Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo featured Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R) who expressed the entire Republican Party's disenchantment with any deal emanating from the Vienna summit with the P5+1 countries and Iran. The deal could be announced any minute now, which has not received positive press, thanks to Sheldon Adelson's campaign against any diplomacy with Iran.
This deal is beneficial to all parties for many reasons. One,
If the talks fail -- or are undermined -- Iran's nuclear program would unshackle, enabling Tehran to inch closer to a weapons option. That in turn, would increase the risk of an Israeli or American attack on Iranian targets, even though bombing the country's nuclear facilities would at best only slow the program a few years.
Secondly,
"the deal will help unleash Iran's vibrant, young (the median age is 28!) and moderate society, which is continuously pushing Iran in a democratic direction. The deal enjoys solid support among the Iranian public as well as among Iranian civil society leaders, partly because they believe the deal "would enable political and cultural reforms."
Third,
in a post-deal environment, Iran is ready to put in 40,000-60,000 ground troops to eliminate ISIS over the next three years. Ideally, the U.S. would provide air support, he explained. The source made clear the commitment would not be a quid pro quo to get a nuclear deal.
The anti-patriotic Republicans (along with some oil-controlled Democrats) have, for over half a century, created a diplomatic nightmare based on oligarchical oil interests. We have done more damage in the Middle East thanks to our addiction to fossil fuels, that is undeniable. Republicans (and a few Dems, like Sen. Menendez) would like to continue to punish Iran to placate Israel and to create a constant state of unrest in the region in order to justify a military presence. The ugly history began in 1953 with our interference in Iran.
During the Eisenhower administration, fearing the nationalization of all that sweet crude oil, the CIA assisted the coup de etat and subsequent deposition of the Iranian Democratic leader, Mohammed Mossadegh. Hillary Clinton, in a 2011 interview, admitted that she regrets the move, calling it a mistake. We imposed the Shah, who ruled until the revolution in the late 1970's which caused the nation to radically shift from a puppet government that we could control, to the Islamic State of Iran, ruled by Ayatollah Khomeini.
The devolution of the nation into a theocracy made it very hostile and justifiably resentful of the United State's hegemonic interference. Angry youth retaliated by taking hostages of Americans stationed at the embassy in Tehran. Five minutes after St. Ronnie Reagan took office, the hostages were magically released, having spent 444 days in captivity, as his guys brokered a secret deal to make Reagan look like a 'strong leader.' To say the relations between the two countries was tense is definitely an understatement. Having shot down an Iranian commercial plane in 1987, George Bush 41 refused to ever apologize for the actions of our military, which caused the deaths of 290 innocent civilians.
The U.S. government, under the direct order of Israel, has continued to impose heavy sanctions on Iran which has created animosity between our two countries. The GOP is loyal to their democratically elected President the warmonger and right wing hawk, Bibi Netanyahu far more than their own government
The adult in the Oval Office, President Obama, as evidenced by his decision to normalize relations with Cuba, has decided it's time to come to the table. He's not alone at the table, as there are five other nations who comprise the P5+1
The P5+1 is a group of six world powers which, in 2006, joined the diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program. The term refers to the P5 or five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany.
The talks led by Secretary of State Kerry and U.S. Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, have been carefully negotiated. Moniz, an MIT professor and nuclear physicist, among other scientists have carefully crafted a sound nuclear agreement with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, who also attended MIT and received his doctorate at the same time Moniz became a professor.
Since Netanyahu and his financier, Sheldon Adelson have contracted the Republican party to do their bidding, as Israel feels threatened by any such deal with Iran, the agreement will be unacceptable, no matter what. Congressmen like Utah's Jason Chaffetz will staunchly oppose the agreement, no matter how favorable it may be. They are not at all swayed by the fact that the people negotiating are extremely qualified to set up guidelines to monitor Iran's nuclear program. They simply move to the beat of the drum of AIPAC and Jerusalem, our own interests be damned. It sounds as if Chaffetz is as ignorant of history as the rest of his party, who want to ignore it and repeat the same mistakes of the past.
Also on the plus side of this deal, Iran represents a potential market, unparalleled in the Muslim world, which would benefit our struggling export industry. Tehran has been known as the Los Angeles of the East. They have a booming cosmetic surgery industry. They are not the uneducated population that makes up Pakistan. Pakistan and all its instability and state-sponsored terrorism, has nuclear capabilities and we expect Iran to suffer eternally for a diplomatic nightmare that America created a long time ago. Iran has normal self-preservation instincts, and knows full well that a strike against Israel will ensure their destruction, but who the hell are we to say who gets nukes and who doesn't? Come on, Pakistan. Pakistan. Think about it. It's rather ridiculous.
Thanks to President Obama's more educational approach to matters of diplomacy, we have scientists on call to make sure we get a sound deal.
When President Obama was first elected in 2008, he promised to restore science to “its rightful place.” In the Iran negotiations, he appears to have done so. For those wanting to see science playing a greater role in politics, the lesson is clear: success lies in integrating science with politics, and not in advocating some special role for “science advice.”
I trust these negotiations with a multinational cast far more than I trust the warmongers of Israel and the GOP who are itching for some sort of holy war with Iran.