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Russia Arms Iran As Kerry Refuses To Use U.N. Veto
 Tehran is spending billions under the Iran nuclear deal to buy arms, including advanced Russian fighters. The U.S. has a weapon -- our U.N. veto -- but When the United Nations endorsed President Obama's Iran nuclear pact last year, it refuted the charge that Tehran would use the tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief to dominate the Mideast militarily by requiring U.N. Security Council approval for some conventional arms sales to Iran. And like everything the Security Council does, the U.S. enjoys veto power over such approval. But what use is a veto if we won't use it? During testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked the following by House Democrat Brad Sherman of California: "Under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, Russia can't sell fighter planes to Iran unless the Security Council specifically approves that. I'll ask you, will we use our veto to prevent fighter planes from being sold to Iran from Russia?" Kerry's answer was a continuation of the appeasement of the world's foremost terrorist state that is a hallmark of the Obama administration. "Well, I don't think you have to use a veto," Kerry answered, adding that "there's a committee" it will go through. When Sherman pressed, "And would we use our veto if necessary to prevent the sale?" Kerry responded, "I haven't looked at the specifics of the transaction," but "in principle, we are very concerned about the transfer of weapons" and "would approach it with great skepticism ... (if) the committee signs off on it, I assure you. We'll stay in touch with you." The fighters in question are fourth-generation Su-30SM warplanes, which are highly-maneuverable multi-role fighters, "capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground strikes and can be equipped with a wide variety of precision munitions." As the IsraelMatzav blog points out, after news of the proposed sale first broke earlier this month, the Obama administration first "flat out denied that it had the ability to block weapons sales," then "wasn't sure if the U.S. could veto," then finally "acknowledged the sale is illegal and falls under" Security Council Resolution 2231. It comes on the heels of Moscow selling the long-range S-300 air defense system to Tehran. Both the advanced fighter and the sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, which can destroy both manned bombers and cruise missiles, will make it much more difficult for the U.S. and Israel to attack Iran's nuclear manufacturing facilities, should they choose to do so. Iran will also likely be getting Russia's most advanced T-90 tanks in its multibillion-dollar "Putin-Mart" shopping spree, just the latest in its long-standing alliance with the former Soviet Union, a partnership based on the two powers' anti-American interests. The Washington Times' Jed Babbin last week noted that "Russia has been building Iran's nuclear power plants for about two decades," and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin "has been working to reduce Western sanctions on Iran and lessen pressures on its nuclear weapons program for at least a decade." And Babbin warned that Putin could secretly sell Iran its Nudol anti-satellite missile "or the technology behind it" and "could be helping Iran develop its cyberwar capabilities with our satellites in mind. And that's only a couple of the many weapon systems and technologies that Russia could, and likely will, sell to Iran in secret." Far from reining in Islamofascist Iran, what Obama and Kerry's nuclear deal is doing is massively arming Iran with conventional weapons, as it lets it keep the ability to construct nuclear arms tomorrow -- by which time it may already militarily dominate the Middle East. Posted by: gorb 2016-02-28 |
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