U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement after a nuclear deal was reached between Iran and six major world powers, beside Vice President Joe Biden, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 14, 2015. Reuters/Andrew Harnik/Pool
WNU Editor: To say that this is a huge victory for Iran is an understatement .... Iran got everything that they wanted .... and then some more. $100 billion in funds to be released. All sanctions to be removed over time .... including the arms embargo. The hundreds of Iranian officials who are under sanctions .... including those who have been involved in the killing and injuring of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq .... these sanctions are to be removed and these officials will be free to travel abroad. Iranian banks .... will now no longer be under sanctions. Foreign investments into Iran .... especially into their oil industry .... will now be permitted. Verification and inspections .... it is not as President Obama said 24/7 .... but a 14 day interim period where in the event that Iran does not want to have an inspection .... it is then kicked up to a "tribunal" that will discuss (and negotiate) on what needs to be done. If the past is any indication .... expect these "negotiations to last for months (if not more). Iran will also get to keep the core elements of its nuclear program in place .... and .... more importantly .... will not have to officially disclose and admit that they were pursuing a nuclear arms program in the past.
I can keep on going on what Iran has gained from this agreement .... but it will take me hours to list them .... and I can only imagine on what Iran may have gained in the side (and secret) deals that I am sure were happening during this time. I know that the White House and its supporters are hoping that this agreement will change Iran politically .... specifically on how it conducts its foreign policy. I say that these people are living on "Fantasy Island". Iran has been consistent and unwavering in its foreign policy for decades .... and doubly so during these nuclear talks. Their views on Israel, the current Sunni-Shiite conflict, Iraq, Syria, support for Hezbollah and Hamas, their hatred towards the U.S. .... this is not going to change with this agreement. If anything .... they now feel victorious .... and more importantly .... vindicated. The party that has been inconsistent, wavering, and quick to change its position on a dime while promoting a different narrative to its public has been President Obama himself and his White House .... and especially right now with this agreement..
On the geopolitical level .... the impact of this agreement is going to be huge .... especially for U.S. relations with its traditional allies in the region. U.S. - Israeli relations will now never be the same. U.S. - Saudi Arabia relations .... a cornerstone of U.S. Middle Eastern foreign policy for almost 70 years .... eviscerated. The Gulf States .... will now bow to Iran .... and keep the U.S. distant. The wars in Syria and Iraq are now going to explode. Iran now feels embolden, and I expect that their allies in these conflicts will feel likewise. Expect a major escalation in the wars by the end of this year. But what I am most worried about is on the issue of nuclear proliferation. Saudi Arabia will have to respond .... and my prediction is that they will take their existing and massive nuclear program and escalate/expand it significantly .... and will do it so that if they should have the need to accelerate it into a weapons program .... all the tools and technical expertise would already be there.
I know that supporters of this agreement are saying that they had no choice .... and that launching a war would not have resolved the crisis. I say that this is a narrow and dishonest argument. In this situation you work with your allies, bolster them with economic/military/ and political support, be patient with every step .... and make life difficult for your adversary. President Reagan understood this when he confronted the Soviet Union ..... and he showed us the way on how to do it. President Obama has chosen a different path .... he has bolstered America's adversary .... and abandoned its allies. And while President Obama may enjoy the praise that the press is now lavishing on him .... I predict that history will not be kind to him .... and his legacy will not be the one that he will be remembered for a decade or two from now.
6 comments:
Well said.
Completely agree with your assessment.
We did not have to get an agreement.
We could have kept on talking and kept the sanctions.
Between losing in Syria and the spectre of losing in Lebanon, Iran has or had a lot to lose. Now they have more money and might be able to put more resources in those wars.
Obama made sure they lost nothing while we gained very little in terms if security.. Obama gained the most. He perhaps has no bad event that can be blamed on him. Even if the Iranians cheat in 3 to 5 years time and have 10 nukes, the 4th estate and others will gin up an explanation to blame the GOP or anyone but Obama and the Democrats.
The north Koreans cheated and I expect the Iranians to cheat.
This is Munich II.
Completely disagree.
".... and abandoned its allies." Israel was never and will never will be a friend or ally of the US or anyone else. Supremacist warmongering zealot Shylocks are incapable of such relationships. They will continue their path of war and policy by brute force until some time in the near future the civilized world tires of their antics, Arab demographics takeover and the Zionist experiment is abolished.
As far Iranian hegemony and power projection, keep on dreaming. A faltering , hydrocarbon based economy and $15 billion a year military budget is chump change. They can't afford to be a hegemon. The US spends almost a $trillion a year on its national security state and the order of battle in the region has Iran literally surrounded by US/NATO? Gulf state military bases.
I'd love to see some hard details by the right-wing Zionist warmonger crowd on exactly how Iran can ever carry out its dastardly hegemonic ambitions. Or is that just a smoke screen to continue American hegemony in the ME and Asia? Divide and rule. Same as it ever was.
Not the same anonymous as above, but I believe this will lead to more weapons buying from the U.S., Europeans, Chinese and Russians. Ultimately, we will see a massive Sunni-Shiite war. I also predict nuclear proliferation in the area and these islamic sects eventually using them on one another. In simple English, US capitalism won and will continue to win in this endless battle.
Iran should take the chance to be with the bigs now? To share their economy and to be a power in their region
Anonymous #1
"has Iran literally surrounded by US/NATO? Gulf state military bases. "?
There was the pullout in Iraq. 300 advisors in Iraq at current time are not going to do squat about surrounding the Iranian theocracy from the west.
There are U.S. Bases in the east, Afghanistan, but those are much reduced and will be gone if public polling permits. Obama is good for that.
I am not aware of U.S bases north of Iran (i.e. Russia). Perhaps you can point these out.
The small # of people in Bahrain are not going to surround Iran from the south. Maybe they might add up to a battalion of people. Maybe. Then again maybe you and Hitler can call upon the same ghost divisions.
"Or is that just a smoke screen to continue American hegemony"
I never say any secret messages, saw any intel briefs or heard anything on the grapevine. Maybe I was on "double secret probation" and didn't get that information. Maybe I don't know the right masonic handshake. Maybe it is the 1st conspiracy that has been kept totally secret.
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