Obama and Iran: a bad deal indeed
A message from Netanyahu to Barack Obama and John Kerry and the European international community:
But Kerry and Obama have a very different definition of “bad” than Netanyahu, because their goals are—well, what are their goals, really? To pretend that Iran is a sincere player interested in peace? To suck up to the European international community and show how weak and docile the US has become? To empower Iran? To screw Israel? To get some more Nobel Peace Prizes? All of the above?
As Paul Mirengoff writes at Powerline
Here is what Iran will not do pursuant to the agreement. It will not permanently stop its uranium enrichment, close its Arak and Fordo nuclear facilities, or ship its already 3.5 percent”“enriched uranium outside of the country.
Moreover, says Benjamin Weinthal, “there is no definitive method of verification to ensure that Iran’s clerical regime ”” a notoriously deceptive group ”” will comply with an agreement.” The West’s easing of economic sanctions will be verifiable; Iran’s “temporary freeze” will be extremely difficult to verify. Recall our experience with North Korea.
Finally, the “freeze,” if any, will be temporary. Iran could “unfreeze” its program at any time. A comprehensive sanctions regime, on the other hand, will be exceedingly difficult to restore.
To pursue this wonderful deal, as Jonathan S. Tobin points out (and please read the whole thing), the Obama/Kerry team had to break some promises:
The president and Secretary of State John Kerry promised [the American people and U.S. allies] that there would be no move to dismantle the economic sanctions that had been implemented against the Islamist regime for anything short of an agreement that would end Tehran’s nuclear threat. But it as it headed back to round two of the reconstituted P5+1 nuclear talks today in Geneva, the administration is steering in exactly the direction it said it would never contemplate.
We already know that the promises of Obama and Kerry mean about as much as the promises of the government of Iran—which is to say they mean absolutely nothing. But somehow the U.S. is trusting the Iranians to comply with this? And Obama and Kerry are thinking that this “finely calibrated effort” will serve to “coax the Iranians back from the brink”? With no way to check to see whether the Iranians are cooperating with their very small end of the bargain, while dismantling the very thing that led the Iranians to the negotiating table in the first place?
It’s incomprehensible—that is, if you think that Obama and Kerry have our interests, or the world’s, or Israel’s, in mind. What is their true motivation? Tobin writes, “the administration’s real priority with Iran is to avoid having to take action, not stopping the threat of an Iranian bomb.” That resonates with me, but I think their secondary goal is to curry favor with the appeasement-loving international community in Europe, as well as their leftist friends at home. They are more than willing to sacrifice Israel’s security in the process. And John Kerry is the perfect man for the job.
Oh, and this would just be the official lifting of sanctions. The administration has been quietly undermining them for quite some time.
[ADDENDUM: Netanyahu: “Israel is not obliged by this agreement and will do everything it needs to defend itself, to defend the security of its people.”
And this would be a tiny bit reassuring—that is, if we could believe it is true, which we can’t (I should include that disclaimer in every sentence about the Obama administration): “a senior [Obama] administration official made clear that only ‘reversible’ sanctions would be eased.”]
[ADDENDUM: More from Kerry on a different, but highly related, subject:
“Failure of the talks [with the Palestinians] will increase Israel’s isolation in the world,” Kerry said. “The alternative to getting back to the talks is a potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a third intifada?”
“I believe that if we do not resolve the issues between Palestinians and Israelis; if we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel. There will be an increasing campaign of delegitiization of Israel that’s taking place on an international basis. That if we do not resolve the question of the settlements and who lives where and how and what rights they have; if we don’t end the presence of Israeli soldiers perpetually within the West Bank, then there will be an increasing feeling that if we cannot get peace with a leadership that is committed to nonviolence, you may wind up with leadership that is committed to violence.”
Contemplate that statement. I don’t really know what the most ludicrous and pernicious part of it is, there are so many to choose from. But I think it just might be his reference to “a leadership that is committed to nonviolence.” Those Palestinian leaders, disciples of Gandhi.]
Brink? Heh. The simple view (see it as Iranians see it) is that there is no brink. There is only smooth sailing ahead.
Reading that linked Eli Lake piece in the Daily Beast today about how Obama has been quietly softening sanctions already, this jumped out:
But of course, they’re not about easing sanctions, that’s already been taken care of!
It’s just lies all the way down with this president.
If you like your nuclear weapons program, you can keep your nuclear weapons program. Period.
The Washington Post also has this on that vile Kerry statement about a “third intifida”:
In addition to reflecting what he really thinks of Israel, this seems to be another instance of Kerry making a foolish off-the-cuff comment. Much like what he did with Syria, when he said offhandedly in a press conference that Syria could avoid a U.S. attack if they simply turned over their chemical weapons.
Doesn’t seem to fit the basic qualification for a secretary of state, namely, being a person who always speaks with great care.
I wonder if impeachment might be a more tenable proposition now. There must be some dem senators who are opposed to lifting sanctions on Iran. If they decide to turn on Obama, I am sure they could find some reason to support impeachment.
It’s no more off-the-cuff than BuzzLightyear’s programmed slogan — it’s merely a modification to fit a great ClownDisasterSecOState: To Intifada3 . . . and Beyond!
. . . where Beyond is equivalent to an Iranian nuke weapons force.
The damage this man does everyday….
It is simply breathtaking.
May we as a society at least learn the lesson from him that skin color and fluency does not mean you are good; that we should elect character and competence…
Above all may we never elect again a person who does not love his country, our country.
At the end of it all, and really at the beginning of it all, what we have here is a man who hates the country he is President of. He hates America.
What a fundamentally stupid man.
What a dangerous and ungrateful little boy we have made President.
How shameful on us for doing that deed. In his house in hell there is a room for our shame. May it burn there as it deserves.
Steve Says:
November 8th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
I wonder if impeachment might be a more tenable proposition now. There must be some dem senators who are opposed to lifting sanctions on Iran. If they decide to turn on Obama, I am sure they could find some reason to support impeachment.
WHEN PIGS FLY, that is when you will see Obama brought up on charges for impeachment. Even then, it would be a clown show like nothing else ever seen in DC or the nation. This tyrant and his administration has the country grasped tightly by the cojones and knows it. America just might have seen it’s last Presidential election.
I’m not religious, but Obama makes me believe in the antichrist.
Hey the way me and Barack figure it, this will keep Netanyahu busy and out of our hair. Besides, the Hollywood Jews dig this approach – they keep sending us money so we must be doing something right.
Duh…
every time something happens i keep saying to look at other places and do an assessment… instead everyone dives into the distraction and cant even divide their attention between that and the other things that are not on the surface (cargo cult) and of substance.
because their goals are–well, what are their goals, really?
well, once you accept what and who they are and what such would want – THEN you can finally walk through the gate and collect the prize of the answer that sits in front of you patiently waiting for the deluded to wake up
all i see is a bunch of people who deep down realize that if they accept certain premises, then the totals will work out to an answer they dont want.
when a neutral assessment would call a pig a pig and be done with it, and then move on… but this liberal think tank here tends to never conclude, and never move from square one…
To pretend that Iran is a sincere player interested in peace?
cant even believe you wrote that…
To suck up to the European international community and show how weak and docile the US has become? To empower Iran? To screw Israel? To get some more Nobel Peace Prizes? All of the above?
None of the above…
there is only one goal, its never changed, and no matter how many times i point this out, it will never stick. why? because once you resolve the issue, the safe purgatory ends and the crisis of choice begins.
people wonder how a Hitler can exist. i told you way back how. people just jibber jaw, and will refuse to conclude, and in doing so give the benefit of that doubt, and vote or try things that they never should.
by the time the answer is indisputable, its too late.
go ahead, search back my texts and note that i said that they hide in ambiguity, redefinition, excuses, blame, and on and on.
you see, to the mind, each one of those things is a get out of jail free card, you just have to accept one you find convenient.
meanwhile, they move towards the same goal, the only goal, the kind of focus that built cathedrals taking several hundred years to complete…
most people cant plan next years vacation let alone conceive, maintain, execute and keep going a plan taking over 150 years to 200 or so…
in fact, if Gothic cathedrals didn’t exist, you would find it hard to convince someone that one could design and execute a 200 year plan. even more so today as the youth are so disfunctional that business cant find people to hire (though you wouldnt know it by other things)
But somehow the U.S. is trusting the Iranians to comply with this?
no, they are trusting the opposite
transparency is opaque
affordable is expensive
it is nothing other than facilitating other things
the public is no longer part of the process, and they no longer feel the need to let us know what their REAL discussions are about, so they just figure out other ways to sell us on things that when we do things for that reason, we are really fulfilling their needs and another reason.
so when we accept feminism, and allow mass movement, and all that… we are told it would bring happier healthier families, children, and a utopian future, and yada yada…
when you read the leaders and the works that people who are part of the cathedral building process, you find out that its a regression program. and that they promote regressive policies to turn the clock back so they can have dynasty, or rulership and fertility, while denying the same to their followers who are theirs to use… (mostly cause they are going to let them and only get the joke AFTER)
that is, what they sold you and everyone on was an argument for consumption to get you to accept the program that they need which will facilitate the changes that they are designed for
once your analysis starts using THAT perspective, it becomes real easy… everything that they say is a lie to get you to act, unless the truth works.. then its truthful. everything is for convenience, and for the term its needed… ie. you can keep your doctor… he is elected.. who gives a rats ass now? the prize was taken and they aint given it back. suck it up.
well, if you apply that same view, then what do you see? what other leaders of other countries see, is the games of last century are back, and this time the target will not be the economic might of Germany… but the coupe de grasse of the US vis a vis its becoming something the rest are too afraid to tolerate.
according to a whole lot of people over the past 40 years, this is the end game time. the time that a crisis that no one can stop for everything is extended too far, and then a big fight. without capital, who will be defenseless in that fight? who would the bankrupt borrow from? how would they teach the 50% to even defend themselves and not be a burden while things are going on?
dont worry, they are switching out generals and others and switching in their own people. they are and have constructed a nice chessboard, and the pieces chattering have not deemed it necessary to actually plop the whole thing down and look at it, other than slices, pieces, samples, and shiny stuff that catches the eye and dazzles the brain.
“the administration’s real priority with Iran is to avoid having to take action, not stopping the threat of an Iranian bomb.” That resonates with me, but I think their secondary goal is to curry favor with the appeasement-loving international community in Europe, as well as their leftist friends at home
see?
refusal to just accept what it is, what they say it is, what they say they are working for, and so on…
the destruction of Israel without the blame of the self. in this obama and kerry are acting like the soviets.
if your goal is INTERNATIONAL administrative state, and no sovereignty, you need to get rid of the individualists… the Jews and the Christians
of course you would have to read the dead white guys to know, why, how etc… but suffice it to say, that you cant rule over people smarter than you without things slowly shifting over time.
at the time of WWII, the Jews made up about the same population percent of Germany as African Americans do in the US… except that they controlled about 40% of the businesses and banks.
I just sent you the article that most of all taxes are paid for by white Americans… so the cry for more taxes is also a cry to take more from that class. feminism has insured that the population will collapse in less than 15 years to a number that will not be able to vote no to overt confiscations and so on.
ie. they analysed the other thing, and tried to reproduce and are trying to reproduce the outcomes. except this time, facism and capitalism will lose, and international socialism will win…
and for that to happen, a hot something will have to happen and it has to be hot enough to really have things get hot enough for fabians to be happy.
russia and china have been building up their shelters and so on… like yamentau mountain. anyone want to compute how many years before hiroshima and nagasaki were living places again?
the world doesnt know who to trust once it cant trust the US any more, this makes the whole thing a lot more unstable.
but one has to remember, the kind of people that take up this kind of thing, are the kind who will pull the house down around their ears to get it.
just think what would happen just financially if the iranians lit off a nuke in the empty dessert as a surprise!!
“Joe Biden”, 5:52 pm — “Besides, the Hollywood Jews dig this approach . . . .”
I think we need to be careful about “the Hollywood Jews”. I am not opposed to calling a spade a spade, but many if not most Hollywood Jews appear to me to be lefties first and Jews second, maybe in some cases a distant second.
Based on my impressions (and little else), being a Jew, Hollywood or otherwise, does not automatically imply a good feeling for Israel, partiularly if the Jew in question is a dedicated leftie. Maybe we need a new word — “JINO”?
In any event, the religion of leftieism very often trumps the cultural/religious affiliation of Judaism . . . so “Joe Biden” beware.
artfldgr:
Once again, you misunderstand me.
I wrote: “to pretend that Iran”–the point of that sentence was the word “pretend.” They are most definitely trying to pretend to the American people (and the world) that they sincerely think that. Not for a minute do they actually think it, in my opinion.
Many of those questions in the post were sarcastic. It has long been clear (certainly to most of the readers here) that Obama wants to change the entire dynamics of the region, and American’s role in it, and is an enemy of Israel. It has also long been clear that he moves slowly and by indirection and deception.
“well, what are their goals, really?”
This ‘initiative’ is just another distraction; going through the motions for the sake of appearing to be doing something important and masterful. Smoke + mirrors = Obama is the brilliant nobel winner.
MJR:
What are the Hollywood Jews, if not vestigial Jews? Are they ex-Jews?
I am afraid the point is that Jewishness, and morality, decency and loyalty, are so extremely vestigial in these Hollywoods that they are become Sonderkommandos.
“the alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a third intifada?”
Translation:
“Nice country you have there. Be a shame if another intifada were to happen.”
Folks, it should be obvious by now that Barry is holding the Israeli national economy as a hostage.
Bibi is trying to get out of this fix — of which Glick does not perceive. It’s why he’s so focused on economic matters. He’s trying to set the board for when Barry cuts Israel off.
Israel has long solved how to stop Iran…
Israel has not solved its dependence upon America.
Barry is about to prove that a foolish knave can cause more death and destruction than a raving syphilitic.
(Both Lenin and Hitler had stage 4 syphilis, BTW,)
Suicide troops + The Bomb = no-notice genocide
Barry is taking the planet into Three Conjectures territory.
That’s just swell.
I fully expect Barry to use the up coming unpleasantness as reason enough to stay in office — pretty much forever.
Don Carlos @ 9:33 . . .
“I am afraid the point is that Jewishness, and morality, decency and loyalty, are so extremely vestigial in these Hollywoods that they are become Sonderkommandos.”
I agree with you. So many Americans that we identify as “Jews” are fascist elitists working for the enemy, i.e. the enemies of freedom and limited government.
There will always be a core of Jews who remain actual Jews. Time and time again, the Jewish people have assimilated (for example, the Hellenists), but a faithful few have remained.
Unfortunately, living as an actual “Jew” involves a great deal of work. It’s much easier to assimilate and to ignore all the dietary laws, the prayers, the Torah and the Talmud, and just vote “Democratic” or “Progressive.”
The Obama administration is a fascist nightmare, and we are all going to have to live through the consequences of this evil monstrous regime.
I’m on the same page as Artful Dodger, but I’m trying to keep this post short.
Today’s Belmont Club is relevant to all our worst fears:
http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2013/11/07/the-djinn-emerges/#more-32921
Don Carlos, 9:33 pm — “What are the Hollywood Jews, if not vestigial Jews? Are they ex-Jews?”
Cultural Jews, in many/most cases. Certainly not religious Jews, again in most cases — caveated by the fact that I haven’t been spying on them Saturday mornings (smile). People who *identify* as Jews when it comes to religion and culture, albeit pretty much non-practicing; but again, fealty to leftieism buries fealty to Jewish culture/religion, and in many cases fealty to Israel.
Don Carlos, 9:33 pm — “I am afraid the point is that Jewishness, and morality, decency and loyalty, are so extremely vestigial in these Hollywoods that they are become Sonderkommandos.”
Ain’t gonna disagree here. I will, however, point out that in the 1930s and 1940s, when Hollywood was replete with Jews — more than now, I think but do not know for a fact — Hollywood, including if not led by the Jews there, produced films of a patriotic and wholesome nature. I get the impression Gramsci* marched early and often through Hollywood, and that culture-and-values invasion led the way in Hollywood becoming the sorry cesspool it’s become.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci
“I fully expect Barry to use the up coming unpleasantness as reason enough to stay in office – pretty much forever.”
I have suspected this motive was the key to understanding BHO from day one. BHO channels Fidel, Mao, and the rest.
Obama dropped Hilary, so he could appoint a SecState who would do his will. Because it is is second term, Obama is as free as he can be.
Obama is fulfilling the wishes of his supporters and all of his voters. They weren’t deceived. They are culpable.
Obama will be a stain on America that will never be removed.
I thin Hillary “dropped” herself in order to get more room to maneuver. Obama’s first term was more popular than the second, and Hillary can choose to either associate herself with the good aspects of the administration or disassociate herself from Obama…which, as the Obamacare rollout flounders seems more likely.
The administration’s dealings with Iran are another case of “fool or knave.” We will never know with certainty what their motivation was, but never-the-less the results will be the same.
One thing that gives me pause is that De Blasio got elected despite the manifest failures of leftism (as demonstrated by Obama). It makes me wonder if lefties are capable of learning from their mistakes. I think some are not. For the rest, I think there hasn’t been enough pain yet…but that’s coming, either from Obamacare and/or the coming collapse of NYC.
As far as Jews having more fealty to leftism than Judaism: I think that wasn’t true right after WWII for obvious reasons. They, like everyone else, forget the lessons of history over time. When peace and prosperity extend over decades (and especially, generations), they forget that the world was ever any other way.
Or perhaps, “forget” is too strong a word. They remember the parts they wish to remember. So they hold onto the affinity for the underdog (i.e. “victim”) caused by their own persecution but forget who/what caused that victimhood.
They long for solidarity with the minority while being part of the majority provided by leftists, forgetting that it was socialists in both Germany and Russia that victimized them. Doublethink, indeed.
But as an outsider, I can only speculate.
I get the impression Gramsci* marched early and often through Hollywood, and that culture-and-values invasion led the way in Hollywood becoming the sorry cesspool it’s become.
Hollywood was able to get rid of much of its taxes, so the Left found it a very ready source of war funding for their other operations. All members of the Left are connected, regardless of their ideology and individual motives. They are all in it together. Hollywood supports unions, who support police unions, who support teacher’s unions, who support lawyers, that end up as politicians and judges. It is all interconnected, this alliance of theirs for evil.