Israel Responds To Iran Deal 

While we are delving into the details of President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli officials have been extraordinarily grave in their remarks. That is understandable given Israel's history and Iran's repeated threats to wipe Israel off the map. The Jewish state clearly has the most to lose from this deal.

Naftali Bennett, Israel's education minister, said, "Today a terrorist nuclear superpower is born, and it will go down as one of the darkest days in world history." Danny Danon, Israel's science minister, said the deal "is like providing a pyromaniac with matches," while another Israeli cabinet minister said the deal gives Iran "a license to kill." 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the agreement as a "historic mistake for the world," adding that Iran will get hundreds of billions of dollars that it will use to "fuel its terror machine." 

He is right. At the Christians United for Israel Summit today, where six thousand pro-Israel activists have gathered to rally support for the Jewish state, a very well-connected Israeli said that based on his initial examination, this was not a nuclear deal but a sanctions relief deal for Iran. 

Netanyahu summed up the frustration of many Americans when he said: "One cannot prevent an agreement when the negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who, even during the talks, keep chanting: 'Death to America.'" Then he added this somber warning: 
 

"We knew very well that the desire to sign an agreement was stronger than anything, and therefore we did not commit to preventing an agreement. We did commit to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and this commitment still stands."

Reaction From Capitol Hill 

Members of Congress are feeling the heat on Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Today, thousands of pro-Israel activists in town for the Christians United for Israel Washington Summit took to Capitol Hill to meet with every House and Senate office. Their message was clear: Oppose this bad deal! 

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) warned, "The bottom line is: The deal doesn't end Iran's nuclear program -- it preserves it. I'm concerned that the deal ultimately legitimizes Iran as a threshold-nuclear state. I'm concerned the redlines we drew have turned into green-lights."

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the nuclear agreement is "deeply troubling."

Here's one example. For the deal to be meaningful, it must be verifiable and that requires "anytime, anywhere" inspections of suspect Iranian sites by international monitors. 

In his address this morning, President Obama said that inspectors "will have access where necessary, when necessary." But who decides what is necessary -- the inspectors or the mullahs? The Iranian regime has repeatedly blocked inspections under existing agreements. 

Here's something else to keep in mind. This morning, President Obama triumphantly declared, "Today . . . we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons" in the Middle East. No, he hasn't. He probably just started a nuclear arms race. 

Saudi Arabia has vowed to match Iran's nuclear abilities, and one Saudi official said this morning, "We have learned as Iran's neighbors in the last 40 years that goodwill only led us to harvest sour grapes." 

It's understandable why some liberal politicians are hesitant to embrace Obama's deal. Iran has a well-established record of cheating on existing agreements. And a new poll by Monmouth University finds that 58% of registered voters do not trust Iran to honor its commitments under this new deal. 

It remains to be seen whether our political elites will follow the common sense of the American people. But as Senator Tom Cotton explained on the Hugh Hewitt show this week:
 

"Any congressman or senator who votes for this deal is voting to put their political fate in the hands of the Ayatollah for the rest of his or her life in the public spotlight, because if Iran gets a nuclear weapon in a year, or five years, or 10 years, the American people will want to know who supported the deal that gave them that nuclear weapon."

By the way, I'm waiting for Tehran to accuse President Obama of lying about the deal. It seems every time we have an "agreement," Iran disputes the details of what it supposedly agreed to.


Our Work Continues 

I hope nobody was confused by my announcement yesterday. Our work at American Values on behalf of life, family and religious liberty will continue with me at the helm. 

I have been involved with Christians United for Israel, in one capacity or another, for ten years now. My association with CUFI Action Fund is just a continuation of that partnership. The response to the formation of CUFI Action Fund has been tremendous, as you can read here and here. 

It will not replace the good work we are doing here at American Values. You will still continue to receive our "End of Day" reports, and I promise to continue "fighting the good fight" for our values! 


Caught Red-Handed 

Once again, Planned Parenthood has been caught red-handed -- with the blood of innocent unborn babies on its hands. 

The abortion lobby's senior director of medical services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, was caught on an undercover video discussing how Planned Parenthood uses partial-birth abortions to harvest fetal body parts for profit. 

Moreover, Dr. Nucatola is keenly aware of just how controversial her work is. Referring to Planned Parenthood's national office, Dr. Nucatola said, "At the national office, we have a Litigation and Law Department which just really doesn't want us to be the middle people for this issue right now. But I will tell you that behind closed doors these conversations are happening with the affiliates."

This is just the latest in a string of disgusting scandals that seem to be part and parcel of the abortion industry. If it is not covering up child sex abuse, it is trafficking in baby body parts. 

Congress must investigate these disturbing charges. This is a perfect opportunity to expose the left's abortion-on-demand extremism. The national debt has doubled in recent years, yet Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar business that gets nearly half of its revenue from our tax dollars. That is the height of fiscal irresponsibility, it is morally repugnant and it must stop!