JTA: “For Second Time in a Month, GOP Thwarts Anti-Iran Sanctions”

Aaron Keyak — October 8, 2008 – 1:13 pm | Barack Obama | Election 2008 | GOP Hypocrisies | Iran | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

In an article titled, "For second time in a month, GOP thwarts anti-Iran sanctions," Ron Kampeas of The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that,  "Republicans blocked it the evening of Oct. 2"

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have sunk anti-Iran sanctions for the second time in less than a month, drawing allegations that they are putting politics ahead of the need to confront Tehran’s nuclear program.

Senate Democrats made one final bid last week to pass legislation that would tighten sanctions aimed at getting Iran to stand down from its suspected nuclear weapons program. Among other things, the stalled measure would facilitate efforts to divest from the Islamic Republic.

Republicans blocked it the evening of Oct. 2, leading Democrats once again to suggest that the GOP was playing politics by obstructing legislation championed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

"We've tried to get this done in this body; there's been objection by the Republicans. That's unfortunate," said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate majority leader. He made his comments after Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) exercised his prerogative to obstruct the legislation.

The Senate has adjourned this session and it is unlikely that it will reconvene before the new Congress next year, when the bill would have to be reintroduced from scratch. That costs time, a precious commodity that Israel and pro-Israel groups say is dwindling as Iran moves closer to acquiring a nuclear bomb, perhaps as early as next year.

Read that last sentence again.

The article concludes with a quote from AIPAC spokesman Josh Block who said that AIPAC was "disappointed that it didn't get done in the Senate."

When will Senate Republicans put partisanship aside to confront the Iranian threat? This is really ridiculous. 

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