Lloyd Doggett: “While not signing this particular call for diplomacy, additional colleagues have made clear that they intend to prevent…”

“While not signing this particular call for diplomacy, additional colleagues have made clear that they intend to prevent any attempted congressional veto of a strong, verifiable agreement. An agreement not based on trust, not based on liking Iran, but an agreement based on strong verification and intrusive verification. Unfortunately, others here in this body who have embraced the wrongheaded advice of former President Bush's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who said that, ``To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran.'' These are some of the same Members who rejected the interim nuclear Joint Plan of Action before they had even read it. They are some of the same Members who were so eager to launch an unnecessary war in Iraq that only strengthened Iran and who seem to have learned very little from their previous failure, and they forget that Iran is bigger than Afghanistan and Iraq put together. Another war will not make us safe. Bombing may set back Iranian nuclear development by two or three years at best--a significantly shorter time than that covered by a P5+1 negotiated agreement--but it will make an Iranian nuclear weapon more likely. Bombing will enflame sectarian and regional tensions. It will threaten the security of Israel and of our other allies and ultimately, it will jeopardize the safety of every American family. That does not mean that any agreement with Iran is an acceptable agreement.…”