What You Should Know About The Iran Nuclear Deal : The Two-Way : NPR

What You Should Know About The Iran Nuclear Deal : The Two-Way : NPR


It was always unrealistic to presume that the world could keep Iran from attaining nuclear status without all out war.  They had proven remarkably resistant to other efforts to curtail their nuclear program.  It is useful to look at history for comparisons and there is one in the US/Japan relationship prior to WWII.  The US cut off Japanese access to far eastern oil which threatened to strangle Japanese economic plans.  Their alternative was to strike our bases to remove the sanctions.  Iran was very likely to succeed in developing nuclear capability within five to ten years and could not afford to relinquish that probability.

If you are not of a mind to initiate another elective war then the best bet is to get them talking and that is what the Obama administration did.  One must keep in mind that the largest detractors of such a policy are Iran's middle eastern neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Israel who are now teamed in an unlikely alliance.  To them it is a war of hegemony over that part of the globe.  To the US it is about being able to remove our gaze from war and put it on economic development largely on the Pacific Rim.

It is always better to talk.  Comparisons to Hitler and Munich are irresponsibly used as a comparison but one that has no points of similarity.  The main objection is the Israeli response and the Israeli lobby in the US is a very powerful one that crosses party lines but it is time to disavow blind allegiance to that lobby and seek a path that will serve the interests of the United States.  It is ridiculous that our foreign policy can be dictated by Israel.  We would not allow any other country, not even Britain, to do so.

Israel is the only nation in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons, presumably supplied by the United States.  They never acknowledge that but it is widely known.  It has not resulted in a nuclear arms race or nuclear war and it is unlikely that Iran possessing nuclear technology would do so either.

This agreement is a test and one we should feel lucky to get considering the antagonistic relationship of our two countries.