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Biden’s Delusions Put Us in Danger: Negotiating with Iran
Not only has our reputation been damaged trying to re-negotiate the JCPOA, and is surely compromising our safety in relation to China and Russia as they witness this debacle, I can’t figure out the real reason we are bothering to try to resurrect the Iran agreement. From my perspective, it is a fool’s errand and could put our own country in danger. Here’s the latest report on the facts of the deal from the details I could collect.
It is quite clear that Iran has no intention of negotiating anything. They only want to put the deal on the table as a way to remove all sanctions in order to save their economy, and they insist that the U.S. should be prohibited from attending the negotiation meetings in Vienna. Our response has been feckless, offering up idle threats that no one fears. Jen Psaki made the following threat on December 9:
If diplomacy cannot get on track soon and if Iran’s nuclear program continues to accelerate, then we will have no choice but to take additional measures to further restrict Iran’s revenue-producing sectors.
And U.S. State Department representative Ned Price offered this ominous remark:
Asked if Iran might be playing for time in the talks and seeking to exploit U.S. weakness, he told reporters: ‘I can assure you that, if the Iranian regime suspects the United States of weakness, they will be sorely surprised.’
I’m sure that based on these two comments, the Iranians are quaking in their boots.
Of course, any statements by the U.S. are made second-hand to reporters, since the U.S. is not participating directly in discussions; the claim is that Trump removed us from the agreement and we can’t participate, but if the U.S. is sincere about a negotiation, passing notes back and forth appears ineffectual.
Given the absurd requirements of the original 2015 agreement, which everyone ignored, the Iran government has nothing to fear. Every violation of the agreement which became public was brushed aside, and the Iranians continued to enrich their uranium, even purchasing and powering up additional centrifuges.
So, if there is any agreement that is reached, it will be a disaster in the making. First, the Biden administration has proposed a new sunset period:
The Biden administration has suggested a new sunset period of 25 years—assuming the Iranian regime does not lower it to 10 or 5 years. This will allow the Islamic Republic to resume enriching uranium at any level they desire, spin as many advanced centrifuges as they want, make its reactors fully operational, build new heavy water reactors, produce as much fuel as they desire for the reactors, and maintain higher uranium enrichment capability with no restriction after the period of the agreement.
They only need to agree to stop enriching uranium. And that is not going to happen.
The U.S. will likely lift all the sanctions on the first day of the agreement, just as Obama did. No proof of compliance will be required.
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At this point we could just throw up our hands and say, it’s not our problem; let the Middle Eastern countries take on Iran. But the Iranians are not just a threat to their neighbors, including Israel: they are a threat to us.
One reason is that Biden has not mentioned their ICBMs:
A report by Iran’s. . . Afkar News. . . stated: ‘The same type of ballistic missile technology used to launch the satellite could carry nuclear, chemical or even biological weapons to wipe Israel off the map, hit US bases and allies in the region and US facilities, target NATO even in the far west of Europe.’
The report also boasted about the damage the Iranian regime could inflict on the US: ‘By sending a military satellite into space, Iran now has shown that it can target all American territory; the Iranian parliament had previously warned that an electromagnetic nuclear attack on the United States would likely kill 90 percent of Americans.’
It’s difficult to know how legitimate these threats actually are.
This type of agreement with Iran will only further destabilize the region, as their neighbors realize how vulnerable they will be to Iran’s terror agenda and even potential invasion. An upset in the region can’t help but affect the United States.
Once sanctions are dropped and Iran’s economy begins to recover, they will likely promote more terrorist activities all over the world. Our allies will blame us for empowering Iran—and their anger will be justified.
* * * *
Given all the downsides for an agreement, can anyone explain the reasons why the U.S. is pursuing a renewed JCPOA. What do we have to gain? If the Biden Administration comes to its senses, is there a sensible approach they can use?
Published in Foreign Policy
The Biden “administration” is doing what it said it would do. Destroy America as founded, and make it into just another big country. The creatures running the country these days hate America, and are doing whatever they can to tear it down.
They are succeeding beyond their wildest dreams.
There are so many leftist policies, both domestic and foreign, for which I don’t understand the rationale. A couple decades ago, for example, while I disagreed with increased welfare spending because it harmed the very poor it was supposed to help, I could understand why one might argue for it based on compassionate grounds. But today there are so many leftist policies for which I cannot see any possible rationale, even a far-fetched one; and the Iran nuclear deal is one of those. I have come to the conclusion that either the leftists wish to destroy America or that God is punishing them by deluding them into foolishness, or both.
I view the iran deals through the prism of hate. Obama hated America, thus the Iran deal merely leveled the field between the unacceptably superior US and the downtrodden oppressed Iran. Biden hates Trump, therefore, he must reverse anything Trump did. It really is that simple. Trying to assign any deep strategic logic to explain thier actions is a fools game.
But is Biden in charge? He only cares about his son not going to jail, and his link to that, so protects his relationship with China. But Soros, the radical left, BLM etc.? At a minimum if you did not want to harm the US there could be support for our border. I don’t think it can be explained by ineptitude. If merely ineptitude and simple greed there would be some gestures and policies that actually served US interests. But how explain that everything is harmful to long term US interests?
I think he is only marginally aware of what is going on. I doubt that they even consult him. The less they tell him, the less he can get into trouble.
The Biden team negotiating with rogue nations will give away the store and get little or nothing in return. These are dangerous times and Biden et al. aren’t up to the task . . .
Yes. But he cares about China because of his son and he has input on that subject or perhaps more accurately, they, who ever they are, know he might say the wrong thing if they put him at risk with China.
Sorry for being unclear. The US has invested too much in aid, and makes too much in arms sales, to walk away from the Middle East in real life. Imho. It’s too valuable.
And that’s part of the Iran issue. Iran is the one that got away, the one that said no to the US. In some ways it has to be viciously punished in perpetuity (like Cuba) – as an example to keep the others in line.
Thank you.
Now that I understand, I’ll gently disagree. We *should* walk away from bad or misguided investments (using several terms of art). Not that this is what we *will* do…
Not sure which side of the categorical imperative you’re on here. Just splainin my own.
I think an Iran connected by commerce with the rest of the world would be a more stable and safer Iran – and also one where indigenous efforts to make a free-er society would be more likely to bear fruit. I think the fear of a nuclear Iran is cynically cultivated and used to manipulate Americans and thereby to justify public expenditure. Compare the repeatedly ‘sky is falling’ response to the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear bomb with the torpid disinterest in the one Muslim country that actually has one (and which is in cahoots with the Taliban no less).
So you think that Iran would back off their terrorism and using other countries to do their dirty work? You think they wouldn’t continue to make an effort to strong arm other countries in the region? Once they have sanctions lifted and have all the money they need, why in the world would they back off? I haven’t heard them say anything about revoking their commitment to destroy Israel, have you? I see no reason why their “connected by commerce” would make any difference in their power plays.
Of course, a cash-strapped pariah Iran would be a less stable and sooner rather than later, less truculent. Iran. By God, they might even stop threatening to wipe out millions of people.
Ah, what a silly dream!
I read this as What a wily scheme!
It doesn’t seem to work like that anywhere. Otherwise no Gulf War II.
Indeed. Now that the UAE is doing business with Israel it’s less likely to try and fund Israel’s destruction. ??
For a number of reasons unfortunately so.