Ken Berwitz
The hits just keep coming.
Iran was supposed to be under severe sanctions until it dismantled its nuclear capabilities. But after the brilliant team of Barack Obama and John Kerry was through, the sanctions were suspended and Iran got to keep its nuclear capabilities.
And that is before we get to the fact that Iran\’s Supreme Leader, when not smiling approvingly as throngs chant “Death To America! Death To Israel”!, has told us that Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry misrepresented the deal they claimed to have cut and Iran had not agreed to any of it.
Based on the above, you might think there is no additional way Obama and Kerry could further botch this, right?
Wrong.
Excerpted from article at breitbart.com:
President Barack Obama has defended the impending nuclear deal with Iran by promising Americans that there will be automatic “snap-back” provisios to restore sanctions automatically if Iran cheats on its obligations: “If Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place,” he said in April. On Wednesday, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told Bloomberg News that there would be no such provisions: “There can be no automaticity, none whatsoever,” he said.
The Obama administration\’s case for the Iran deal largely rests on the snap-back provision. Without it, the west is giving Iran sanctions relief and the right to enrich uranium with no means to enforce Iranian compliance with its commitment to allow minimal inspections or keep enrichment within limits. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew said last week that snap-back provisions would not involve Russia–an odd claim, given that Russia would be one of the parties to the Iran deal.
Translation: Even if there eventually is some kind of a final deal, it will be irrelevant for our objectives, since a) Iran gets to keep a significant portion of its nuclear capability, b) it has made clear that there will be no realistic way for checking to make sure it adheres to what little is now being asked of it (i.e. Iran is telling us what areas are off-limits to inspectors) and c) now we find out, via Russia – which seems to delight in making a fool of our President – that there will be no mechanism for reimplementing the sanctions.
In fact, the only significant accomplishment of our interaction with Iran so far – and it is now a fait accompli regardless of what kind of deal we make – is that Iran has gotten the sanctions against it lifted. In other words, Iran has benefitted hugely, and we are getting virtually nothing.
Still think this couldn\’t be botched further?
Always remember: We\’re talking about Barack Obama and John Kerry. Expect nothing good and you won\’t be disappointed.
