Iranian Nuclear Deal Will Be The Worst Deal In History

Could the Iran Deal Be the Worst International Accord of All Time?

By Daniel Pipes July 16, 2015 , 11:45 am

Barack Obama has repeatedly signaled during the past six and a half years that his No. 1 priority in foreign affairs is not China, not Russia, not

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BIN-OpEd-Experts-300x2501.png

Mexico, but Iran. He wants to bring Iran in from the cold, to transform the Islamic Republic into just another normal member of the so-called international community, thereby ending decades of its aggression and hostility.

In itself, this is a worthy goal; it’s always good policy to reduce the number of enemies. (It brings to mind Nixon going to China.) The problem lies, of course, in the execution.

The conduct of the Iran nuclear negotiations has been wretched, with the Obama administration inconsistent, capitulating, exaggerating, and even deceitful. It forcefully demanded certain terms, then soon after conceded these same terms. Secretary of State John Kerry implausibly announced that we have “absolute knowledge” of what the Iranians have done until now in their nuclear program and therefore have no need for inspections to form a baseline. How can any adult, much less a high official, make such a statement?

The administration misled Americans about its own concessions: After the November 2013 joint plan of action, it came out with a fact sheet that Tehran said was inaccurate. Guess who was right? The Iranians. In brief, the U.S. government has shown itself deeply untrustworthy.

The agreement signed today ends the economic-sanctions regime, permits the Iranians to hide much of their nuclear activities, lacks enforcement in case of Iranian deceit, and expires in slightly more than a decade. Two problems particularly stand out: The Iranian path to nuclear weapons has been eased and legitimated; Tehran will receive a “signing bonus” of some $150 billion that greatly increases its abilities to aggress in the Middle East and beyond.

The United States alone, not to speak of the P5+1 countries as a whole, has vastly greater economic and military power than the Islamic Republic of Iran, making this one-sided concession ultimately a bafflement.

Of the administration’s accumulated foreign-policy mistakes in the last six years, none have been catastrophic for the United States: Not the Chinese building islands, the Russians’ taking Crimea, or the collapse into civil wars of Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. But the Iran deal has the makings of a catastrophe.

Attention now shifts to the U.S. Congress to review today’s accord, arguably the worst international accord not just in American history or modern history, but ever. Congress must reject this deal. Republican senators and representatives have shown themselves firm on this topic; will the Democrats rise to the occasion and provide the votes for a veto override? They need to feel the pressure.

Reprinted with author’s permission from National Review

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/45280/could-the-iran-deal-be-the-worst-international-accord-of-all-time-opinion/#3Gq9OjpPKaWxaixB.99

If General Keane Is Correct, Obama Has Been Playing The World For Chumps. Why Would He Be Doing This Unless He Wants The Western World Defeated?

Tougher Sanctions Necessary to Force Iran to Change Its Terrorist Ways

Friday, 10 Apr 2015 07:19 PM

By Larry Kudlow

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If recent news accounts are to be believed, the framework of agreement between the U.S. and Iran is on the rocks.

Iran’s top officials, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, are saying economic sanctions must end immediately and that UN inspectors will not be granted unfettered access to military installations and nuclear construction sites.

But this may be nothing more than Iranian domestic political spin. And as long as there’s a potential deal, a critical point needs to be made: There is no provision for, or even discussion of, putting political restraints on Iran. That is, there is nothing in this deal that would force Iran to change its terrorist ways. Iran will continue to be the number-one state sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East, no matter what the deal.

How can this be?

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz make a crucial point: “Absent the linkage between nuclear and political restraint, America’s traditional allies will conclude that the U.S. has traded temporary nuclear cooperation for acquiescence to Iranian hegemony.” (Italics mine.)

Put another way, there could be a U.S.-Iran deal that postpones Iran’s nuclear weaponization for ten or more years.

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But tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, Iran will continue to sponsor its terrorist proxies, like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, keep proxy troops in Syria, continue its efforts to take over Iraq, further its designs on Yemen, and confront Sunni Saudi Arabia.

And don’t forget, the U.S. has labeled Iran’s own Quds Force and Revolutionary Guard as terrorists.

Kissinger and Shultz write, “Iranian or Iranian client forces are now the pre-eminent military or political element in multiple Arab countries . . . With the recent addition of Yemen as a battlefield, Tehran occupies positions along all of the Middle East’s strategic waterways and encircles archrival Saudi Arabia, an American ally.”

No one doubts these facts. Iran wants to dominate the Middle East. And it will not acknowledge the rights of the sovereign state of Israel. So the question is: Why is the U.S. not including political- and terrorist-restraint clauses in any Iran deal?

This is why economic sanctions are crucial. Western-nation sanctions are slowly but surely smashing the Iranian economy. We have effectively stopped the flow of money and oil for Iran. The Iranian budget, which dominates the state-run economy, needs $130 a barrel. Today’s $50 price is an economic killer.

So why doesn’t Team Obama directly link a removal of economic sanctions with a clear pullback of Iran’s terrorist activities and march to Middle East dominance? That’s a dailylinkage — one that is observable. And since we know Iran won’t agree to this, why aren’t President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry working to tighten sanctions on Iran rather than push through a bad nuke deal?

Make no mistake, the nanosecond sanctions are lifted U.S. and Western investment will pour into Iran. Looser financial sanctions will put an estimated $50 billion into Iran’s economy. And a number of European oil companies will jump to develop the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserve and second-biggest national-gas reserve.

Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil, German’s Siemens, and French car companies Peugeot and Citroën are ready to move. It’s reported that Boeing is looking to do business in Iran. HP and Google have been exploring contracts and licenses in Iran. Other major U.S. and European Internet companies have been approached by Iranian officials. And financial-service and credit card companies will move in quickly.

And if American officials really believe treaty violations can be countered by a “snap-back,” they’d better think again. These complex sanctions, which took so long to put together, will never be effectively revived.

General Jack Keane believes President Obama has had a grand-bargain vision for Iran since 2009. The nuclear deal is just one part of it. That’s why Obama gave no help to the million Iranian reformers who marched in protest of the phony 2009 elections. That’s why Obama didn’t help the Syrian rebels, why he’s had such a cold relationship with Israel, why he gave speeches blaming America for Arab unrest, and why until very recently he didn’t give any help to Egyptian president al-Sisi.

Obama believes in détente with Iran as a pathway to U.S. disengagement from the region. But Iran is our enemy, whether the president believes it or not. And if we cut deals that allow Iran to continue its terrorist and hegemonic activities, the Obama administration will have created an unbelievable Middle East powder keg, setting the stage for a conflict that could possibly dwarf any we’ve seen before.

This is the worst U.S. foreign policy of my lifetime. It may be the worst in America history.

To find out more about Lawrence Kudlow and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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