Lawton Constitution: Cole: Obama makes Mideast missteps

Lawton Constitution - Kim McConnell

Tensions are increasing in the Middle East and the framework for an international agreement with Iran won’t do anything to change that, Fourth District U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said.

“The situation is not getting better; it’s getting worse,” said Cole, R-Oklahoma, noting that a nuclear agreement that even U.S. friends don’t trust won’t help. “I’m very skeptical of the deal.”

Cole, who was in the Lawton area last week for the rollout of BAE System’s first modernized Paladin artillery, has consistently questioned the wisdom of the agreement that supporters say could prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons while lifting international sanctions on the country. President Barack Obama calls the framework, crafted by an international coalition, a historic understanding, but Cole is among those who don’t trust a country that they say has been historically unwilling to conform. In a meeting with The Constitution’s editorial board, Cole said the decision follows in the missteps of other decisions by the Obama administration, noting Obama also was wrong on actions taken in Libya and Syria, and that the failure to keep military personnel in Iraq “was a bad thing” because you can’t claim you won a war by withdrawing troops.

The international framework for an agreement with Iran, which sets goals for that country while pledging to lift international sanctions, was announced last week by the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nation’s Security Council, plus Germany) and the European Union, with its terms specifying that a plan must be reached by June 30. The agreement has drawn widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats, Cole said, adding that it also is being viewed skeptically in the Middle East by those who are Iran’s neighbors.

Cole said Iran continues to be a state sponsor of terrorism and has continued to exert pressure on the region, almost as if it were trying to recreate the old Persian Empire.

“They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world,” he said, noting those at the negotiation table “are not dealing with the most trustworthy negotiating partner.” He also said the Iranian president announced Thursday that his country wouldn’t sign the agreement unless all sanctions against his country were lifted on the first day of implementation, rather than in stages, as the U.S. has insisted.

He said that leads to troubling potential for Iran, because lifting sanctions would allow a flow of funds that Iran could, in turn, use to continue supporting terrorism and increasing its influence in the region.

Cole said he also is troubled by the Obama Administration’s support of the plan, noting it also was wrong about intervention in Libya and Syria and adding that it is hard to believe that the world actually was better off with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He said Obama also called ISIL “the junior varsity of terrorism,” a direct contrast to the actuality of a terrorist organization that now controls an area the size of Indiana and which continues to be a major source of terrorist threats.

Cole also criticizes the agreement itself, noting its provisions are in striking contrast to statements Obama made in 2012. He said all the nation’s friends in the region are telling the U.S. the agreement is a bad idea, but said Obama is anxious to craft a historic deal and is willing to compromise when he should have “gotten up and walked away from the table.”

Cole said that doesn’t mean the agreement’s provisions are entirely bad. He noted it contains provisions to cut the number of centrifuges that could be used to make nuclear weapons by two-thirds and provides for inspections (although the details are not as strong as they should be). The agreement also includes multiple countries, meaning sanctions that would be applied should Iran fail to comply would be applied by the international community.

“He has tried, but you have to recognize who is on the other side of the table,” Cole said.

Situations playing out on the world stage also could be influencing budget decisions, including plans for the defense budget, Cole said.

The issue is pertinent to Lawton-Fort Sill and other military communities because of the potential impact that sequestrationmandated cuts will have on military personnel. Cole, while cautioning that the community and legislative leaders need to take things “one step at a time,” said cuts in military personnel are tied into ongoing budget negotiations and while the Republican and presidential budgets are different, they are within the same total amount, meaning it should be easier to reach an accord.

Cole said he was told Thursday that the military budget is “looking better” than what legislators had initially envisioned. He said while there is no guarantee for increases in personnel stationed at Fort Sill and other military installations, projected cuts will be less than initially announced because of stabilized defense spending influenced by a re-emergence of defense hawks. But Cole said he isn’t yet willing to say that there will be no cuts in military personnel, noting “there are too many places along the way to go wrong.”

He said part of the stabilization may be influenced by the fact that the world looks different, noting terrorism seems to be growing. Russia also continues to make moves in Eastern Europe, and some people feel what is going on in Eastern Europe is a direct result of the U.S. military drawdown, he said.

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