An Update from CUFI Action Fund
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We're not going to make a habit of it, but this week we'll once
again only be covering two topics in The Update. Why? Because sometimes
events are so impactful that they demand fixation over attention, and
sometimes events are so head turning as to leave the observer with
whiplash.

Sen. Rand Paul is Endangering Israeli Lives (and he knows it)

Sen. Rand Paul likes attention and his primary tactic for generating the
same is taking wildly inappropriate positions and using Senate
procedures to get headlines. If you have kids, you'll recognize this
pattern of attention-seeking behavior from those pre-school days.
Unfortunately, the consequences of Sen. Paul's self-important and
childlike approach to governance are grave.

On Monday, the junior Senator from Kentucky blocked a unanimous consent
request from Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to advance to 2 hours of
debate and then a vote on the Iron Dome assistance bill that passed the
House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 420-9. Ninety-nine
Senators, from Ted Cruz to Bernie Sanders, from Mitch McConnel to Chuck
Schumer, agreed with Menendez's request. They agreed to it because
denying US support for a purely defensive system is, bluntly, crazy.

In taking this action, Paul is effectively standing alongside the likes
of Rep.'s Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
We're not sure why, but at this point it seems a bit unfair that Rand
Paul hasn't been formally invited to join the foreign policy wing of
"The Squad."

Paul claims to support Iron Dome assistance. He put forth an alternative
to Menendez's request that would've taken $6 billion dollars from
Afghan aid and allocated $1 billion of it to Israel. Seems reasonable
right? Well, let's dig a little deeper.

First, Sen. Paul has previously tried to block/cut support for Israel.
Second, Dr. Paul knows full well that a host of Senators wouldn't
agree to his holding the Senate, House, and Iron Dome assistance hostage
to his antics. He knew his tactics were beyond the pale. Finally, Paul
also knows that he can work to advance the same policy through its own
bill or as an amendment to other legislation that relates to Afghanistan
or broader defense policy. So, the simplest explanation is the best:
Sen. Paul has long opposed aid to Israel and he's doing what he can to
hold it up.

And here's where things get really interesting. Why, if he opposes aid
to Israel, wouldn't he just say so? Why wouldn't he always vote
against such aid? Two reasons: first, you can't be anti-Israel and
represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Basically, he'd lose his seat.
Second, when he does vote for bills that include aid to Israel, he does
so when his vote is effectively irrelevant because the aid to Israel
enjoys overwhelming support. In a nutshell, Rand Paul lacks the courage
to stand up and say what he really thinks, hides his disdain for aid to
Israel by concealing it behind efforts he knows will fail, and only
votes for aid to Israel when his vote is immaterial so he can further
conceal his anti-Israel animus.

At the end of the day, the replenishment of the Iron Dome will
eventually advance through Congress and land on the President's desk.
It might take some time, and each day that goes by Rand Paul's actions
imperil Israeli lives and emboldens Hamas to launch another war, but in
the end we will win.

Iran Thinks We're Weak (They're Wrong)

This past week, we saw two astounding pieces of information come out
concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran. First, Israel revealed that
Tehran had tried to murder an Israeli businessman who lives in Cypress
(just off Israel's coast). Second, reports are out that Iran wants the
US to effectively turn over $10 billion to the Islamic Republic for, as
the Wall Street Journal aptly put it, "the privilege of holding
nuclear talks." In both cases, the actions indicate that Iran thinks
they are in control. Spoiler alert: they're not.

Regarding the demand for $10 billion, we have some thoughts:

First, no. While the Biden administration has been rather inept in
public when it comes to leveraging the exceptional position of strength
it inherited from President Trump's maximum pressure strategy, we
don't think it's politically feasible for team Biden to hand out
cash to one of the world's most oppressive and hated regimes to land a
few meaningless meetings. In fact, a Biden administration official
recently said that "goodwill gestures" (read $$$) are off the table.
We hope they stick to that.

Second, no. While the Islamic Republic has been denying inspectors
access to nuclear sites and essentially engaging in pre-nuclear weapons
blackmail, the US and Israel, according to reports, have been discussing
alternatives to negotiations for dealing with Iran's nuclear
ambitions.

And finally, no. The Iranian economy is in a bad place. That (and to
kill Jews - see above) is the only reason they want the cash. The
Biden administration, Congress, the Europeans, and the Israelis all know
that such money would embolden Iran's rulers and that Iran would just
keep demanding more blackmail money to continue a never-ending series of
negotiations that go nowhere.

We think the Biden administration has made real mistakes on Iran and
that attempts to negotiate ourselves back into the JCPOA have failed -
never mind the promise of a "stronger and longer deal.". They've
put the wrong people in place in key positions and have said and done
things that make Tehran think the US is a paper tiger. The White House
needs to realize that strength is the only language mullahs understand.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

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