Obama's Capitulation a Disastrous Win for Iran
By Guy Benson
TownHall.com
The just-announced Iran deal
confirms critics'
worst fears: It hands an epic
victory -- replete with twelve
figures in sanctions relief -- to
an outlaw, anti-American regime, it
confers the West's blessing upon Iran's
nuclear program, and it crosses numerous
so-called "red lines" in doing so. The
accord leaves Iran's vast nuclear
infrastructure virtually
entirely intact. Its restrictions
automatically begin to phase out after a
decade. It (almost immediately) pumps
more than $100 billion into the regime's
economy, providing Tehran with
desperately-needed resources to step up
its habitual terrorism abetment and
toxic regional meddling. It eschews the
sort of solid anytime/anywhere
snap inspections regime proponents
of the deal promised repeatedly. It
permits Iran to maintain its infamous
underground nuclear facility -- long
seen as an emblem of Iranian lawlessness
and non-compliance. It allows Tehran to
press forward with research and
development on advanced-level
centrifuges. Astonishingly, it caves to
Iran's preposterous 11th-hour
demands by accommodating the lifting
of both the UN arms embargo and
sanctions against the regime's illegal
ballistic missile program -- issues that
were allegedly off the table for Western
negotiators. (Similarly, Iran's uniquely
pernicious support for terrorism,
ongoing illegal detainment of multiple
US citizens, and genocidal hostility to
Israel were also untouchable -- while
apparently nothing was off-limits for
Iran's delegation). It guarantees that
even if Iran were to abandon its incurable
habit of cheating and lying by fully
complying with the agreement, the
country would emerge as a threshold
nuclear-armed state in just over a
decade. If and when Iran does
cheat, the mechanisms for reinstating
global sanctions are fraught
with pitfalls. This bell cannot be
un-rung. It fails to significantly
lengthen Iran's "breakout" horizon, according
to experts, undermining Obama's last
remaining fig leaf. And it touches
off an arms race in the world's most
volatile and dangerous neighborhood. In
short, it is disastrous for the United
States and global security.
When the Obama administration claimed
that no deal was preferable to a bad
deal, they weren't telling the truth.
Striking an accord, no matter how
reckless and lopsided the terms, has
been an obsession rooted in myopic
naivety and selfish legacy-building. At
the onset of these negotiations --
brought on by tough sanctions that were opposed
by Obama (again, instincts) --
the stated
goal was to slowly diminish
sanctions against Tehran, in exchange
for the systematic dismantling of its
nuclear program. This process would be
overseen by comprehensively robust
inspections, we were told. There would
be no right to enrich. At the talks'
conclusion, Iran achieves immense,
front-heavy sanctions relief, in
exchange for… promising to press a
"pause" button on their nuclear program.
The very same program that somehow
increased its stockpile during
the interim "halt," throughout which
the Obama administration offered one excuse
after another
to paper over the regime's
non-compliance. Iran's president
summarized the state of play rather
bluntly this week: "The international
community is removing the sanctions, and
Iran is keeping its nuclear
program." Here's Benjamin Netayahu
torching the agreement as a "stunning
historic mistake:"
He's been right every
step of the way on these matters,
much to the Obama administration's petulant
chagrin. Congress will now review
the details of the deal and vote up or
down. If they vote to disapprove of the
deal, as expected, Obama has vowed to
veto their disapproval, forcing Congress
to muster two-thirds majorities to
override him. Large bipartisan
majorities are likely to vote against
the plan, but Democrats will likely
furnish enough votes to sustain the
presidential veto. This dynamic exists
because Obama
refuses to submit this deal, which
is intended to bind future Congresses
and presidents, as a treaty. Over the
coming weeks, the White House will
attack Republicans (in an effort to
distract the media from the bipartisan
nature of opposition), demand that
people ignore how far the goalposts have
shifted, and paint critics as
warmongering zealots. This White House
takes a much tougher line with domestic
critics than it does with fanatical
theocrats who chant "death to America."
The grave consequences of this abject
capitulation will likely take shape
slowly, then explode in future years,
long after Team Smart Power has receded
from the scene. Self-righteous,
tendentious, demagogic
self-congratulation today; someone
else's problem tomorrow. I'll leave you
with this snide but frightening point,
followed by Democrats throwing
serious shade at the deal: