It may be willful distortion, or it may be that the war hawks are so constituted that they cannot hear clearly, or it may be that it's simply more anti-Obama politics. They will try to undermine anything President Obama accomplishes.
The hawks were clearly on full display on Sunday's morning talk shows. Then Majority Leader Eric Cantor made headlines today with his question: "Since when do we trust Iran?"
Both Secretary John Kerry and President Obama addressed that. It is very clear. This temporary agreement is not based on trust. Daily, intrusive verification is a major cornerstone in the agreement. The architecture of the sanctions remains in place; they will be increased if the Iranians do not cooperate.
It is also set up as an opportunity for the Iranians to begin to rebuild our trust in them. How they stick to this temporary freeze and complete openness to inspectors will determine how the final agreement is developed.
Give it a chance guys. Would you really rather bomb them and have them retaliate against Israel?
Ralph
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Totally agree with the John Lennon theme / song of (All we are saying is) 'Give Peace a Chance'
ReplyDeleteYou conclude with;
'Would you really rather bomb them and have them retaliate against Israel?
Retaliate against what?
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”
For Israel, this is about survival.
Ahmadinejad is no longer in office. There is a mandate and an opening with Rouhani to change that fundamental dynamic.
ReplyDeleteNo, he may not yet have repudiated that statement about Israel, but his actions are counter to that as a goal. As to repudiating that statement, I wish he would. But he has his own political process to contend with -- just as Netanyahu does.
The Geneva agreement is not naive; there are strict requirements for "intrusive inspections." Failure to follow the agreement will immediately halt the detente. And Israel would be no worse off than it is now.
If it works, we will have an Iran without nuclear weapons who can be a partner in bringing peace to the Middle East. Already we are in negotiations with them about using their influence to end the civil war in Syria.
My point is that I do understand Israel's fears for its survival -- and I want it to survive and live in peace with its neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI think we are at a time when more is to be gained by diplomatic negotiations -- backed by effective sanctions -- than by war threats.