In response to the letter sent to Congress last week, where barely three-dozen military officers signed a petition in support of the Iran Deal, a new group of 214 retired senior military personnel have produced a letter to Congress condemning the deal, The Washington Post reported.
Leon “Bud” Edney, a retired admiral who served as vice chief of naval operations, organized the letter in the wake of the one produced by other retired officers in support of the Deal. More than 200 senior military officers, many of whom have worked in the White House under both Democratic and Republican leadership, signed the letter to Congress on Tuesday, denouncing the nuclear accord with Iran.
“The signatories include retired generals and flag officers from every branch of service,” The Washington Post reported.
The letter states, “the agreement will enable Iran to become far more dangerous, render the Mideast still more unstable and introduce new threats to American interests as well as our allies.”
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, one signatory of the most recent letter, said that by supporting the deal, the United States is facilitating the spread of radical Islam and the threat of violence that comes with radicalism.
“What I don’t like about this is, the number one leading radical Islamic group in the world is the Iranians,” he said. “They are purveyors of radical Islam throughout the region and throughout the world. And we are going to enable them to get nuclear weapons. Why would we do that?”
Congress must vote on whether to uphold the deal by September 17.
UPDATE: This post, and the letter embedded below, has been updated to reflect new retired generals and flag officers who have signed the letter.
Read the letter below.
214-Military-Leaders-Letter-on-the-Iran-Deal-082815-