Not So Sluggish Senate Sledgehammers Iran (FIVE MINUTE Vote For Unsmart Sanctions!)

According to M.J. Rosenberg, Senior Fellow, Media Matters, Obama’s laudable willingness to use non-“sledgehammer” diplomacy on Iran is being scuttled by an AIPAC-driven, hawkish -- especially during an election year -- and heretofore (re health care, at least) glacially moving Congress.

Kudos to the rational inclinations of Obama on this. Wouldn’t it be refreshing for the United States NOT to resort to extreme punishment first, last, and always with the slightest provocation or, more often, projected provocation onto others? Y’know, the old offensive defense Bush made so popular ... prevalent ... hellishly devastating ... homicidal ... genocidal.

But, alas, it is an election year, and xenophobic faux-nationalism plays so well politically. What’s a politician to do? Create untoward suffering on innocent citizens, and sully and/or surrender whatever last remnant of his or her soul has managed to survive in the national brothel a/k/a the United States Congress?

Or -- gasp -- make AIPAC unhappy? Play career-suicidal counterpoint to strident war-mongering, while incidentially saving lives or the quality of lives for innocent millions?

COME ON!!! Hate is such a cheap and easy beat to get going especially among a wounded, confused and angry citizenry ready to vent its rage wherever pointed, unbelievably often away from its very perpetrators. Something akin to Road Runner's DETOUR sign con of Wile E. Coyote to the nearest cliff fall.

So let’s get straight what just happened last week. According to Rosenberg’s HuffPo article, a bill for comprehensive sanctions against the citizenry of Iran was brought up with only three senators on the floor, there was a FIVE MINUTE debate, and it passed by a VOICE vote. WOW. Again, according to Rosenberg, this bill was being pushed by AIPAC neocons among others.

Rosenberg:

But Congress waits for no president when it comes to certain issues (often involving the Middle East), especially in election years. So we now have bills in both chambers that will impress the lobbyists they were designed to impress (and who helped craft the bills) without likely doing much of anything to constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions. Similarly, they will not harm the people they are meant to harm while hurting innocent Iranians instead.

The Congressional sanctions bills target Iran's imports of refined petroleum (gasoline and other refined products) which Iranians use to power their cars and heat their homes. Iran, for all its raw petroleum, has very little refining capacity so it depends on imports. Under the provisions of the Congressional bills, no refined products could legally get into Iran, leaving its economy crippled (that, at least, is the hope of its sponsors).

Congress appears indifferent to the impact this would have ordinary Iranian people.

[snip]

... A gas cutoff would gravely harm the powerless and benefit the powerful, especially the all-powerful Revolutionary Guard which corners the market on contraband and would make out like the thuggish bandits they are.

What a strange time to be punishing the average Iranian. It is as if the sponsors of these bills (which were drafted before the stolen Iranian election) are unaware that millions of Iranians have taken to the street to fight against the Khameini regime.

Now let’s see. McCain and Lieberman et al. who were exercising so much passion over those poor Iranian revolutionaries after the allegedly stolen Iranian election are of a mind to take away their heat and their transportation. At the same time strengthening the bad guy leaders of the regime they are allegedly committed to weaken ... crush ... pulverize ... replace with their and Israel’s own puppet of Western imperialism.

Rosenberg nails it:

Punishing civilians, specifically the collective punishment of innocent civilians, is not only counterproductive, it is immoral.

But U.S. law and its faux protectors these days don’t seem to find decency and morality relevant any longer. Congress stopped being capable of empathy for its own citizens (see healthcare reporting ... progressive blogging ... non-pragmatic progressive blogging). Why should they pause for a heartbeat (or whatever remnant of a heart... etc.) to consider, shudder, those of Arab descent?

Rosenberg’s take seems so reasonable. But Congress apparently is not listening.

... There is nothing smart about collective punishment, nothing smart about punishing the innocent in the vain hope that some of the guilty will also feel pain. And there is nothing smart about punishing a nation which is in the midst of a revolution, with people dying to overthrow a horrific regime.

These bills punish the revolutionaries -- along with every other Iranian -- and make their mission more difficult.

Historically, countries rally behind even the most loathsome governments when faced by outside threat. Even the utter destruction of Dresden and other German cities by the allies did not reduce Hitler's hold on the people. Quite the contrary.

And finally, the vote was streamlined with insider dealmaking so, according to Rosenberg, AIPAC-friendly senators could prevent the administration from inserting four sledgehammer-weakening amendments to this Iranian comprehensive sanctions bill. Funnily enough, John McCain wanted to beef-up the said sledgehammer bill with his own amendment. Rosenberg delivers some well-aimed snark:

And he [McCain] went into his usual teeth-gnashing, howling tantrum demanding that Reid allow his amendment to be considered.

But, if they considered McCain, then the four administration amendments would be considered too. And the lobbyists desperately didn't want that.

So they dispatched droopy Joe Lieberman, McCain's best friend forever, to explain that if they allowed his amendment then the President's concerns might be addressed too.

The two bosom buddies wept over this Sophie's Choice situation for awhile and then McCain gave in, with the assurance that his amendment would be considered later.

Well quipped, Mr. Rosenberg.

What a cake-walk it seems these days to convince Iran and the United States of an upcoming war. The collusion of AIPAC-led Congress and obliging corporate media. Watching Charlie Rose and a panel of reporters the other day was chilling as they discussed a possibly imminent war with Iran via the U.S. or Israel. They all spoke with such sanitized Beltway gamesmanship. The Academy Awards? Tiger Woods scandal? Now they touch old Charlie's heart. But the prospect of millions suffering and dying due to the "game on" sensibility of power-deranged Congressional war mongerers? Evidence of authentic feeling for the welfare of vast numbers of human beings? Of an international perspective in this country that is not Zionist-friendly? Not so much.

Now I’m thinking ruefully, too, of that joke Ray MacGovern shares. Why doesn’t Israel become a U.S. state? Because if it did, it would only have two senators.

[cross-posted: http://www.correntewire.com/not_so_sluggish_senate_sledgehammers_iran_fi... ]