As noted in the post below, the Iran nuclear deal is under heavy fire from well-financed lobbyists representing dead-end Republicans and Likudniks. But, there's some good reading this morning on why the Iran nuclear deal is the best option for the region and the world. Here are snippets to whet your appetite:
Vali Nasr, Dean of the School of International Studies, Johns Hopkins University on the deeply flawed thinking of opponents of the deal:
Opponents of the nuclear agreement with Iran see it as a license for Tehran to wreak havoc in the region. Freed from economic pressure and flush with financial resources, the thinking goes, Iran can be expected to unleash its emboldened minions upon Israel and Arab states and undermine U.S. interests. However, contrary to what the critics say, the nuclear deal is far more likely to curb Iran’s regional ambition. It is rather the instability that would follow the failure of the deal that should worry them.The New York Times on the fact-free assault on the deal by ideologues and dead-enders here and in Israel:
What should be a thoughtful debate has been turned into a vicious battle against Mr. Obama, involving not just the Republicans but Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The unseemly spectacle of lawmakers siding with a foreign leader against their own commander in chief has widened an already dangerous breach between two old allies.
Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Policy, on the dire consequences that scuttling the deal would lead to for America's strategic and national security interests:Policy considerations aside, what is most striking about the demagoguery is how ahistorical, if not downright hypocritical, it is. Negotiating with adversaries to advance a more stable world has long been a necessity, and Republican presidents have been among its most eager practitioners.
To the extent that the campaign against the agreement goes beyond posturing, though, and aims to actually muster the votes to defeat the agreement, the effort risks doing enduring damage, not just to the drive to defeat Iran’s nuclear program but also to U.S. strategic interests and power writ large. While the administration has rightly focused its case to Congress tightly on the effects of the congressional vote for Iran’s nuclear program, the implications of achieving a veto-proof majority opposed to the deal will reverberate far more widely. Though the prospect may seem relatively remote, the ripple effects of the deal’s defeat — not just for America’s national security, but also its global diplomatic and political clout — are grave enough that they should be weighed by every member of Congress before they cast this historic vote.It remains the best bet at this point that the Obama Administration will prevail in saving the agreement. But with universal Republican opposition, it would only take a handful of spineless Democrats to pass a bill over the President's veto. Make sure you contact any home-State Democratic Senators who are officially "on the fence" (we're thinking of you, Sens. Cardin and Mikulski), and let them know you'll be taking note of their vote.
UPDATE: Many former Israeli military and intelligence chiefs are now urging Netanyahu to accept the deal.
