Iran Letter: McCain Claims German Foreign Minister Of The 'Neville Chamberlain School Of Diplomacy'

The fallout continues from the so-called "47 traitors" letter to Iran. While some of the senators are backing away from the controversial attempt at sabotaging a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons, other senators are doubling down - doing everything they can to stop an Iran deal even if it damages longstanding US foreign relationships.

Senator John McCain has not only stood by his decision to interfere with the executive branch conducting foreign policy he is now insulting US allies party to the Iran talks. After German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the letter was "not helpful" McCain accused him of being of the “Neville Chamberlain school of diplomacy," a not-so-subtle reference to Nazi Germany. Such a comment well demonstrates why demented warmongering senators should not be in control of foreign policy - you lost the election John, get over it.

While it is unlikely neocons like Senators Cotton and McCain regret damaging the Obama Administration's ability to make policy, the precedent set with the 47 Traitors stunt may prove problematic in the long run and in the short run has shifted focus away from the Iran deal onto partisan divisions in Washington as A.B Stoddard notes in The Hill:

This cheap mistake surely, in even a small way, jeopardized the odds of getting the strongest deal possible with Iran and, more importantly, making sure Iran — not the United States — shoulders the blame for failure to reach one. Heaping wrong upon wrong cannot help our efforts to prevent a nuclear Iran. The Cotton letter not only threatens the deal but our relations with the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council that the United States is counting on to continue multilateral sanctions against Iran. It also promises to inspire the worst behavior from the left of the Democratic Party next time there is a Republican in the White House. 

Maybe Cotton the rookie didn’t know better, but many of his 46 co-signers did. They should have stopped him.

Ironically, the truth may be the opposite. The 46 Republicans who signed on are likely the ones making ill-informed decisions due to the Obama Derangement Syndrome (aka racism) that has engulfed conservatives throughout the Obama years - trying to undermine Obama is a great way to play to the base. Maybe then it should be seen less as ill-informed than crassly opportunistic and myopic.

Senator Cotton, on the other hand, undoubtedly knew exactly what he was doing. Cotton is no "rookie" he is an aspiring leader of the next generation of the neoconservative movement. He is a beneficiary of the neoconservative money machine and has ingratiated himself with the neocons of old such as Bill Kristol.

For Cotton, this is his breakout moment.