In this week's Action Update we focus on Iran and West Virginia. These
two places are both literally and figuratively pretty far apart, but
this week the Islamic Republic and the Mountain State sit at the nexus
of American foreign policy.

Let Them Eat... Missiles?

Despite the facts that the Iranian economy remains on life support, the
country was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country's youth
unemployment rate is at a whopping 27%, Iran's leaders have determined
that the best use of state funds is to build an underground missile
facility capable of housing not just cruise but also ballistic
missiles. 

The subterranean weapons facility, dubbed "missile city," is being
run by none other than Iran's ruthless and brutal Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). As a reminder, the IRGC is Iran's
primary vehicle for supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, and generally spreading
terror and destruction throughout the Middle East. It should come as no
surprise then that the IRGC is designated by the US as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization.  But according to one person up for a fairly
important job in the Pentagon, this designation was an error.

Newsflash: Kahl Got It Wrong (Again)
That's right sports fans, the individual of whom we speak is none
other than President Biden's nominee to serve as Undersecretary of
Defense for Policy, Colin Kahl. In truth, Kahl's nomination has not
been going smoothly and this week was not a good one for Kahl's
supporters. Enter West Virginia.

On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee was scheduled to vote on
the nomination, but they postponed that vote indefinitely. The only
reason to do so is if the Chairman is short votes, and thanks to
thousands of CUFI members contacting West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin,
Kahl's nomination is on the ropes.

Sen. Manchin, who is the swing vote, so to speak, on the committee, has
not yet made up his mind on the nominee. And we believe that this is in
part due to the emails and phone calls that have been flooding Sen.
Manchin's office. We also believe that Sen. Manchin, who opposed the
2015 Iran nuclear deal and supported the aforementioned designation of
the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, understands the dangers of
having someone as fringe and misguided as Colin Kahl sitting in the top
policy job at the Pentagon.

West Virginia Fighting on Two Fronts
In addition to the effort to defeat the Kahl nomination, this week West
Virginia has also been on the frontline of the effort to fight the BDS
movement as well. This past week, CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra
Parker traveled there to testify before the House Judiciary committee in
support of CUFI-backed anti-BDS legislation in West Virginia. The bill
advanced through the committee with overwhelming support and now heads
to the House floor.

We are deeply grateful to Assistant Majority Leader Kayla Kessinger for
not just leading the anti-BDS effort in the state, but also for
authoring a letter to Sen. Manchin asking him to oppose the Kahl
nomination. That letter, which garnered 70 signatures from members of
the West Virginia House of Representatives, further indicates the
importance of this issue to Sen. Manchin's constituents.

Circumstance has led to West Virginia playing a very prominent role in
support of our policy agenda this week, and their efforts show the
extent to which a large committed group of American voters can have an
impact. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to read this week's
Update, and please keep reading, because next week your state could very
well be the next place where the battle is fought.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

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CUFI Action Fund, 300 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003, United States