Rogue Iran
President Obama’s bad nuclear deal with Iran entered a new phase on Sunday, October 18, which supporters of the deal are calling “Adoption Day.” This day is marked 90 days after the deal was endorsed by the United Nations. While different from full implementation of the deal, as reported by CNN, this “…means that officials from Iran, the United States and other world powers involved in the deal get started turning it into reality.”
In other words, Iran is responsible for beginning to freeze parts of its nuclear program while other nations involved, including the United States, will begin working to terminate sanctions.
The White House touted “Adoption Day,” noting the President’s confidence “…in the extraordinary benefits to our national security and the peace and security of the world.”
I, on the other hand, have many concerns and am opposed to this deal. Recent actions by Iran have not relieved me of my fears.
For example, as was reported last week by Reuters: “The United States has confirmed that Iran tested a medium-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, in ‘clear violation’ of a United Nations Security Council ban on ballistic missile tests, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.”
Further, Iranian media reported last week that Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian – who has been jailed in Tehran for more than fourteen months on charges of espionage – was convicted. As you may recall, when the nuclear deal was announced, I and others were shocked and disappointed to learn Rezaian and other American prisoners being held in Iran were not included in the terms of the deal, instead left by the Administration to languish in Iran.
Rezaian’s trail reportedly took place in secret behind closed doors. Additionally, despite the protests of many, information has not been provided by Iranian officials as to his verdict or the sentence. The Washington Post reports Rezaian “potentially faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years.”
While the ink is drying however unfortunately on this deal, Iran continues disregarding most of the international community and acting like a rogue nation.
Considering these and other actions by Iran, I find it difficult to believe officials in Tehran will uphold their side of this bad Obama-driven deal.
Fightin’ Ninth in Film
In recent weeks, two films have given the nation the opportunity to learn some about the Ninth District.
Big Stone Gap, released nationwide on October 9, was shot on location in Wise County. It is based on the novel set in the 1970s by Adriana Trigiani, a Big Stone Gap native. Actor Patrick Wilson has family ties to Big Stone Gap as well. Near the end, the supporting actor suggests visiting the Hob-Nob Drive In, a real-life Gate City family diner still in business, owned by my Emory and Henry fraternity brother Ross Jenkins.
Also in the news is Steven Spielberg-directed Bridge of Spies, which was released nationwide on October 16. In one of its subplots, Bridge of Spies – set in the Cold War era – tells of pilot Francis Gary Powers, who spent his childhood in Pound before his family moved to Buchanan County. After graduating from high school and college, Powers joined the Air Force and was recruited by the CIA.
While on a spying mission in 1960, Powers’ U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory by a Russian missile. He was captured, interrogated, and held prisoner for two years.
During this time, Powers was put on trial in Moscow. In Southwest Virginia’s legal circles, it is well known that Powers’ parents obtained the services of Norton attorney Carl McAfee. According to the Roanoke Times, below McAfee’s office was Powers’ father’s shoe-repair shop.
Bridge of Spies gets its name from the 1962 prisoner swap in which Powers was exchanged for a convicted Russian spy. The two walked from opposite ends of the Glienicke Bridge – the so-called “Bridge of Spies,” which links Berlin with Potsdam – to freedom.
Not mentioned in the film is Norton resident Kim Mullins. Ms. Mullins, a local official who is Powers’ second cousin, told the Roanoke Times Powers took her on her first flight. She is now a licensed pilot, and spearheaded successful local efforts to rename the terminal at the Lonesome Pine Airport in Powers’ honor.
Powers’ son, Gary Powers Jr., told the Roanoke Times, “The Powers family is very honored and humbled that my dad is considered an American hero of the Cold War.” Mullins tells us she and others are hoping to collect memorabilia for use in an exhibit at the airport.
As always, you can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office by email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
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