The nomination of Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s pick for undersecretary of defense for policy, who has been criticized by pro-Israel groups for his role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, will proceed to a full Senate vote. In a close decision, the chamber’s Armed Services Committee narrowly approved his nomination in an even party line split. Kahl initially worked for the Pentagon during the George W. Bush administration before joining the Obama administration, working under Secretary of Defense Robert Gates from 2014 to 2017. Pro-Israel groups, including the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), are calling for his nomination to be rejected. Especially concerning is his record on Iran and past statements about Israel. “The ZOA strongly opposes the confirmation of nominee Colin Kahl for Undersecretary of Defense, due to Kahl’s extremely concerning record of advocating pro-Iranian regime positions; opposition to Iran sanctions; close relationships with Iranian regime promoters; involvement in negotiating the disastrous Iran deal; anti-Israel positions; disrespectful, incendiary hyper-partisan comments leveled against Senators Menendez and Romney and groups of Republicans; and propagation of antisemitic conspiracy theories,” said ZOA in a statement. In 2018, Kahl tweeted a false anti-Israel conspiracy theory that “The Israeli intel firm Black Cube used to go after Harvey Weinstein’s accusers also targeted me & @brhodes (& our families). Was this authorized by the Trump White House?” Kalh further tweeted, “ The Guardian piece from yesterday suggested that ‘aides to President Trump’ hired the firm last May to dig up dirt on us as part of an effort to discredit the Iran nuclear deal.“ Writing in The Hill , Gregg Roman, director of the Middle East Forum, said that Kahl’s nomination could signal an end to Washington’s longstanding bipartisan support for Israel. He called Kahl an “unmitigated disaster.” “On his major remit in the Middle East, every policy issue has been shown to be a failure. Whether it was trying to press Israel into concessions during the Obama administration, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal) or the infamous inaction on Obama’s “red line” on Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, Kahl was intensely involved — and tried to justify them all," he wrote.
