Free Republic

Americans back a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran by a 2-to-1 margin and are very wary of the United States resorting to military action against Tehran even if the historic diplomatic effort falls through, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday. The findings were rare good news in the polls for President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings have dropped in recent weeks because of the botched rollout of his signature healthcare reform law. According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 44 percent of Americans support the interim deal reached between Iran and six world powers in Geneva last weekend, and 22 percent...

The Stratfor analysis reprinted below is interesting but has at least one glaring error as well as many dubious conclusions.According to the Stratfor analysis, The logic here suggests a process leading to the elimination of all sanctions in exchange for the supervision of Iran's nuclear activities to prevent it from developing a weapon. Unless this is an Iranian trick to somehow buy time to complete a weapon and test it, I would think that the deal could be done in six months. An Iranian ploy to create cover for building a weapon would also demand a reliable missile and a launch pad...

Lost in the discussion about the disastrous P5+1 agreement on nuclear technology forced on the world by Barack Obama, John Kerry and the Ayatollahs in Tehran are the profound implications for Jihadist terrorism. No where in the agreement is the issue of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism even addressed. For all we know, John Kerry didn’t even raise it as an issue in his talks with the Iranians. It’s not like the Obama administration can deny Iran’s role in the sponsorship of terrorism. The State Department has for years called Iran the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism.

There’s good news and bad news in Barack Obama’s sucker deal with Iran. The Iranians get all the good news, and the West gets all the bad news. The only good news for the good guys is that the deal, like Obamacare, is President Obama’s baby. Sometimes, the baby daddy has to pay up. The president and his administration, having done the full grovel in Geneva, is now into full defensive mode. Stung by the cries of disbelief in Washington from a growing number of his partisan allies in Congress, the president insists that his handiwork “halted the progress of...

This was inspired by this piece from Chicks on the Right. Their version was way too smart (low information voters Democrats can't say "centrifuge" much less know what it is), I had to dumb it down a bit :-)  

There is speculation in the blogosphere and on the airwaves this morning that the timing of the Obama/Kerry/Ayatollahs Agreement was designed to distract Americans from the Obamacare debacle. This speculation is wrong for two reasons.

 

The Obama administration says the agreement will degrade Iran’s nuclear capacity, halt its current progress, and lay the groundwork for a final deal, in exchange for discrete concessions on sanctions. But this “freeze” is incomplete and as reversible as the term suggests, and the effect of the loosening of the sanctions will be far-reaching. Reminiscent of his claim that a strike on Syria to deter future chemical-weapons use would be “unbelievable small,” Secretary Kerry said that the deal’s concessions translate into “very little sanctions relief.” This is an odd description for measures that take up a full page of the...

The president who promised us that his health care legislation would allow us to keep our insurance plans and doctors now insists that his agreement with Iran will not allow it to keep a nuclear weapons program. What the two pledges have in common is that they are both lies. No matter how many times such statements are repeated and seconded by President Obama’s partisans and the press, they amount to serial, intentional and potentially fatal fraud. Now, some Americans may still trust President Obama, or at least be inclined to give his deal a chance. But that means buying...

J Street welcomes the agreement reached today in Geneva by the P5+1 and Iran as a significant first step in efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The agreement will effectively freeze and begin to roll back the Iranian program in exchange for limited economic relief for six months. During this period, the P5+1 will continue to negotiate a permanent agreement, pressing the Rouhani regime to accept an enforceable comprehensive deal to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, while maintaining the essential sanctions architecture. The accord has several very important provisions that will effectively freeze Iran's program and...

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, the United States -- together with our close allies and partners -- took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.

Breathtaking in its comprehensive nature, it's a variation of "We have to do it so you can find out what it means." With an apparent impasse in the Geneva talks on Iran's "peaceful" nuclear program, it now seems that history is (again) relevant. Forty-one years ago, the U.S. and North Vietnam signed an agreement that allowed the American troops to end their combat mission in Southeast Asia. It was all too obvious that this was no peace deal. Any levelheaded person could have told you that. The communists and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger settled on murky language. Kissinger tried...

Although different in many ways, both are rogue nations. Neither can be trusted. In the case of North Korea, negotiations that resulted in "humanitarian" aid and relief from sanctions led to continued development and testing of nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Iranian descendants of Persian rug merchants have more sophisticated negotiating strategies and the outcome there is likely to be worse rather than better. A November 13th  article at The Diplomat ends with this observation:  not only is Iran not North Korea, but the North Korea case strongly suggests that engagement can produce results, while additional sanctions during this engagement will scuttle those...

French President Francois Hollande began a three-day visit to Israel over the weekend, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was all smiles and full of praise for the French delegation that was apparently the last holdout in thwarting a “bad deal” that would have traded sanctions relief for some all-but-meaningless nuclear concessions from the Iranians: Hollande vowed to keep up pressure on Iran and not make any concessions regarding nuclear proliferation. …Speaking alongside Hollande, Netanyahu once again warned that Iran could soon have enough fissile material to develop a bomb within weeks and that Israel would not be bound to...

Sacred bomb values Since time immemorial, Islam has worshiped the nuclear warhead. Which means allowing Iran to go nuclear is just a matter of religious freedom. Just ask the idiots at the New York Times. According to news reports, a key factor in last weekend’s diplomatic impasse over Iran’s nuclear program was Iran’s insistence on what President Hassan Rouhani has called its “right” to enrich uranium. “National interests are our red line,” he declared, echoing earlier statements by other Iranian leaders.Western officials appear flummoxed: Why would Iran refuse to budge, even when offered the considerable financial incentive of lessened...

Anxious to put the petty matter of Iranian nukes behind them so that peace everlasting can be brought to Israel and Palestine, they are be eager to compete. The game will be televised with simultaneous translations in all known languages except, at Secretary Kerry's request, English. The prize, should Rouhani win, will be more opportunities for nukes but no sanctions and, should Kerry win, no fewer opportunities for nukes but fewer sanctions. Here are the agreed upon rules: President Obama will flip Secretary Kerry and Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei will flip President Rouhani. Secretary Kerry is expected to win the toss due...

Iran is the scorpion and Secretary Kerry is the frog.Here is the fable of the scorpion and the frog: The Scorpion and the Frog A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both...

After negotiating with help of US secretary of state, French FM stresses importance of Israel's security concerns, says there will be no deal; US diplomats tell 'LA Times' talks will continue at least into next week. France said on Saturday there was no certainty nuclear talks under way with Iran in Geneva would succeed because of major stumbling blocks over an initial proposed text on a deal, and the importance of Israel's security concerns. "As I speak to you, I cannot say there is any certainty that we can conclude" the talks, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on France...

Secret deal made with iran