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Monday, March 02, 2015

The Other Option

I've long assumed the general outline of an Obama administration nuclear deal with Iran is quite clear. Iran will pretend not to have a nuclear weapons program; and we will pretend to believe them.

Yet I've held out hope that Iran itself would save us from such a bad deal because of their utter contempt for us and their refusal to even pretend to bow to us in their certainty that God is on their side and backs their nuclear efforts.

Yet our best and brightest is on the job:

Nuclear negotiations with Iran have reached a "far more advanced stage" than ever before, a senior administration official said Friday, expressing hope that negotiators may be able to conclude a partial agreement by the end of March..

While "there are still gaps" between Iran, the United States and the five other world powers involved in the negotiations, the official said, "obviously negotiations have advanced substantially."

Yes, John Kerry already has a place on the mantel selected for his Nobel Peace Prize resulting from a deal:

Kerry is traveling to Montreux, Switzerland, for a Tuesday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the nuclear issue.

Kerry will again be accompanied by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a sign that the talks are delving deep into the details of a possible agreement. The Energy Department oversees the U.S. nuclear stockpile and employs the government's experts on nuclear fuel.

You tell me, is Kerry more likely to make progress on actually convincing Iran that they don't want nuclear weapons; or make progress on convincing Iran to pretend they don't want nuclear weapons?

This path was stupid when we started it and it will be dangerous if we finish it.

Netanyahu's speech to Congress better be really good if the Obama administration is to be deflected from its course.

Yet our administration treats Netanyahu worse than they'd ever treat the Iranians.

Maybe Netanyahu should let loose with a few "Death to America!" rants to earn the respect of President Obama and his chief diplomat.

President Obama has long said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to halting Iran's drive for nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, one of the increasingly likely options on the table is not halting Iran at all.

Have a super sparkly day.

UPDATE: Iran may yet save us from our delusions by refusing to pretend even a little to give up their nuclear goals:

Iran on Tuesday rejected as "unacceptable" U.S. President Barack Obama's demand that it freeze sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years, but said it would continue talks aimed at securing a deal, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"Iran will not accept excessive and illogical demands," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Fars.

My hope is that Iran's contempt for us is so great that they find it too distasteful to pretend they are halting or even delaying key elements of their nuclear program.