Former Secretary of State Colin Powell came out Sunday in favor of the Iran nuclear agreement, describing it as a “good deal” that would slow the regime’s race for an atomic bomb.
“Here’s why I think it’s a good deal: One of the great concerns that the opposition has is that we’re leaving open a lane for the Iranians to go back to creating a nuclear weapon in 10 or 15 years,” Mr. Powell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“But we’re forgetting the reality they have been on a super highway for the last 10 years to creating a nuclear weapon or a nuclear weapons program with no speed limit,” he said.
Mr. Powell, who has served as a top foreign-policy official in Republican administrations, also described the agreement as a done deal, given that other nations involved with the negotiations have approved it, including China, Russia, Germany, France and Great Britain.
“Even if we were to kill this deal, which is not going to happen, it’s going to take effect anyway because all these other countries who are in this with us are going to move forward,” Mr. Powell said.
Also Sunday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Democrat and chair of the Democratic National Committee, said she would vote in favor of the deal, calling her decision “gut-wrenching” and citing her “Jewish heart.”
“There’s nothing more important to me as a Jew than to ensure that Israel’s existence is there throughout our generations, and I am confident that the process I’ve gone through to reach this decision is one that will ensure that Israel will be there forever,” said Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who teared up as she spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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