About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

A Contentious Deal
Author: BobR    Date: 07/15/2015 13:07:33

In case you've been under a rock the past couple days, the big story of the week (other than the return of Bloom County) is that a coalition of nations reached an agreement with Iran to constrain their nuclear program. The arrangement is fairly comprehensive, relying on extensive monitoring to ensure Iran cannot possess nor create enough enhanced uranium or plutonium to create a bomb.

Here is a breakdown:
Uranium stockpile: Iran has agreed to slash its stockpile of enriched uranium by about 98 percent, from about 10,000 kilograms to less than 300 kg over 15 years. That uranium must be kept at a low-enrichment level — at 3.67 percent or less — that would prevent it from being used in a weapon over that period.

Centrifuges: The deal cuts Iran’s nuclear centrifuges by about 66 percent over 10 years, from about 20,000 to 6,000. Those centrifuges are used to isolate the isotopes needed to develop nuclear-grade materials.

Heavy water reactor: Iran will rebuild its Arak heavy water reactor so that it can no longer produce weapons-grade plutonium. The country also won’t be allowed to build a new heavy water reactor for 15 years.

Breakout time: The deal would extend Iran’s breakout time for a nuclear weapon — the time it would need to amass enough nuclear material to build a bomb — to one year, according to the White House. Iran has also agreed to restrictions on other activities required to turn nuclear material into weapons.

Nuclear weapons: Iran underscored a promise to never seek a nuclear weapon, giving the international community more leverage if it violates that pledge. Iran has also agreed to issue a statement that accounts for military aspects of the nuclear program.

This covers the next 10 years. Over that time, the current hard-liners in power will be dying off, and the younger people (who like America) will be moving into positions of power. It also gives us plenty of time to work on an extension to the treaty.

Needless to say, the GOP refuses to accept or acknowledge any success by the Obama administration. As expected, they are responding with hysterical hyperbole:
House Speaker John Boehner blasted the deal as “unacceptable,” saying that if it is “as bad a deal as I think it is at this moment, we’ll do everything we can to stop it.”

He warned it would only “embolden” Iran and even could trigger a global nuclear arms race.
[..]
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who penned an explosive letter in March to Iran’s leaders, described the deal as “a terrible dangerous mistake” that will pave the way for a nuclear Iran.

“The American people are going to repudiate this deal, and I believe Congress will kill the deal,” he told MSNBC.

The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, said Congress must “vigorously and judiciously review” the accord.

“There is no trust when it comes to Iran,” Cardin said.

[..]

Senator Lindsey Graham, a 2016 presidential candidate, said Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have been “dangerously naive” in their dealings with Tehran.

“You have taken the largest state sponsor of terror on the planet and given them money to increase their terrorist activities” by funding groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Graham said.

Israel's Netanyahu went even further:
“Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran, and Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran because Iran continues to seek our destruction,” Netanyahu told reporters before a meeting of his security cabinet.

“We will always defend ourselves.”

That last line, of course, refers to Israel potentially bombing the facilities. Despite all of these protestations from the neo-cons, chickenhawks, and paranoid schizophrenics, the Secretary of Defense has pointed out that Iran's failure to honor the agreement could result in military action from the U.S.:
Defense Secretary Ash Carter reassured Israel and other allies in the Middle East on Tuesday that the U.S. would utilize the "military option" against Iran if needed.

"We remain prepared and postured to bolster the security of our friends and allies in the region, including Israel; to defend against aggression; ensure freedom of navigation in the Gulf; and check Iranian malign influence," Carter said in a statement.

"We will utilize the military option if necessary," he added.

That's not likely to assuage the Republican critics. They are still moving forward with plans to block the deal. It's a tough road for them, because they will need a 2/3 veto-proof majority in both houses of Congress, and that is not likely to happen.

Besides Israel, the rest of the Middle East is mixed on the agreement. Sunni countries (like Saudi Arabia) are not happy because it changes the balance of power and money with regard to the two major Islamic sects. That's not really our problem or concern - they've been fighting each other for more than 1000 years, and that's not likely to change soon.

It doesn't help when we provide them with arms, adding fuel to an already raging fire. This agreement will prevent the most lethal of weapons from being created in the middle of that maelstrom. The concerns are that the inflow of money will result in Iran buying more conventional weapons and providing them to terrorists (of course - who one considers a terrorist generally depends upon which side of the conflict one is standing). We will see over the next several years whether this comes to pass, and whether the result is better or worse than doing nothing at all.

Sometimes I think Republicans aren't just afraid it will get worse - I think they're hoping it will, so President Obama's legacy will be tarnished rather than burnished. That's pretty sad.
 

37 comments (Latest Comment: 07/15/2015 20:54:22 by Will in Chicago)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati

Add a Comment

Please login to add a comment...


Comments:

Order comments Newest to Oldest  Refresh Comments

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 13:14:16
good morning!

Comment by wickedpam on 07/15/2015 13:18:36
Morning

I get why there's reason not to trust Iran but at least this is the step in the right direction.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/15/2015 13:32:12
Mornin' all..

I'm so over Bibi. That bastard killed my buzz with his hate rhetoric this morning.

Comment by BobR on 07/15/2015 13:34:27
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

I get why there's reason not to trust Iran but at least this is the step in the right direction.

The Left said the same thing about the ACA - "it doesn't go far enough". Yet here we are with a much better health care insurance system.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.

Comment by wickedpam on 07/15/2015 13:44:33
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

I get why there's reason not to trust Iran but at least this is the step in the right direction.

The Left said the same thing about the ACA - "it doesn't go far enough". Yet here we are with a much better health care insurance system.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.


Very true.

Comment by clintster on 07/15/2015 13:56:50
Meanwhile, five years ago:


Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 14:25:07
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

I get why there's reason not to trust Iran but at least this is the step in the right direction.

The Left said the same thing about the ACA - "it doesn't go far enough". Yet here we are with a much better health care insurance system.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.
That is a great point.




Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 15:36:47
So how about this: Comcast arrived to the house BEFORE 11 AM…

The level of expectations is so much better when you don;t actually know when they will show up.


Comment by Mondobubba on 07/15/2015 15:40:47
Bibi- Shut your effing pie-hole
Speaker Man-Tan: Take Bibi's dick out your mouth and shut you pie-hole
Tom "I don't understand international how international relations work" Cotton: Shut your pie-hole.
Fox News: Shut you collective pie-holes.

That is all.

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/15/2015 15:41:14
Quote by Raine:
So how about this: Comcast arrived to the house BEFORE 11 AM…

The level of expectations is so much better when you don;t actually know when they will show up.





Again, never had a problem with them.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/15/2015 15:45:04
After a few weeks of really crappy home intertubes, I'm ready to dump Clearwire.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 16:49:47
Hello, bloggers! I hope that everyone is doing well today.

I spoke to one of the HR people at the charter school that I subbed at. An interview could come early next week, with a decision by the end of next week. I learned that they had already interviewed some people for the position. (I wonder if they passed m over or if HR did not process the application before the interviews.) So, we will see what is going on. I also got another e-mail from a Boston area school requesting that I come in for an interview. I e-mailed that principal and left a message. I called another principal about a Skype interview (the one I spoke with last week).

So, something may break soon.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 16:56:15
In the Forward, J.J. Goldberg counters Benjamin Netanyahu's complaints and argues that he could even claim some credit for the deal - by keeping the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons before the world stage.

To me, Netanyahu typifies conservative leaders. They promise security and prosperity and deliver neither.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/15/2015 17:04:22
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In the Forward, J.J. Goldberg counters Benjamin Netanyahu's complaints and argues that he could even claim some credit for the deal - by keeping the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons before the world stage.

To me, Netanyahu typifies conservative leaders. They promise security and prosperity and deliver neither.

What about the issue of ISRAEL'S nuclear weapons? When are we gonna see the Knesset welcome inspectors to facilities in its country? Riddle me THAT, Benji.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 17:18:57
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
In the Forward, J.J. Goldberg counters Benjamin Netanyahu's complaints and argues that he could even claim some credit for the deal - by keeping the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons before the world stage.

To me, Netanyahu typifies conservative leaders. They promise security and prosperity and deliver neither.

What about the issue of ISRAEL'S nuclear weapons? When are we gonna see the Knesset welcome inspectors to facilities in its country? Riddle me THAT, Benji.



Technically, Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty like the U.S. and Iran. So, it is not subject to the treaty. (it is believed that France helped Israel in developing its nuclear weapons.) So, there will be no inspectors unless Israel enters into its own agreement with other nations.


Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 17:27:07
Comment by Mondobubba on 07/15/2015 17:27:45
Quote by Scoopster:
After a few weeks of really crappy home intertubes, I'm ready to dump Clearwire.



Do eeit. They suck.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 17:30:25
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:
After a few weeks of really crappy home intertubes, I'm ready to dump Clearwire.



Do eeit. They suck.



We have WOW here, whose wireless will drop at itimes.

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 17:32:11
Oh, Chuck Todd isn;t there to look like a fool….

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 17:34:18
Quote by Raine:
Oh, Chuck Todd isn;t there to look like a fool….


I though that the spelling of his name was Chuck TOAD. He shows why a lot of print reporters do not think much of many television reporters. Walter Cronkite he is not.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/15/2015 17:38:09
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:
After a few weeks of really crappy home intertubes, I'm ready to dump Clearwire.

Do eeit. They suck.

Actually until about... 3 weeks ago? They were perfectly fine. A bit high on the latency for online gaming, but manageable. I think the humidity is playing havoc with the 4G connection.

Also, Clearwire got bought out by Sprint a while back and the service I use is being mothballed in November. I should probably switch before then!

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/15/2015 17:42:05
Comment by Mondobubba on 07/15/2015 17:42:26
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:
After a few weeks of really crappy home intertubes, I'm ready to dump Clearwire.

Do eeit. They suck.

Actually until about... 3 weeks ago? They were perfectly fine. A bit high on the latency for online gaming, but manageable. I think the humidity is playing havoc with the 4G connection.

Also, Clearwire got bought out by Sprint a while back and the service I use is being mothballed in November. I should probably switch before then!


Yeah, that is happening to a friend of mine as well. He is paying a bajillion dollars a month for cable with Comcast so I don't know why he just doesn't get his internet from them and join the 21st century and a frackin wireless router to connect the smart TVs and wireless enabled blu ray players. Sheesh! Some people.


Comment by livingonli on 07/15/2015 17:47:38
It does seem like it's more difficult for cord-cutters to get internet without still having to go through those evil cable or telco providers to get their high-speed internet.

Comment by BobR on 07/15/2015 17:50:00

That sucks. He was one of twins? The other one is going to have a rough go at life, I expect.

Speaking of Nick Cave, I've been watching "Peaky Blinders" and love that they use his song "Red Right Hand" as the theme.

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 17:55:25
POTUS is REALLY killing it today.




Comment by TriSec on 07/15/2015 17:55:31
Hi all! Checking in from my hammock at camp. We have a site at the top of the hill-coverage has been good. Off to swim in a bit. < tips Scout hat Southwesterly >

Comment by BobR on 07/15/2015 17:57:42
Quote by TriSec:
Hi all! Checking in from my hammock at camp. We have a site at the top of the hill-coverage has been good. Off to swim in a bit. < tips Scout hat Southwesterly >

Nice!

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 18:09:37
And Obama smacks down MAjor garret for a disgusting question.

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 18:34:14
That was fascinating — and a very very different president Obama.

Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 18:35:43
Comment by Scoopster on 07/15/2015 18:49:33
Comment by Raine on 07/15/2015 19:20:36
Quote by Raine:
And Obama smacks down MAjor garret for a disgusting question.

JAckass pig:



Comment by wickedpam on 07/15/2015 19:35:02
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Raine:
And Obama smacks down MAjor garret for a disgusting question.

JAckass pig:




Thanks for the vid - He sounded more like he was scolding the Pres instead of "asking" a question. You're right - disgusting question from a disgusting person.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/15/2015 20:54:22
No word from the schools out East. I will bug one first thing in the morning and the other shortly afterwards.

If I get something, I think the first thing I will do is make some phone calls and then get some boxes to start packing.