Like the realities of Obamacare which only became apparent following the passage of the bill; like the faux outrage expressed by the president when the IRS targeting scandal was revealed; like the explanation that a video was responsible for triggering the attack in Benghazi; like Hillary's justification for having a private server in Chappaqua; we now know that the Kerry/Obama/Muniz agreement with Iran does not represent what we were told.
There is no "anytime/anywhere" inspection regiment; there is no realistic prospect that the Euros, Russians and Chinese will do anything other than capitulate to Iran; there are no "snapback" sanctions; there is no threat of military action; they will not be prevented from purchasing conventional weapons and shipping them to whom they wish; current sanctions are clearly not preventing Gen. Suleiman from traveling where he wishes including Moscow; and, of course, we now know that Iran will be in charge of monitoring their own compliance.
Could Iran have crafted a more advantageous deal for itself if Kerry and Moniz had been absent from the talks? Unlikely.
What we are left to conclude is what was feared by many at the outset. This was never about a negotiation where one side gives and the other takes and vice versa. This was about: what will be required to concede to Iran in order to obtain an agreement. And under no circumstances will this agreement be presented to the Congress and the American people as a treaty because a treaty of this nature with this theocracy can never collect a 2/3 approval in the Senate.
What to do? Bully spineless republicans who control both houses into an unconstitutional bind in which a presidential veto has to be overridden to stop the agreement from becoming law. Along come the compliant Bob Corker and Ben Sasse, only too happy to carry water for Leader McConnell, who craft legislation the president is only too happy to sign.
Corker stomps and writes endless Op-Ed's expressing his opposition to the proposed agreement, but - like promises made to end Obamacare or stop executive amnesty - they are words and meaningless gestures. Posturing for the purpose of erecting a facade of opposition. No action of any consequence to prevent the agreement from becoming effective with a presidential veto.
This deal was a disaster before the revelation of the IAEA side agreement. Now that we know what at least one side agreement contains, I am anxious to see if democrat Jewish members of Congress continue to fall in line with Obama. If they do, it should be as clear as the weather was in New York on 9/11 that their devotion to liberal ideology is their highest calling.
Under what possible circumstance can anyone defend an arrangement in which the subject of sanctions obtains relief acting as the primary collector of data to police its compliance? Is there a comparable historical precedent?
The Iranian government lies serially. It represses dissent. It supports terror groups with money, material and intelligence. It has murdered American servicemen and diplomats. It has murdered Jews in Argentina. With North Korean assistance, it has constructed nuclear facilities for Bashar Assad in Syria. It denies the existence of the Holocaust. Its political "moderates" call for the destruction of Israel and seizure of the Al Aqsa mosque.
Under what hallucinogenic delusion does Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Al Franken, Debbie Wasserman, Richard Blumenthal and others believe that Iran will change? That the deal could have been better, but this is acceptable?
This agreement is a scandalous capitulation. Iran should be completely isolated from the process of determining what the base line dimensions of their military nuclear program has been. They should be carefully excluded from ANY involvement in monitoring future compliance. Their ballistic missile program should have been terminated - the missile program is only needed for long range delivery of combustible nuclear material. The cash unfrozen by sanctions relief should have been designated exclusively for internal purposes. Any "reasonable" negotiation would have included these essential elements.
Whether they did or not, the final agreement includes none of it. It is positively terrifying to think that our key negotiator, John Kerry, anti war activist who slandered his fellow servicemen in testimony before Congress, was nearly President of the United States. This agreement is a triumph for Iranian theocrats. It legitimizes their autocratic rule, it effectively blesses their development of nuclear power, and tacitly supports their hegemonic influence in the region.
Obama, Kerry and their supporters have relinquished any position of strength we may have enjoyed in order to secure an agreement. Any agreement. They have placed our regional allies in extreme jeopardy, have elected to cut and run from the region, and trust the Iranians with their own compliance.
Even those with no love lost for Obama could never have imagined such an outcome.
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