Some veterans see supporting the deal as an extension of their oath.
Connecticut resident and former Marine Gulaid Ismail served in Fallujah, Iraq in 2005 when he was 27 years old. Ismail enlisted after 9/11 and said he sees serving in the military as his patriotic duty.
"I didn’t want to just enjoy the liberties, and not say that I had a helping hand, you know, with regards to that," Ismail said. He supports the Iran Deal.
Army veteran Giselle Jacobs, also from Connecticut, agrees. She served in Germany in 1984 when she was 20 years old.
"I support it as having served in the United States military, being a veteran of the United States military, and still respecting the oath that I took," Jacobs said.
A national non-profit group called Veterans Against the Deal began running an ad in August. It featured Sgt. Robert Bartlett, who also served in Iraq. In the ad, Bartlett urged politicians to shoot down the deal. Below is an excerpt from the ad:
"I was blown up by an Iranian bomb. It cut me in half from the left corner of my temple down through my jaw. It took my gunner’s legs off. Every politician who is involved in this will be held accountable. They will have blood on their hands!”
Former Senator Joseph Lieberman is chairman of the group called United Against Nuclear Iran. He’s called the deal the most "consequential agreement in history."
Under the agreement, Iran agrees to put limits on its nuclear programs in exchange for the lifting of broad economic sanctions.
All of Connecticut’s congressional delegation have announced their support for the deal. Congressman John Larson said that although there’s skepticism out there, the time for negotiation is now more than ever.
"Is it a better course to pursue diplomatic relationships in conjunction with the entire world, or to go it alone?" Larson said. "I think the tragedy of the Iraq War is that after September 11, we had the entire world with us with our efforts to go after Osama Bin Laden, and then to go into Afghanistan. We did not in Iraq."
And for former Marine Ismail, he said that no matter what the vote is -- deal or no deal -- he’ll do his job.
"So now, I actually feel like I’m fulfilling a debt. If you’re going to do something for this country, you’re going to make it better, then that’s one thing. So that’s why I signed up, and I was ready," he said.
Ismail said that to him, that’s what being an American is all about.
Congress marked the end of the 60-day review period of the Iran Nuclear Deal on Thursday.
This story is part of a partnership between WNPR News and the CPBN Media Lab.
