Why Congress should accept the Iran Deal: A US Veterans Perspective

Asha Castleberry is a U.S. National Security Expert and U.S. Army Veteran. She is an Adjunct
Fellow at the American Security Project (ASP) and a member of the Truman National Security
Project Defense Council. She tweets at @ashacastleberry.

The Iran deal presents a contentious debate on whether the U.S. Congress should
ratify the historic agreement. During its sixty-day review, various stakeholders
aggressively attempt to influence the decision. Amongst all of the key stakeholders
that are taking part in this debate, it is very important to learn from the military
veteran community. The veteran community does not want Congress to ruin an
unprecedented opportunity that could stop Iran from acquiring their first nuclear
bomb.
As a proud U.S. veteran who recently spent two and half years deployed in the
Middle East, I completely understand how Iranian aggression continues to be a
threat to our national security. Our country still remembers when our falling soldiers
in Iraq lost their lives from asymmetric threats that were supported by Iran.
Currently, Iran remains supportive of proxy groups that are contributing to
destabilization in the region. Countries like Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) states have every right to be concerned about their security: no one is in
denial that Iran is a threat to our national security and our allies in the region. This
is why we cannot afford to ruin the opportunity of stopping Iran from acquiring one
of the most dangerous weapons of mankind.
There are many other veterans that agree with my point. Recently, a letter released
by thirty-six retired U.S. generals and admirals declared that the deal is the most
effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear
weapons. Instead of military action, allowing tough diplomacy to take its course
will prevent putting soldiers at risk and facing unwarranted negative consequences.
Similar to many other agreements, the deal is not perfect. One major concern is
that the sanction relief will provide more funding for dangerous behavior in the
Middle East. Policy opponents overwhelmingly argue that the sanction relief will
empower Irans treasury to support state terrorism. Undoubtedly, some of the
money will go towards their destructive foreign policy. With the economic sanctions,
the absence of any agreement enabled Iran to continue funding terrorism and
growing its nuclear stockpile. Continuing on the same glide path of tough economic
sanctions will not stop Iran from this behavior. The Iran deal is the only option that
will do the exact opposite of stopping Iran from building their first nuclear weapon.
Instead, the deal will put the brakes on the buildup of the nuclear program while

allowing the U.S. to snap back to its original robust economic sanctions if Iran
decides to cheat.
My next point is not to convince Washington that this deal could possibly moderate
Iran but to take into account that the countrys current economic failures is
transforming Irans foreign policy. Under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
Irans anti-West policies discouraged any hope of the country stopping expansion of
their nuclear program. I witnessed this concern at the 2010 nuclear nonproliferation treaty conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
There, I listened to the harsh remarks of then-President Ahmadinejad at the UN
General Assembly. President Ahmadinejad's keynote speech indicated Irans
resistance to oblige key provisions in the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which
reflected a critical low point for the non-nuclear proliferation regime.
Currently, this is not necessarily the case. Surprisingly, Iran has regained its
confidence to work with the non-nuclear proliferation regime. With this deal, Iran is
willing to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct
guaranteed and thorough inspections. This change in Irans behavior raises a very
important question: what is causing the shift in Irans unprecedented nuclear policy
decision? Over time, the people of Iran realized that economic prosperity is more
important than acquiring a nuclear weapon. The Iranian people decided to vote for a
leader that is willing to engage with Western powers. Irans anti-West policies placed
them at a complete economic disadvantage, causing rising inflation and a high
unemployment rate. The pursuit of economic prosperity was part of President
Hassan Rouhanis 2013 campaign platform. Irans economic failures are pressuring
the country to generate more opportunities for a growing youth generation. In
doing so, Iran is eager to fully reintegrate back in the global economy by restoring
relations with both regional neighbors and Western powers.
A potential congressional rejection of the Iran Deal will take us a step back from
preventing Iran building their first nuclear bomb and create a serious imbalance of
power that could generate a nuclear arms race. Also, a congressional rejection will
be a huge blow to the international community. On the world stage, this could
possibly deepen the loss of confidence in the U.S. Congress. The U.S. should support
this historic decision by joining the non-nuclear proliferation alignment with a
congressional ratification that allows us for the first time to comprehensively stop
Irans from growing its nuclear program.
PS21 is a non-national, non-ideological, non-partisan organization. All views
expressed are the authors own.