Coats: NYT Article Confirms Iran Deal Entirely about Obama Legacy

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) , a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today issued the following statement regarding The New York Times Magazine’s recent profile of President Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes and the comments Rhodes made about the Obama Administration’s Iran Deal:

“One of the hallmarks of President Obama’s approach to foreign policy – even on the most urgent and important issues – is that such policy is seen first and foremost through the lens of domestic politics. Political factors and President Obama’s own political interests often have been the driving force behind his foreign policy judgments and activities.    “The recent New York Times article on Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes confirms this sad fact. Mr. Rhodes, who is supposed to be the White House’s foreign policy communications guru, shockingly explained the administration’s bald manipulation of the media and public opinion to build support for the Iran nuclear agreement – the so-called ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’ that temporarily limits Iran’s nuclear weapons-related activities.

“His public admission is a surprise, but the fact of manipulation is not. From the beginning of the debate over the misguided negotiations that led to this fatally flawed agreement, I have been convinced that the actual central goal was not permanently stopping Iran’s march to the bomb, but rather to secure a legacy for President Obama. The explanations of Mr. Rhodes confirm this pursuit, and the salesmanship surrounding the effort even pretended that it was in response to a growing moderate trend in Iran’s political life – which was as nonexistent then as it is now.”