Sec. Kerry hit the ground running at State- Iran deal highlights his tenacity & long-term commitment

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tweeted by, Rosie Gray ‏@RosieGray 1h

interesting. in Playbook, @mikeallen reports that John Kerry began setting up secret US-Iran backchannel thru Oman while still in Senate


Washington Post ‏@washingtonpost 14m
Kerry played the closer in Iran deal http://wapo.st/17MAOSy

____ British Foreign Secretary William Hague praised Kerry’s efforts Sunday, and the two joked about their mutual lack of sleep.

“I particularly want to pay tribute to the work of Secretary Kerry, who has been so determined throughout the negotiations with Iran to make sure that this is a robust deal, that everything that should be covered is covered and that every commitment that we wanted from Iran is as strong as it should be,” Hague said in London. “And he has done that, and I really pay tribute to his persistence and his leadership in doing that.”

Kerry flew overnight Friday to join the Iran talks that went into overtime Saturday. He went directly into back-to-back strategy sessions with foreign ministers of the other world powers trying to broker a deal and also bargained directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif . . .

“From the outside, Kerry looks like he played the role of an effective closer,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies . . .

read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kerry-plays-the-closer-in-iran-deal/2013/11/24/14714e7e-5537-11e3-bdbf-097ab2a3dc2b_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Geneva International airport in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013 for the Iran nuclear talks. (AP/Denis Balibouse Pool)

[karynnj]

1. As a long time JK supporter, I didn't think I could be more impressed, but I am

No one in December 2012 would have had the audacity to write that within a year, Kerry could have in less than a year reached this first step with Iran, been instrumental in getting chemical weapons out of an unstable Syria, gotten an agreement which the Afghan Loya Jirga agreed to and been instrumental in the ceasefire with the M23 rebels in the Congo.

I watched the interviews he did yesterday morning and only later read that they were given AFTER the press conference which was after the middle of the night agreement - ending very early in the morning Geneva time. This made his persuasiveness more impressive as they were given after 24 hours of grueling negotiations - and after catching just a few hours of sleep on the plane after a full day in DC. ( http://swampland.time.com/2013/11/24/the-iran-deal-kerrys-ordeal-obamas-challenge/?iid=sl-main-lead ) This endurance would be impressive in a 20 year old, but he is a few weeks from 70!

I know that this stamina is less important than his skill and patience as a diplomat, but it does show how committed he is to this.

[Historic NY]

2. Interesting if it indeed it blooms....

"The i-dotting lawyer was there, too, as was a little of the jaded war veteran and the ambitious politician who once sought but fell short of the presidency."

"Perhaps more important, the agreement opens a crack in the hostility and suspicion hardened over more than 30 years of American diplomatic estrangement from Iran."


it will be a Diplomatic tour de force.

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3. kick