By Conn Carroll
Magical thinking — expecting unrealistic outcomes to result from mistaken assumptions — is a foolish foundation for foreign policy decisions. But how else to explain the Geneva deal with Iran?
Take Secretary of State John Kerry’s expectation for the six months of continued negotiations called for in the agreement:
“Under the terms of this agreement, there will be a negotiation over whether or not they can have a very limited, completely verifiable, extraordinarily constrained program where they might have a medical program or other things they could do, but there is no inherent right to enrich.”
Pigs over Washington
If Kerry genuinely believes that Iran is going to negotiate on such a basis — much less ever actually agree to such a deal — he may be seen looking out his office window this morning looking for porcine formations circling over Foggy Bottom.
Rather than being a step toward a severely limited nuclear program devoted to peaceful purposes like medicine, the Geneva deal confirms Tehran’s continued uranium enrichment efforts that clearly are intended to put the Iranians in position to produce a nuclear bomb.
And why on earth would the Iranians negotiate for six more months except to demand more concessions, including especially further loosening of international economic sanctions?
Listen to Riyadh’s silence
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left no doubt that Israel views the Geneva deal as a mistake of historic proportions.
But the silence from Saudi Arabia condemns the deal even more loudly. As word of it spread over the weekend, Saudi King Abdullah held hushed talks with other Arab Gulf leaders.
Nothing was said by Abdullah following those talks, however, which was in itself a forceful statement that cannot be ignored.
It was, after all, Abdullah who told Obama three years ago with regard to Iran that it was time to “cut off the head of the snake.” Obama has instead struck a poisonous deal with the viper.
