President Obama’s insistence on comparing Republicans who oppose his nuclear deal with Tehran to Iranians who shout “death to America” is “ill-advised,” former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said Friday.
Burns’ characterization of the president’s remarks came Friday as he discussed the White House’s pending nuclear with Iran on MSNBC.
“Do you think that is a fair comparison? Or is President Obama at the risk of further alienating the Republicans and others who might be opposed to the deal?” MSNBC’s Craig Melvin asked.
Burns responded, “I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. I have great respect for the president but frankly I think that speech — the tone of it was ill-advised because what’s really happening here as Congress prepares to vote just after Labor Day is really a battle within the Democratic Party.”
Obama said this week during an address at American University in Washington, D.C., that Republicans and Iranian “hardliners” share a “common cause” in that they both oppose the nuclear deal because they’re trying to protect the status quo.
The president also said that Iran’s “death to America” crowd, which includes “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, does not speak for everyone in the Middle Eastern country.
“Just because Iranian hardliners chant ‘Death to America’ does not mean that’s what all Iranians believe,” he said. “In fact, it’s those hardliners who are most comfortable with the status quo. It’s those hardliners chanting ‘Death to America’ who have been most opposed to the deal. They are making a common cause with the Republican caucus.”
Later, in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Obama stuck by his remarks, saying that his comparison is absolutely accurate.
“What I said is absolutely true, factually,” he said in an interview that will air Sunday. “The truth of the matter is, inside of Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, hardliners who are implacably opposed to any cooperation with the international community,”
The president took it a step further, going beyond merely standing by his initial comments.
“The reason that [Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.] and the rest of the folks in his caucus who opposed this jumped out and opposed this before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of a ideological commitment not to get a deal done,” Obama said.
“In that sense they do have much more in common with the hardliners who are much more satisfied with the status quo,” he added.
Obama’s remarks have been met with pushback from critics, including Burns, who say he’s increasing the likelihood that members of Congress will vote against the nuclear deal.
Burns also challenged Obama’s oft-repeated claim that those who oppose the nuclear deal must then want war with Iran.
“To suggest opponents are all Iraq War supporters or warmongers, to suggest if the deal is disapproved than war is inevitable — I don’t think the facts support those contentions,” he said.
Burns served as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2008.
(h/t WFB)
