For the sake of peace, a bi-partisan effort in the US Senate

A current survey of the state of affairs in most of the Middle East would likely produce some fairly dismal results - aside from the tiny island of democracy and innovation represented by Israel, it's not hard to see that conflict is the norm. From the open, brutal civil war raging in Syria to the bloody chaos gripping Iraq once again, to quieter, more shadowy conflicts between warring Sunni and Shia factions, there is no shortage of danger and disruption. Amid all of these headline-grabbing battles, though,  looms another threat to Israel, the United States and regional stability, and that threat is the one posed by a nuclear Iran.

Although I would personally be thrilled beyond words if the Iranian regime actually gave up their entire nuclear program of their own accord, this seems like an incredibly remote possibility at present. In my mind, diplomacy and sanctions are the key to convincing Tehran to drop its pursuit nuclear weapons, and one cannot work without the other. I also believe firmly that the issue of Iran (and national security in general) should be truly nonpartisan,  something which is reflected in a recent legislative effort by Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New jersey and Republican Senator  Mark Kirk of Illinois. Working across party lines, these two senators have drafted a bill under consideration in the US Senate  which is designed to back with the force of law president Obama's assertion that if a final agreement cannot be reached with Iran, new sanctions would be put in place. The bill has attracted impressive support from senators of both parties, including New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte (as of this writing, Senator Shaheen has not signed on yet).

If you are interested in finding out more about this important legislative effort, I would recommend reading these statements from  The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League which highlight the important impact this bill could have. There is also a summary of the bill available online from AIPAC, in PDF form and articles from the Washington Post and The New York Times covering the issue.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.