these sanctions do not target Iran’s imports of refined petroleum products or its access to international banking systems and capital markets, and it does not include a ban on dealings with Iran’s national air and shipping lines — the real pressure points on the Iranian regime.
The United States Congress can impose its own sanctions on Iran, real sanctions that would cause Iran’s leadership great difficulty. But Barbara Boxer and this Congress have so far refused to stand up to this administration and get serious about the threat from Iran.
This is a time for choosing, and to see Jewish “leaders” among the Obama enablers is a sorry spectacle. It is proof positive that Israel must rely on a new sort of alliance of American supporters — many leaders and members who are not Jewish — to defend the Jewish state. It certainly isn’t going to come from mainstream Jewish groups or the Democratic Party (but I repeat myself).
