Republican presidential hopeful joins chorus of hostility to nuclear
accord
Jewish Democratic body asks other GOP candidates to denounce remarks
By Martin Pengelly
July 26, 2015 "Information
Clearing House"
-
"The
Guardian"
- The presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has said the deal between
six world powers and Iran regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear
ambitions will “take the Israelis and march them to the door of the
oven”.
“This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American
history,” he said. “It is so naive that [Barack Obama] would trust
the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them
to the door of the oven.
“This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal. It should be
rejected by both Democrats and
Republicans in Congress and by the American people. I read the
whole deal. We gave away the whole store. It’s got to be stopped.”
In response, Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said: “Cavalier
analogies to the Holocaust are unacceptable. Mike Huckabee must
apologize to the Jewish community and to the American people for
this grossly irresponsible statement.”
The
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) said it “denounced”
Huckabee’s comments “in the strongest possible terms” and called on
the other 15 Republican presidential candidates to follow suit.
An NJDC statement said: “Far, far too often, this organization
has found itself forced to denounce politicians for invoking the
Holocaust in inappropriate and offensive ways. These comments by
Governor Mike Huckabee, however, may be the most inexcusable we’ve
encountered in recent memory.
“To state that President Obama is leading Israelis ‘to the door
of the oven’ is not only disgustingly offensive to the president and
the White House, but shows utter, callous disregard for the millions
of lives lost in the Shoah and to the pain still felt by their
descendants today.”
The deal between Iran and the US, Russia, Germany, France,
Britain and China was reached in Vienna two weeks ago. Iran accepted
restrictions on its nuclear ambitions – including the
elimination of 98% of its uranium stockpile and the removal of
two-thirds of its uranium-enriching centrifuges – in return for the
lifting of economic sanctions.
Opposition from Israel has been fierce, with fire
turned on prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Immediately after
the accord was announced, the leader of the Jewish state called it a
mistake of historic proportions.
“Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons,” he
said. “Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of
billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its
aggression and terror in the region and in the world. This is a bad
mistake of historic proportions.”
Among Republicans and hawkish Democrats, reaction has been
hostile. This week, Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury
secretary Jack Lew and Energy secretary Ernest Moniz appeared before
the GOP-controlled Senate foreign affairs committee to defend
the deal.
John Kerry defends the Iran deal in front of the Senate foreign
relations committee
Huckabee, a rightwing populist with a strong
appeal in evangelical circles, finished second in the Republican
primaries in 2008 after winning the Iowa caucus. He went on to work
as a host for Fox News.
In its statement, the NJDC added that though “it
is almost pointless to demand Governor Huckabee apologize for his
remarks”, other Republican candidates should do just that.
“Republicans have fallen over themselves to speak
out against Donald Trump’s outrageous rhetoric on immigration and
veterans,” the NJDC said. “Will they now do the same and speak out
against this unacceptable attack against President Obama that smears
the memory of Holocaust victims … or will they stand by in silence
and implicit approval?”
Talking to Breitbart about his high favourability
ratings, Huckabee said: “People don’t vote for someone they don’t
like. So I just got a make sure I don’t start doing stuff that make
people stop liking me.”
It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH.
Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)