CONGRESS ASSERTING ITSELF – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  Watch Congress on foreign policy carefully.  If it were only the Republicans we could chalk up Congressional agitation to partisanship.  But it's becoming clear that a core of Democrats is also frustrated by Barack Hussein Obama's appeasement policy, especially as regards Russia and most especially as it regards the Mideast.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Members of Congress petitioned Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday to oppose the recently announced sale by Russia of an advanced missile defense system to Iran, citing concerns that such a move would embolden Tehran’s “pursuit of nuclear weapons,” according to a copy of the letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was in Tehran this week for high-level talks with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about a new arms pact that would provide Iran with the Russian-made S-300 missile defense system and potentially new cruise missiles, submarines, and torpedoes, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Tehran and Moscow announced on Wednesday that they had inked an agreement to finalize delivery of the S-300 system, according to Iranian state-controlled media reports.

The arms deal had been in the works for some time, but hit several roadblocks after Russia reneged on its promise to make good on an $80 million deal enabling Iran to purchase five S-300 systems, which are long-range surface-to-air defense artillery.

Now that the deal appears to be sealed, members of Congress are petitioning the State Department to vigorously oppose it, according to a copy of the letter sent to Secretary of State John Kerry.

“The potential sale of the S-300 defense system will jeopardize prospects for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy,” Reps. Peter Roskam (R., Ill.) and Ted Deutch (D., Fla.) wrote to Kerry.

COMMENT:  What is most serious is that neither Iran nor Russia show any inclination to respect Western sensitivities.  They just go right ahead, knowing that Hussein Obama will do nothing much.  We really are finding out what he actually believes, as if we had any doubt.

January 22, 2015