Perhaps a "disaster" is an even
better description of what is going on in the world.
I feel the impulse to apologize
for not posting sooner at this critical time. But I know that is silly, as I've
been working hard for Israel. Just know, dear readers, that you are not
far out of my mind, even as I consult on Levy Report matters. With the
help of Heaven, good things will come from that work...
~~~~~~~~~~
But now, in light of the deal
struck last night between P5 + 1 with Iran, how could I fail to do at least a
short posting??
We shouldn't have been surprised
-- not even after the fine words by French President Hollande as to how he
was going to stand strong against Iran. And yet, until the end, there
was hope, however faint, that the negotiations in Geneva would fall
apart.
What evidence do we need of the
error of the current deal with Iran other than what has now been said by
the Iranian president: According to Iranian Press TV, Rouhani had
declared that, "the deal reached with six world powers in Geneva
'recognized Iran’s nuclear rights' by allowing it to continue to enrich
uranium and that Tehran’s enrichment activities would proceed
similar to before."
Yes, disaster is a good
word. There is not such thing as "nuclear rights." Obama and company
have willfully given away the store.
~~~~~~~~~~
And here we can see how eagerly,
how thoroughly, Obama gave the store away (emphasis added):
"The
United States and Iran secretly engaged in a series of high-level, face-to-face
talks over the past year, in a high-stakes diplomatic gamble by the Obama
administration that paved the way for the historic deal sealed early
Sunday in Geneva aimed at slowing Tehran's nuclear program, The Associated Press
has learned.
"The
discussions were kept hidden even from America's closest friends, including its
negotiating partners and Israel, until two months ago, and that may
explain how the nuclear accord appeared to come together so quickly after years
of stalemate and fierce hostility between Iran and the West.
"But the secrecy
of the talks may also explain some of the tensions between the U.S. and France,
which earlier this month balked at a proposed deal, and with Israel, which is
furious about the agreement and has angrily denounced the diplomatic outreach to
Tehran.
"U.S. President
Barack Obama personally authorized the talks as part of his effort -- promised
in his first inaugural address -- to reach out to a country the State Department
designates as the world's most active state sponsor of terrorism.
"The talks were
held in the Middle Eastern nation of Oman and elsewhere with only a tight circle
of people in the know, the AP learned. Since March, Deputy Secretary of State
William Burns and Jake Sullivan, Vice President Joe Biden's top foreign policy
adviser, have met at least five times with Iranian officials.
"The last four
clandestine meetings, held since Iran's reform-minded President Hasan Rouhani
was inaugurated in August, produced much of the agreement later formally
hammered out in negotiations in Geneva among the United States, Britain, France,
Russia, China, Germany and Iran, said three senior administration officials. All
spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss
by name the highly sensitive diplomatic effort."
I might ask
which side the man in the White House is working for, but it would be only a
rhetorical question.
~~~~~~~~~~
I have a
friend in the US (who will recognize herself here), who just asked me: "Why are
they not in the streets over this?" To her, what is being done is
such a horror that nothing less than a major, very vociferous demonstration by
the American people is called for. But she remains part of a sad (and
grieving) minority. Are people asleep? (I've asked this before, I
believe.) Do they really not grasp what it means if Iran gets the
bomb? Are they so deluded that they imagine themselves safe, no
matter what?
~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe,
incredibly, people believe the clown -- yes, I know: a maliced clown, with
a dishonorable history, my readers remind me -- who heads the State
Department.
According to AFP,
Kerry said that "The comprehensive agreement [between the world powers and Iran] will make the
world safer ... and Israel safer."
Of course, in the
same statement Kerry also alluded to Prime Minister Netanyahu as "a friend of
mine," which would be uproariously funny if it weren't so serious. You see
where Kerry is going with this, attempting to smooth over Israeli objections to
what he did. But it won't work.
~~~~~~~~~~
Netanyahu, at the
weekly Cabinet meeting this morning, said that the deal that was struck with
Iran was an "historic mistake.":
"For the first
time, the world's leading powers have agreed to uranium enrichment in Iran while
ignoring the UN Security Council
decisions that they themselves led. Sanctions that required many years
to put in place contain the best chance for a peaceful solution. These sanctions
have been given up in exchange for cosmetic Iranian concessions that can be
cancelled in weeks.
"Implications of
this agreement threaten many
countries - including, of course, Israel. Israel is not bound by this
agreement..."Today the world has become a more dangerous place, because the most dangerous regime in the world took another step towards achieving the most dangerous weapon in the world."
If you open this
link, you will find a video of Netanyahu making this statement, with English
subtitles.
~~~~~~~~~~
Then there was
the statement by Naftali Bennett, head of Habayit Hayehudi and Economics
Minister, who wrote on his FaceBook Page:
"We awoke this morning to a new reality. A reality in which a bad deal was
signed with Iran. A very bad deal. This bad deal gives Iran exactly what it
wanted: a significant easing of the sanctions while retaining the most
significant parts of its nuclear program.""If a nuclear suitcase blows up five years from now in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning.
"There is still a long campaign ahead of us. We will continue to act in every possible way.
"It is important that the world knows: Israel will not be committed to a deal that endangers its very existence."
These comments came soon after he had made similar statements in an interview with Army Radio, declaring:
"Israel is not engaged by the Geneva accord. Iran is threatening Israel and Israel has the right to defend itself." (Emphasis added here and above.)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174385
Credit: Flash 90
~~~~~~~~~~
Actually, I'm
going to backtrack even a bit more, and share a video of an interview of Bennett
done last week with Christiane Amanpour on CNN. He was in the US lobbying
against the UN agreement, and acquitted himself superbly in this interview --
especially with regard to his standing up to Amanpour on the subject of Israeli
"occupation." But what you also get here is a clear explanation of the
dangers of the Iranian deal.
~~~~~~~~~~
Other members of the government
reacted with horror to the agreement with Iran, as well.
MK Ruby Rivlin (Likud) observed that
Kerry's remarks about the deal having made Israel safer did not help: "The
American attempt to reassure us just makes it more worrying."
And Finance Minister Yair Lapid lamented to Army Radio:
"You stand and shout out until you're blue in the face, and you try to understand why they're not listening. The world wanted an agreement." (Emphasis added)
While Minister of Intelligence and International Relations Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said:
And Finance Minister Yair Lapid lamented to Army Radio:
"You stand and shout out until you're blue in the face, and you try to understand why they're not listening. The world wanted an agreement." (Emphasis added)
While Minister of Intelligence and International Relations Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said:
“The
agreement was, and remains, a terrible deal that will
make it harder to reach a suitable long-term solution.
“Israel cannot join the
international celebration, which is based on Iran’s misleading and on
self-delusion.
“Despite the disappointment we will continue to stick to our position and to work with our friends in the United States and around the world toward a comprehensive solution.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174382
~~~~~~~~~~
But whatever Steinitz's words about working with friends towards a comprehensive solution, I trust he is not holding his breath.
The working assumption here in Israel, where most people support Netanyahu's position, is that ultimately we will, and must, hit Iran. This does not mean tomorrow, when Iran is watching and on guard. It means when our prime minister and his military advisers deem that the time is right.
There is no question but that our hitting Iran now is far more complex from a diplomatic perspective - for the world will accuse us of having intervened with war when the international community was on the brink of resolving everything peacefully. There are some analysts suggesting that Netanyahu might wait out the six months, until after the "interim" period that is supposed to be followed by a final deal but which is doomed to failure.
With a heavy heart I pray that Netanyahu will cry, "Damn the interim agreement," follow his own counsel and act as he believes he must. I'm reading in some sources tonight that with all his condemnation, Netanyahu has held off from announcing he will attack (notice, for example, Steinitz's statement about working with friends to strengthen the final deal). The implication here us that he does not intend to attack. But this is plain foolishness. If and when we do hit, there will be no advance notice.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Please understand that the "modest" reductions in sanctions that the Obama administration spoke of will amount to $7 billion in sanctions relief -- not small potatoes -- in return for a temporary limit by Iran in its nuclear program to low grade enrichment only and without the need for any destruction of equipment. Iran, that is, will retain breakout capacity.
What is more, "former Iranian Chamber of Commerce head Alinaqi Khamoushi was quoted in the semi-official Fars News agency saying the Obama administration had allowed Iran to access $8 billion of funds stored in the US.
"Washington froze billions of dollars in Iranian assets in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution."
http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-media-us-unfreezes-8-billion-in-assets/
~~~~~~~~~~ As Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon observed from Canada, where he was attending a conference:
"[the deal] allows Iran to enter the family [of] nations despite being the most active and flourishing activator of terrorism in the world, which sends its deadly and uncurbed deadly arms across the globe, first and foremost against Western states...
"To leave in the regime's hands capabilities for continuing the nuclear program means that the world today is a less safe place. Instead of rolling the program back, the regime in Tehran has gained time, which will allow it on the one hand to seek a nuclear bomb, and on the other, breathing space due to the lightening of sanctions." (Emphasis added)
http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Israel-denounces-Iranian-nuclear-deal-says-it-will-review-options-332800
~~~~~~~~~~
If you want to know how thoroughly Obama intends to embrace Iran within the family of nations, consider this startling news tonight:
"Having overseen an interim deal with Iran on its nuclear program, the Obama administration now intends to try to involve Iran in wider Middle East diplomacy, including an attempt to find a solution to the Syrian civil war, Israeli television reported Sunday night." (Emphasis added)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-intends-to-seek-irans-help-in-solving-syrian-civil-war/
Iran, the biggest purveyor of terrorism in the world, involved in Middle East diplomacy. How do you wrap your head around this, or, better, around the reality that Obama apparently thinks this is a peachy keen idea??
~~~~~~~~~~
More coming soon...
~~~~~~~~~~
“Despite the disappointment we will continue to stick to our position and to work with our friends in the United States and around the world toward a comprehensive solution.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174382
~~~~~~~~~~
But whatever Steinitz's words about working with friends towards a comprehensive solution, I trust he is not holding his breath.
The working assumption here in Israel, where most people support Netanyahu's position, is that ultimately we will, and must, hit Iran. This does not mean tomorrow, when Iran is watching and on guard. It means when our prime minister and his military advisers deem that the time is right.
There is no question but that our hitting Iran now is far more complex from a diplomatic perspective - for the world will accuse us of having intervened with war when the international community was on the brink of resolving everything peacefully. There are some analysts suggesting that Netanyahu might wait out the six months, until after the "interim" period that is supposed to be followed by a final deal but which is doomed to failure.
With a heavy heart I pray that Netanyahu will cry, "Damn the interim agreement," follow his own counsel and act as he believes he must. I'm reading in some sources tonight that with all his condemnation, Netanyahu has held off from announcing he will attack (notice, for example, Steinitz's statement about working with friends to strengthen the final deal). The implication here us that he does not intend to attack. But this is plain foolishness. If and when we do hit, there will be no advance notice.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Please understand that the "modest" reductions in sanctions that the Obama administration spoke of will amount to $7 billion in sanctions relief -- not small potatoes -- in return for a temporary limit by Iran in its nuclear program to low grade enrichment only and without the need for any destruction of equipment. Iran, that is, will retain breakout capacity.
What is more, "former Iranian Chamber of Commerce head Alinaqi Khamoushi was quoted in the semi-official Fars News agency saying the Obama administration had allowed Iran to access $8 billion of funds stored in the US.
"Washington froze billions of dollars in Iranian assets in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution."
http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-media-us-unfreezes-8-billion-in-assets/
~~~~~~~~~~ As Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon observed from Canada, where he was attending a conference:
"[the deal] allows Iran to enter the family [of] nations despite being the most active and flourishing activator of terrorism in the world, which sends its deadly and uncurbed deadly arms across the globe, first and foremost against Western states...
"To leave in the regime's hands capabilities for continuing the nuclear program means that the world today is a less safe place. Instead of rolling the program back, the regime in Tehran has gained time, which will allow it on the one hand to seek a nuclear bomb, and on the other, breathing space due to the lightening of sanctions." (Emphasis added)
http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Israel-denounces-Iranian-nuclear-deal-says-it-will-review-options-332800
~~~~~~~~~~
If you want to know how thoroughly Obama intends to embrace Iran within the family of nations, consider this startling news tonight:
"Having overseen an interim deal with Iran on its nuclear program, the Obama administration now intends to try to involve Iran in wider Middle East diplomacy, including an attempt to find a solution to the Syrian civil war, Israeli television reported Sunday night." (Emphasis added)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-intends-to-seek-irans-help-in-solving-syrian-civil-war/
Iran, the biggest purveyor of terrorism in the world, involved in Middle East diplomacy. How do you wrap your head around this, or, better, around the reality that Obama apparently thinks this is a peachy keen idea??
~~~~~~~~~~
More coming soon...
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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