Bret Stephens on the Iran talks:
Bret Stephens, from the WSJ, has yet to say anything positive about Obama, Clinton or Democrats in General. Supported Netanyahu's appearance before Congress and was attacking the Iran talks. Though I have not read his earlier diatribe.
But today he wished that the President said this:
My fellow Americans, the deal we have negotiated will not, I am afraid, prevent Iran from getting a bomb, should its leaders decide to build one. And eventually they will. Fatwa or no fatwa, everything we know about their nuclear program tells us it is geared toward building a bomb. And frankly, if you lived in a neighborhood like theirs70 million Shiites surrounded by hundreds of millions of Sunnisyoud want a bomb, too.
Yes, we could, in theory, stop Iran from getting the bomb. Sanctions wont do it. Extreme privation didnt stop Maoist China or Bhuttos Pakistan or Kims North Korea from building a bomb. It wont stop Iran, either.
Airstrikes? They would set Iran back by a few years. But even in a best-case scenario, the Iranians would be back at it before long, and theyd keep trying until they got a bomb or we got regime change.
Fellow Americans, how many of you want to raise your hands for more Mideast regime change?
So heres the deal with my deal: It never was about cutting off Irans pathways to a bomb. Lets just say that was an aspiration. Its about managing, and maybe slowing, the process by which they get one.
I know thats not what you thought Ive been saying these past few yearsall that stuff about all options being on the table and me not bluffing and no deal being better than a bad deal. I said this for political expedience, or as a way of palliating restive Saudis and Israelis. You feed the dogs their bone.
But if youd been listening attentively, you would have heard the qualifier on my watch added to my promises that Iran would not get the bomb. And what happens after I leave office? Hopefully, the Supreme Leader will be replaced by a new leader cut from better cloth. Hopefully, too, this marathon diplomacy will open new patterns of U.S.-Iranian cooperation. But if neither thing happens wed be no worse off than we are today.
Thats why getting a deal, any deal, is more important than the deals particulars when it comes to sanctions relief, inspections protocols and so on. The details only matter insofar as they make the political medicine go down. What counts is that were sitting at the table together, speaking.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-and-the-liberal-way-of-lying-1428968021
What he did not say, of course, is whether he would have supported these talks if the president said the above.