The Left said that the invasion of Iraq under President Bush in 2003 taught thug rulers that they had to have nuclear weapons to deter invasion by America. So naturally Iran wanted nukes!
The Left's standard bearer, President Obama, led the campaign to overthrow Khadaffi in 2011 after he had agreed to give up his nuclear (and other WMD programs) during the Bush administration.
This, as I wrote, should teach thug rulers that even a deal with America that trades nukes for the at-least implicit American commitment not to seek regime change is no protection against American attack.
Certainly, North Korea seems to have taken these lessons to heart:
The Obama administration’s success in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran has led to hope that a similar agreement might be reached with North Korea. Halt your program, dismantle some of your capabilities and accept intrusive inspections in return for “coming in from the cold.” ...
In word and action, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has demonstrated its commitment to being a nuclear state. Moreover, even a good offer for denuclearization looks suspect in light of U.S. and European support for the ouster of Libya’s Gadhafi. He negotiated with the West, sacrificing his nuclear, chemical and long-range missile programs.
President George W. Bush promised that Libya’s “good faith will be returned.” Gadhafi was feted in European capitals. Tripoli was cited as a model for Iran and North Korea to follow.
However, four years ago the U.S. and European governments saw their chance. Under the guise of humanitarianism, Washington and Brussels promoted low-cost (to them) regime change.
Yet Iran, which has led chants of "Death to America!" for decades now, thinks that this time for sure, we can be trusted not to attack if Iran abandons their long-pursued objective of getting nuclear weapons that they've sacrificed much to achieve?
I once thought that our administration believed Iran's mullah's are more trustworthy than America. Now I think our administration just believes Iranians are stupid.
Of course, to the extent that the Iran deal will marginally affect Iran's drive for nuclear weapons with indigenous resources, I figure Iran counts on North Korea never making any deal with America that limits North Korea's nuclear programs.
Conveniently, the Obama administration has taught North Korea that they can never give up their nuclear programs under any circumstances.
And this, our administration's defenders insist, should be called Smart Diplomacy.
Fortunately for Iran which wants nukes, and for our president who wants a legacy that justifies his Nobel Peace Prize, I've long assumed that there was a way around all the problems to get to the signing ceremony--Iran pretends not to have nuclear weapons programs--and we pretend to believe them.
And that's what we've done.
Have a super sparkly day.
