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Senator Behind Iran Letter Is Latest Freshman Republican to Stir Things Up By Jennifer Steinhauer March 11, 2015 | New York Times WASHINGTON — First there was Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who held up bills, conducted an antidrone talk-a-thon and generally annoyed his colleagues. Next was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who whipped up a campaign that shut down the government. Now comes Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, another Republican freshman, whose letter to the leaders of Iran warning against a nuclear deal with the Obama administration has caused an international uproar… And while Mr. Cotton was broadly supported by Senate Republicans, his letter attracted many critics in his own party and beyond. “The idea of engaging directly with foreign entities on foreign policy… Read More ›

Could Iran Letter Backfire on Republicans? Fox News March 10, 2015 NSN Board of Directors member David Mercer joins Fox News’ Strategy Room to discuss the GOP’s political gamble on Sen. Cotton’s letter to Iran. …out of self-interest, not in the interest of the American public, or the national security, or it allies including Israel to find a path to defuse the threat of Iran, but that the allies that are working with the United States, whether it be Great Britain, German or others to come to get stability in that region. That is what they undermined, and that is intolerable, deplorable, and should never happen again. – David Mercer Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com   To watch the original footage, click here. Read More ›

U.S. Military Plan For Looming ISIS Offensive Takes Shape Mark Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winner who has covered national security and the military since 1979, and for Time since 1994 February 26, 2015 Clearing is relatively easy, but clearing and holding Islamic State territory is the goal Every U.S. military official says degrading and defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria isn’t a job that can be done by the Pentagon alone. But it also cannot be done without the Pentagon. That’s the bind President Obama finds himself in as he seeks a way to cripple ISIS without putting U.S. combat boots on the ground inside Iraq and Syria (beyond the 3,100 now there to train Iraqi forces and protect the U.S. embassy and other… Read More ›

Coalition Urges Congress To Rein In Sweeping 2001 War Authorization Jennifer Bendery February 26, 2015 | Huffington Post WASHINGTON — As Congress turns its attention to President Barack Obama’s request to use military force against the Islamic State, more than a dozen groups are urging lawmakers to rein in a sweeping 2001 war authorization that never expired and is being used to justify open-ended military operations. The American Civil Liberties Union, National Security Network and Constitution Project are among 16 groups that sent a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday demanding that they revise Obama’s war authorization request to explicitly state that the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force does not apply to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL or ISIS.… Read More ›

Republicans to Raise Heat on Kerry Over Iran Nuclear Talks By John Donnelly February 24, 2015 | CQ On Defense Critical Moment on Iranian Nukes: Secretary of State John Kerry testifies today before the Senate Appropriations panel that oversees his department’s budget. He’ll probably be asked about reports that he and other Western diplomats are closing in on a deal with Iran that would restrict that country’s enrichment of uranium for perhaps 10 years and then relax the limits somewhat. Kerry was involved in the talks in Geneva Sunday and yesterday. The progressive National Security Network says the potential deal could be “a huge diplomatic success” and urges Congress not to mess it up. But Republicans will probably howl over any agreement that enables Iran to develop technologies and materials it could use to… Read More ›

Analysts: Israel PM’s Visit Complicates Risk to Troops and ISIS Fight By Bryant Jordan February 20, 2015 | Military.com House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak before Congress puts the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in jeopardy, but also complicates the Arab coalition formed to defeat ISIS and complicates the risk to U.S troops stationed abroad, according to military and foreign policy analysts. Netanyahu is slated to speak to a joint session of Congress on March 3. His appearance was orchestrated by Boehner through Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Though Democrat lawmakers have widely criticized the move, most are expected to attend the speech. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, now a senior advisor with National Security Network, a Washington, DC-based foreign… Read More ›

White House Extremism Summit More Symbolism Than Substance, Experts Say By Susan Crabtree February 20, 2015 | Washington Examiner President Obama’s closing remarks at the Countering Violent Extremism Summit Thursday perfectly captured his awkward balancing act when it comes to talking about Islamic terrorist groups and his policies aimed at stopping their deadly goals. While Obama studiously avoided words like “Islamic” and “Muslim,” he made no bones about the need to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, mentioning the terrorist group nine times. In the end, the summit was more symbolism than substance, say foreign policy experts across the political spectrum. “The Obama administration is demonstrating some much-needed international initiative by hosting this summit,” said John Dana Stuster, a policy analyst for the National… Read More ›

NSN report details new strategy to fight ISIL Philip Ewing February 18, 2015 | Politico Pro (subscription based) The Obama administration should scale back its ambitions to train Syrian fighters to take on the Islamic State, a new report urges, and instead focus on containing the terrorists. The left-leaning National Security Network says President Barack Obama’s strategy has shown it can “halt and degrade” the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, but “is unlikely to achieve its stated goal of defeating the organization.” “For defeat of the Islamic State to be realistically achievable, credible partner ground forces must exist that can retake significant territory and govern the reclaimed areas,” says the report, by researchers Dana Stuster and Bill French. “At present, these conditions do not exist,… Read More ›

When It Comes to Iran, Don’t Follow the Iraq Playbook Susan Shaer, Executive Director of WAND and Win Without War co-chair February 17, 2015 | Huffington Post I observe the recent Washington conversation on Iran nuclear negotiations with a creepy sense of déjà vu. It makes me recall the congressional debate — if it can really be called that — in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Then, as now, political posturing and the embrace of arbitrary deadlines obscured the facts and drove our country into disastrous war with repercussions still playing out today. Before we get to that, it is important to establish the core points that the overwhelming majority of Americans agree with when it comes to international diplomacy with Iran:… Read More ›

Constitution Check: Is the President actually giving up some of his war powers? By Lyle Denniston February 17, 2015 | Yahoo News President Obama has won significant praise, from scholars, pundits and some politicians, for his action last week in recommending limits on a new move to wage military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He proposed a three-year time limit on that authority, and a lack of permission for extensive use of U.S. ground troops against ISIL. He also asked Congress explicitly to repeal a 2002 resolution that had authorized the U.S. military invasion of Iraq. As the President conceded, however, he explicitly declined to ask for repeal of the 9/11 authorization – the warmaking power that Congress had authorized against the… Read More ›