Cardin haunted by ‘Israel first’ obsession in US Congress

Like most other members of the GOP-controlled Congress, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin is obsessed with seeing “Israel first,” when he promotes extension of the United States sanctions against Iran, says a former US Senate candidate.

Cardin spoke of a “general agreement” among members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to extend the Iran Sanctions Act before it expires at the end of this year.

“Speaking as the ranking Democrat on the committee, and on behalf of the Democrats, we could get it done quickly if we were to just do that part,” he said in an interview with Jewish media on Sunday.

The US lawmakers consider Israel’s interests in the Middles East a priority even above those of Washington’s, Mark Dankof told Press TV on Monday.

“Israel first, Israel first, Israel first! This explains the actions of all of these people,” he said.” They don’t care what is in the national interest of the United States,… the Middle East, or the world generally.”

On the other hand, the United States is engaged in atrocities across the globe, including in Libya and Iraq, while it does its best to “subsidize” Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip and its “land theft” in the occupied territories, said the former Senate candidate.

He noted that the US lawmakers solely seek to address “what the Israeli lobby wants,” which also makes the case for the 2016 presidential election as is demonstrated in the Democratic and Republican hopefuls’ campaign financing.

The only candidate, who Dankov said, is sending “mixed signals” in this area is GOP controversial hopeful Donald Trump.

The billionaire real estate mogul, who has become notorious particularly for his remarks against Muslims and Mexicans, bragged about moving the American embassy in Israel "to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem" in his speech at the 2016 AIPAC policy conference last month.

On Iran, Trump said that he would end the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Tehran and the world powers, calling the deal “catastrophic.”

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich also made similar remarks.

Attacking Iran and Palestine to get the green light from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was not limited to Republicans as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also backed Israel’s “security or survival," which she described as not “negotiable.”

Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders was the only candidate to ditch the event.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk