first phase. iran can can keep its centrifuges, but new centrifuges cannot be installed. and those not currently operating cannot be started up. folks, this amounts to some significant concessions by the iranians. why did they do the deal? in return, the united states has agreed to provide 6 to $7 billion in sanction relief. this is like hitting the pause button on iran s nuclear program while we take time to arrive at a more comprehensive agreement. we still have a ways to go. so let s be clear here. this is an opportunity, not a guarantee, but it s the best opportunity we have had in decades. joining me now, our rapid response panel, medal of honor recipient and msnbc military analyst, colonel jack jacobs and tommy veto tore with us tonight, oh former spokesman and foundder of fenway strategies. why do you think they did this?
to change the momentum on the battlefield in syria so as to create favorable conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends the conflict and leads to a democratic government in syria. the vagaries of this intervention and its presumed end with a democratic syria caused andrew sullivan to marvel, if you have never seen a loophole that big before, gaze into it some more. it is so vast you could fit iraq into it. joining me today, msnbc political analyst and washington bureau chief at mother jones, david corn. staff writer at salon, alix sites wald and host of msnbc s disrupt, karen finney. and joining us now from washington is former national security council spokesman and co-founder of fenway strategies, tommy detour. thanks for joining us. thanks for having me. i want to ask you just about how this message has been crafted. and, you know, the president obviously did not draft the language coming out of the senate foreign relations
spokesman in the obama administration, co-founder of fenway strategies. he was back in the white house today to help the president win support for intervention in syria. ben dominic, at think tank the heartland institute. he co-founded red state a conservative blog. eli lake, senior national security reporter from newsweek and the daily beast. explain this to me. i found the moment in the hearing today that was most interesting was several senators saying, if you think you have the authority to do this without coming to congress, why are you coming to congress? and if the vote doesn t go your way, isn t this a preposterous bit of theater? i think the vote is going to go their way. i think that the president believes that this action will be stronger if it is a u.s. action that is supported by congress, supported by more of the american people and not just barack obama stepping out and taking a limited strike. let s be clear about supported by the american people. i mean, you
opposes any military strike there. lining up alongside grayson, junior republican senator from the state of kentucky. i think it s a mistake to get involved in the syrian civil war, and what i would ask john kerry is, you know, he s famous for saying, you know, how can you ask a man to be a last one to die for a mistake? i would ask john kerry, how can you ask a man to be the first one to die for a mistake? paul s own views on this don t come as much of a surprise. what we will also see in this vote is the ongoing brawl inside the republican coalition over that party s foreign policy direction. and when watching the news today, each new position for or against the resolution from both democrats and republicans often came as a genuine surprise. citizens looking to their political leaders for direction are likely to find themselves profoundly contorted. joining me now is tommy vieator, former national security focus span in the obama administration, co-founder of fenway strategies. h
vote is the ongoing brawl inside the republican coalition over that party s foreign policy direction. and when watching the news today, each new position for or against the resolution from both democrats and republicans often came as a genuine surprise. citizens looking to their political leaders for direction are likely to find themselves profoundly contorted. joining me now is tommy vietor, former national security spokesman in the obama administration, co-founder of fenway strategies. he was back in the white house today to help the president win support for intervention in syria. ben dominic, at think tank the heartland institute. he co-founded red state a conservative blog. eli lake, senior national security reporter from newsweek and the daily beast. explain this to me. i found the moment in the hearing today that was most interesting was several senators saying, if you think you have the authority to do this without coming to congress, why are you coming to congress? and i