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Garrett vows to keep fighting Iran agreement

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JULY 21, 2015    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

TEANECK — Rep. Scott Garrett told more than 250 people gathered Monday night for a town hall meeting at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun that he will continue his efforts to block the Iran nuclear arms deal, saying it would be detrimental to the security of both the United States and Israel.

He said that the deal was “woefully short” of President Obama’s promises and that “we essentially will be starting a countdown for Iran to have nuclear weapons” in the future. Garrett, a Republican who represents portions of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties, said he hoped enough Democrats would join Republicans to block the deal, but added that he did not expect that to happen.

The meeting echoed portions of a multifaceted national debate, with a large coalition of organizations planning the Stop Iran Rally in Times Square on Wednesday to oppose the agreement while peace groups and others have been arguing in its favor. Iranians also have not been in complete agreement, with hundreds protesting the agreement in Tehran over the weekend.

Congressional Republicans, including Garrett, have been uniformly against it. However, they would need a two-thirds majority in Congress to prevent the agreement from being finalized. Garrett said he voted against that procedure when it was established with bipartisan support this year, adding, “It puts the Constitution on its head.”

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky of Bnai Yeshurun said the agreement placed the nation “on the verge of a historic capitulation.” He added that “Obama’s America is on a collision course with Israel.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/world/garrett-vows-to-keep-fighting-iran-agreement-1.1377711

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Israel and Saudi Arabia present united front over Iran deal

Switzerland Iran Nuclear Talks

Iran’s enemies unsettled by its deal with the West, but Bashar al-Assad of Syria says it is ‘a great victory’

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor and Robert Tait, Jerusalem

8:53PM BST 14 Jul 2015

The nuclear deal with Iran caused fury in Israel and consternation around the region at the likely increase in influence and resources of a newly enriched Iran.

Most telling was the loudest expression of support. “I am happy that the Islamic Republic of Iran has achieved a great victory by reaching an agreement,” President Bashar al-Assad of Syria said in a message to his Iranian opposite number, Hassan Rouhani.

Israel and the Sunni Arab world have set aside old grievances to stand together against the West’s engagement with Iran.

The more strident denunciations came from Israel, which regards Iran as a direct threat. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said the country would not be bound by what he called a “stunning historic mistake”.

“Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran,” he said in a televised address hoursafter the conclusion of the accord. “Iran continues to seek our destruction and we will defend ourselves.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/11739349/Israel-and-Saudi-Arabia-present-united-front-over-Iran-deal.html

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Netanyahu: Iran deal a ‘historic mistake for the entire world’

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Surrender is not diplomacy 

US sellout 
By Julian Hattem – 07/14/15 08:30 AM EDT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scolding negotiators in the U.S. and around the world for agreeing to what he is calling a terrible deal that has only empowered Iran.

“Judging by the initial reports that have emerged, one can now reach the conclusion that this agreement is a historic mistake for the entire world,” Netanyahu said at the start of a meeting with the Dutch foreign minister on Tuesday, shortly after a deal was announced from Vienna.

“Whenever there is a readiness to make a deal at any cost, this is the result.”

“In every area that was supposed to prevent Iran from gaining the capacity to arm itself with nuclear weapons, far-reaching concessions were made,” he added. “In addition, Iran will receive hundreds of billions of dollars which it can use as a means to fuel its terror machine, its aggression and its expansionism in the Middle East and around the world.”

Netanyahu seemed to aim his ire at Washington, where President Obama is already hailing the historic deal as a triumph for global peace.

“It is impossible to prevent an agreement where those negotiating it are willing to make more and more concessions to those who during the talks are chanting ‘Death to America,’” Netanyahu said. “We knew very well that the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than anything else, so we did not promise to prevent an agreement.”

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/247791-netanyahu-historic-mistake-for-the-entire-world

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Diplomats: Iran announcement planned Today

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Jul 12, 4:25 PM (ET)

By GEORGE JAHN and MATTHEW LEE

VIENNA (AP) — Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce Monday that they’ve reached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy that would curb the country’s atomic program in return for sanctions relief, two diplomats told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The envoys said a provisional agreement may be reached even earlier — by late Sunday. But they cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out. Once it is complete, a formal, final agreement would be open to review by officials in the capitals of Iran and the six world powers at the talks, they said.

Senior U.S. and Iranian officials suggested, however, there might not be enough time to reach a deal by the end of Sunday and that the drafting of documents could bleed into Monday.

All of the officials, who are at the talks in Vienna, demanded anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.

(AP) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, talks to journalist from a…
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“We are working hard, but a deal tonight is simply logistically impossible,” the Iranian official said, noting that the agreement will run roughly 100 pages.

The senior U.S. official declined to speculate as to the timing of any agreement or announcement but said “major issues remain to be resolved.”

Despite the caution, the negotiators appeared to be on the cusp of an agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who on Thursday had threatened to walk away from the negotiations, said Sunday that “a few tough things” remain in the way but added “we’re getting to some real decisions.”

En route to Mass at Vienna’s gothic St. Stephens Cathedral, Kerry said twice he was “hopeful” after a “very good meeting” Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had Muslim services Friday. The two met again early Saturday evening.

(AP) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks in the garden of Coburg where closed-door…
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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also was cautiously optimistic, telling reporters Sunday: “I hope that we are finally entering the last phase of this negotiation.”

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said an agreement was close, but not quite done, describing the negotiations as “still steps away from reaching the intended peak.”

 

https://apnews.myway.com/article/20150712/iran-nuclear_talks-6cf045aec0.html

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Garrett Takes Hard Lines Again Iran , votes No on Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015

House Budget Panel Holds Hearing to Receive  Views on Fiscal 2012

Rep. Scott Garrett: Congress Must Ensure that Iran Never Gains Nuclear Weapons
May 14, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) issued the following statement after voting against the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, H.R. 1191, today because it did not ensure that Iran never gains nuclear weapons:

“My priority is ensuring Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.  The Obama Administration is negotiating a treaty with Iran, and therefore is responsible for delivering to Congress a deal that protects the United States and its allies.  Unfortunately, the treaty that the Obama Administration is negotiating does not do this, and therefore I cannot support today’s legislation because it facilitates its implementation.  Instead of requiring a two-thirds majority to approve the treaty—as prescribed by the Constitution—this legislation turns the Constitution on its head and requires a two-thirds majority to block the administration’s treaty.  As a member of the Iran Sanctions Conference Committee, I have long fought for strict sanctions against this dangerous totalitarian regime, and I will continue to work to prevent them from fulfilling their nuclear ambitions.”

Menendez Iran sanctions bill passes House without support of N.J.’s Garrett

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on May 14, 2015 at 7:53 PM, updated May 15, 2015 at 7:03 AM

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House cleared legislation Thursday providing for congressional review of any nuclear deal with Iran, with Rep. Scott Garrett one of only 19 Republicans to vote no.

The measure was co-authored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who was ranking member of the panel until voluntarily stepping aside following his April 1 indictment on criminal corruption charges.

The House vote was 400-25, with Garrett (R-5th Dist.) the only New Jersey lawmaker lining up in opposition.

Garrett said the deal never guarantees that Iran won’t eventually build a nuclear weapon.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/menendez_iran_bill_passes_house_without_support_of.html

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Inside Fidel Castro’s luxurious life on his secret island getaway

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By Juan Reinaldo Sanchez

May 10, 2015 | 6:00am

For 17 years, Juan Reinaldo Sanchez served as bodyguard to Fidel Castro. But when he became disillusioned with the Cuban dictator’s hypocrisy and tried to retire in 1994, Castro had him thrown in prison. Sanchez made 10 attempts to escape the island, finally making it to the US in 2008. Now he reveals all in his new book, “The Double Life of Fidel Castro.” In this excerpt, Sanchez exposes “El Jefe’s” privileged life.

Modal Trigger

“The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years as Personal Bodyguard to El Lider Maximo” by Juan Reinaldo Sanchez (St. Martin’s Press)

To Cubans, Fidel Castro presents himself as a man of the people, claiming to make only 900 pesos a month (about $38) and owning no property other than a modest “fisherman’s hut” somewhere on the coast.

In truth, El Jefe is worth hundreds of millions and owns 20 properties, including a chalet where he goes duck hunting every year and a private marina in the Bay of Pigs.

https://nypost.com/2015/05/10/inside-fidel-castros-luxurious-life-on-his-secret-island-getaway/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

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Isis on the run? The US portrayal is very far from the truth

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Sunday 3 May 2015
PATRICK COCKBURN

The map issued by the Pentagon to prove that Isis had lost territory shows how false optimism dominates the actions of the outside powers towards the Middle East.

A graphic illustration of Western wishful thinking about the decline of Islamic State (IS) is a well-publicised map issued by the Pentagon to prove that the self-declared caliphate has lost 25 per cent of its territory since its big advances last year.

Unfortunately for the Pentagon, sharp-eyed American journalists soon noticed something strange about its map identifying areas of IS strength. While it shows towns and villages where IS fighters have lost control around Baghdad, it simply omits western Syria where they have been advancing in and around Damascus.

The Pentagon displayed some embarrassment about its dodgy map, but it largely succeeded in its purpose of convincing people that IS is in retreat. Many news outlets across the world republished the map as evidence of the success of air strikes by the United States and its allies in support of the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria. The capture of Tikrit after a month-long siege is cited as a further sign that a re-energised Iraqi state is winning and one day in the not too distant future will be able to recapture Mosul in the north and Anbar province in the west.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/isis-on-the-run-the-us-portrayal-is-very-far-from-the-truth-10221225.html

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Bob Menendez battles on, smacks Obama foreign policy at Armenian genocide commemoration

Robert Menendez, Bob Corker

HACKENSACK – Braced against the federal corruption charges filed against him, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) stood up to a bracing breeze at the Bergen County commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the issue. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Beleaguered Menendez battles on, smacks Obama foreign policy at Armenian genocide commemoration | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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Obama Kept Iran’s Short Breakout Time a Secret

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APR 21, 2015 6:00 AM EDT

By Eli Lake

The Barack Obama administration has estimated for years that Iran was at most three months away from enriching enough nuclear fuel for an atomic bomb. But the administration only declassified this estimate at the beginning of the month, just in time for the White House to make the case for its Iran deal to Congress and the public.

Speaking to reporters and editors at our Washington bureau on Monday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz acknowledged that the U.S. has assessed for several years that Iran has been two to three months away from producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. When asked how long the administration has held this assessment, Moniz said: “Oh quite some time.” He added: “They are now, they are right now spinning, I mean enriching with 9,400 centrifuges out of their roughly 19,000. Plus all the . . . . R&D work. If you put that together it’s very, very little time to go forward. That’s the 2-3 months.”

Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, confirmed to me Monday that the two-to-three-month estimate for fissile material was declassified on April 1.

https://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-21/obama-kept-iran-s-short-breakout-time-a-secret

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Menendez praised for role in Iran agreement bill

Robert Menendez, Bob Corker

APRIL 14, 2015, 6:45 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 6:54 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT |
THE RECORD

Facing criminal charges that pushed him into a supporting role instead of a leadership position on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez still notched a victory Tuesday when the panel unanimously approved a bill he cosponsored dealing with Iran.

And the White House, which had threatened a veto and lobbied Democrats against the bill, signaled that President Obama would be willing to sign it. White House officials cited changes that had been made to the bill, which gives the Senate the power to object before any international agreement lifts economic sanctions that Congress had imposed on Iran.

But Menendez said the administration saw it was going to lose.

“I think that it’s more the administration seeing where the will of the Congress was and coming to that conclusion” that the bill could not be stopped, he said.

Attending his first hearing since stepping aside as the committee’s top Democrat following his indictment April 1, Menendez was praised by both Republicans and Democrats for his efforts.

“I can’t imagine a senator being more constructive,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who succeeded Menendez as chairman of the committee in January when Republicans took control of the Senate. “There is no question over the last two years you have helped bring us to this point, where instead of debating things we in fact may well be taking up major legislation that will have a significant impact on security of Middle East.”

“I completely agree with you,” followed Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who is now the panel’s top Democrat after Menendez ceded that role because of the charges. “Senator Menendez enjoys the strong thanks for the incredible leadership he has given … I hope Senator Menendez’s issues will be resolved quickly.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/menendez-praised-for-role-in-iran-agreement-bill-1.1308797

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Menendez: Obama Thinks ‘If You Open Your Hands to Dictators, That They Will Unclench Their Fists’

Robert Menendez, Bob Corker

April 13, 2015 – 7:33 AM

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) says President Obama is wrong to “give the Cubans just about everything they want” without getting “something significant in return.”

“I think the president has a misguided calculation that if you open your hands to dictators that they will unclench their fists,” Menendez told “Fox News Sunday.”

“And while Raul Castro may have said some nice things about President Obama, at the same time, just last month, we had 600 arrests of innocent people inside of Cuba who were detained, many political activists and human rights activists who were not allowed to leave the country to go to the Panama Summit.

https://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/menendez-obama-thinks-if-you-open-your-hands-dictators-they-will-unclench?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=marketing&utm_term=facebook&utm_content=facebook&utm_campaign=n-menendez-cuba-obama

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Obama right at home with Anti-US Summit of the Americas

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OBAMA-CASTRO MEETING OVERSHADOWS ANTI-US LINE AT SUMMIT
BY JOSHUA GOODMAN AND PETER ORSI
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PANAMA CITY (AP) — As usual when Latin America’s leftist leaders get together with U.S. officials, there were plenty of swipes at the U.S. during the seventh Summit of the Americas.

From 19th century territorial raids on Mexico to U.S. support for the overthrow of Chile’s socialist government in 1973 and the 1989 invasion of Panama that removed Gen. Manuel Noriega, Washington’s interventions in Latin America were targets of rebuke during long speeches by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his allies. That prompted President Barack Obama to retort, “I always enjoy the history lessons that I receive when I’m here.”

But the historic meeting between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday before the summit closed provides the U.S. and Latin America with an opportunity to move beyond a history of grievances and mistrust and set a course of closer cooperation.

There were concerns in the run-up that recent U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan officials could undermine the goodwill generated by Obama’s decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba, but they proved unfounded.

The conciliatory tone was set by Castro, who joked that since Cuba had been barred from the previous summits he was entitled to speak well beyond the eight minutes allotted to each of the 30-plus heads of state in attendance.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AMERICAS_SUMMIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-04-12-00-04-55

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Left rallies to protect Obama on Iranian nuclear deal

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By Alexander Bolton – 04/09/15 06:00 AM EDT

Liberal Democrats have mounted a furious offensive to convince Senate Democrats to oppose legislation the White House warns could kill a nuclear deal with Iran.

In moves that appeared coordinated, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced her opposition to a bill that would give Congress a vote on the emerging deal. Minutes later, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to postpone a planned vote next week.

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“Diplomacy has taken us to a framework agreement founded on vigilance and enforcement, and these negotiations must be allowed to proceed unencumbered,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Senator Corker’s legislation undermines these international negotiations and represents an unnecessary hurdle to achieving a strong, final agreement.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a coalition of liberal groups including MoveOn.org Political Action and Democracy for America threatened to retaliate against Democrats who support the review legislation championed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (D-Tenn.).

The moves appeared to shift calculations on the politics of supporting Corker’s bill.

The measure appeared close to gaining veto-proof support on Monday night after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) reiterated his support for the bill.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/238282-left-rallies-to-protect-obama-on-iran-nuke-deal

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How the U.S. thinks Russians hacked the White House

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By Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN
Updated 7:06 PM ET, Tue April 7, 2015

The State Department computer system has been bedeviled by signs that despite efforts to lock them out, the Russian hackers have been able to reenter the system. One official says the Russian hackers have “owned” the State Department system for months and it is not clear the hackers have been fully eradicated from the system.

As in many hacks, investigators believe the White House intrusion began with a phishing email that was launched using a State Department email account that the hackers had taken over, according to the U.S. officials.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in a speech at an FBI cyberconference in January, warned government officials and private businesses to teach employees what “spear phishing” looks like.

“So many times, the Chinese and others get access to our systems just by pretending to be someone else and then asking for access, and someone gives it to them,” Clapper said.

The ferocity of the Russian intrusions in recent months caught U.S. officials by surprise, leading to a reassessment of the cybersecurity threat as the U.S. and Russia increasingly confront each other over issues ranging from the Russian aggression in Ukraine to the U.S. military operations in Syria.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/politics/how-russians-hacked-the-wh/index.html

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Wall Street Journal: Castros Smelled Obama’s Weakness and Pounced

Obama-Golf

Monday, 06 Apr 2015 01:44 PM
By Jennifer G. Hickey

As a consequence of President Barack Obama’s decision to chart a new course in U.S.-Cuban relations, Cuban dictator Raul Castro will attend this week’s Summit of the Americas with the upper hand and an opportunity to set the regional agenda, says Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O’Grady.

“Repression is on the march in the Americas, and U.S. ambivalence is part of the problem. In the White House’s lack of moral clarity, the region’s bullies smell weakness. One result is that a Caribbean backwater run by gangster brothers now has the upper hand in setting the regional agenda,” writes O’Grady.

For the first time, Cuba was invited and chose not to boycott the event, which O’Grady says is a sign of how much damage the Obama administration has done to the cause of democracy in the region.

“Being outcasts made Raúl and Fidel Castro feel disrespected. So they pressured much of the rest of the region to say that if Cuba were again left out, they would boycott the event. In December Mr. Obama folded. It was a sign of how bad things are in the Americas. Authoritarian governments now rule in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Venezuela, Ecuador,

Evidence of Cuba’s anti-democratic actions was seen on Sunday when dissident Rosa Maria Paya was arrested on Sunday night at the airport in Panama, according to The London Telegraph.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com https://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Cuba-Raul-Castro-Americas-summit/2015/04/06/id/636706/#ixzz3WZFidlZe