Israel Matzav

A bad deal

How bad is the deal between the P 5+1 and Iran? David Weinberg counts the ways.

You know it’s a bad deal when just about every administration spokesman has explained over and over again in recent weeks that war with Iran is not an acceptable option.

Thus residual, ritual American incantations of the diplomatic formula that “all options remain on the table” – one being that military action could still be contemplated if the Iranians don’t follow through on their new commitments – ring totally hollow. It’s clear that the Obama administration has no intention of striking the Iranian nuclear military complex, ever, under any circumstances.

You know it’s a bad deal when the Geneva accord may not really be much of an actual agreement at all.

Former US National Security Council official Elliott Abrams has pointed out that the accord summary released by the White House is couched in “aspirational” terms, suggesting that actual “implementation” of Iranian commitments still need to be negotiated, and the White House now admits as much. Zarif has actually called the White House texts “invalid and one-sided interpretations of the texts agreed to in Geneva.”

Abrams assertion has now been confirmed. But wait, there's more.

You know it’s a bad deal when the French foreign minister and others are already saying that the so-called interim accord could be in place for a year or more, since talks on a longer-term agreement may be prolonged and difficult.

And who knows whether Tehran will ever agree to a tougher accord.

So Obama’s “interim” accord could become a lasting arrangement; the worst possible scenario.

You know it’s a bad deal when President Shimon Peres and Ambassador Uri Savir, who negotiated the disastrous Oslo accords, think the Geneva accord is a good deal.

You know it’s a bad deal when Obama and Kerry have taken to belittling Israel’s concerns, and to battering American Jewish and congressional critics of the Geneva deal with insinuations of disloyalty, dual loyalty and warmongering.

But all is fair in Obama’s drive for a new regional order in which Israel is a bit player and side concern, and America’s grand reconciliation with radical Islam is the paramount strategic objective.

Read the whole thing.

According to a report on Friday night on Israel's Channel 2, the Iran sanctions regime is already well on its way to collapsing.

Privately, the unnamed officials were quoted as indicating Friday, Jerusalem is feeling a bitter, dismayed and helpless sense of “We told you so.” Noting that officials and businessmen from around the world — notably including China, Turkey, France, Russia and India — are already converging on Iran, ready to resume large-scale oil, banking and all manner of other business dealings as sanctions are eased in the wake of Sunday’s Geneva deal, the officials were quoted saying that Israel knew the sanctions pressure would collapse, “but even we didn’t imagine it would happen this fast.”

The Channel 2 report quoted one official saying that the US was “not leading but is being led” by Iran, and that the Obama administration has indicated that it has “no red lines” in its dealings with the Iranians.

We live in very trying times. But God's salvation is always the wink of an eyelash away.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:38 PM