America
Jindal jumps into letter war with Obama over Iran
By
Arun KumarWashington, March 11
Louisiana's
Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal has jumped into a war of words
between the White House and Senate Republicans over a letter to the
government of Iran on a potential deal over its nuclear programme.
Jindal,
who is testing the waters for a 2016 presidential run, issued a call on
Tuesday for "all potential presidential candidates" to sign on the
letter signed by 47 Republican senators.
These include four who
are considered potential candidates in the 2016 presidential race: Ted
Cruz (Texas), Lindsey O. Graham (South Carolina), Rand Paul (Kentucky)
and Marco Rubio (Florida).
The letter, organized by Senator Tom
Cotton, warned Iran that if Congress did not formally approve a nuclear
agreement, it could then be disregarded or modified under a future
president.
Jindal, in a statement released on Tuesday, said that
others who might get into the race should sign on, too, according to the
Washington Post.
"Every single person thinking about running for
president, on both sides, should sign on to this letter to make clear
to Iran that they are negotiating with a lame duck president," Jindal
said in a statement issued through an outside group he leads, America
Next.
"Make no mistake - any Iran deal that President Obama makes is not binding on a future president," he was quoted as saying.
The
Post cited a spokesperson for Jindal as saying he had "signed on" to
the letter on Tuesday morning by sending an e-mail to Cotton's office,
and Cotton's office released a statement later in the day saying that
Jindal is now considered a signatory to the letter.
Former
Republican Texas governor Rick Perry echoed Jindal's sentiments, the
Post said, tweeting on Tuesday that he "would be proud and honoured to
sign the letter @SenTomCotton has put forward on Iran".
In his
statement on Tuesday, Jindal also renewed his criticisms that Obama was
not willing to confront - or even admit - the true scope of the threat
from Islamist groups and Iran.
Jindal also said that Vice
President Biden - who had criticised the letter as "beneath the dignity"
of the Senate - should apologise to Cotton, who served in the army
before running for office.
"Vice President Biden owes Senator
Cotton an apology. He wore the boots in Iraq. He's earned our attention,
not your insults. I'm glad some senators are showing leadership in the
absence of leadership from the White House," Jindal was quoted as
saying.
A White House spokesman derided the letter as "reckless"
and "irresponsible". Obama said that it appeared as though the
Republicans were trying to make common cause with Iran's hard-line
mullahs to quash any potential agreement.
Former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton also attacked Republicans who had signed the letter to Iran.
But Republicans faulted the White House for its repeated failures to consult with Congress as the negotiations progressed.
At
the State Department a reporter pointed out that two years ago, around
20 US senators and over 120 members of the House of Representatives had
written directly to Indian prime minister on economic reforms.
"It's
an entirely different thing," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki
responded. "We're talking about inserting yourself into international
negotiations that are ongoing -- that involve the executive branch."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])