Republican Sen.’s letter did more harm than good

On March 9, freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, a former Army Officer and Republican of Arkansas, sent an Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which bore the signatures of Cotton and 46 of his Republican colleagues.

In his missive letter, Sen. Cotton advised the Iranian leadership that any negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear program not approved by Congress are unlikely to last beyond the end of Obama’s Presidency. The letter instantly sparked a public backlash and received condemnation from the press, the President, and ironically, the leader of Iran. However, the allegations that the 47 Senators committed treason and violated the Logan Act are untrue; Congress reserves the right to voice dissent with the President’s policies.

However, even though the letter was within the senators’ power and the contents were factually accurate, the letter was both redundant and repugnant; it was potentially detrimental to the delicate multinational negotiations being brokered by the United States, China, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, and France. Just because you can say something, doesn’t mean that you should.

In the Republican mindset, there is a certain overinflated rhetoric about the threat Iran posses to the United States and its allies in the region. We feel that these threats are unfounded in reality, especially considering the Feb. 26 “Worldwide Threat Assessment” delivered to the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

The report does not list Iran as a terrorist threat, and in-fact, praised Iran for the steps being taken “to dampen sectarianism, build responsive partners, and deescalate tensions with Saudi Arabia.” Leaked cables from the Israeli intelligence service state Iran “was not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons.” Iran appears to be making genuine progress in regards to its foreign policy.

In the last six months, Iran has also become the unfortunate bedfellow in our fight against the Islamic State. The U.S., while reluctant, is forced to rely on Iran’s willingness to confront radical Sunni militants by providing both the material and personnel to support the Iraqi military; Iranian assets are increasingly crucial in the mission to drive ISIS out of its strongholds in northern Iraq.

The world is changing, and while we have a long lasting wariness toward the hard-line Iranian government, the question needs to be asked of Senators Deb Fisher and Ben Sasse, the two Nebraskan’s who signed Sen. Cotton’s letter:

What did they honestly hope to accomplish by signing it? Rather than undermining our the President and scoring childish narcissistic talking points, perhaps our state’s senators should focus their efforts on providing measured and mature solutions to actual problems.