Yet there continues to be uncertainty and even peril surrounding Iran and its demands to achieve total nuclearization on its own terms. This in combination with an already enabled missile delivery capability and its proclaimed animus toward Israel should give us pause for thought before kowtowing to Iran’s dictates.
Further destabilization in an already shaky Middle East environment may well put us on a war footing, sooner rather than later. Nations proximate to Israel and Iran should in their best interest recognize their existential threats, as a nuclear bomb-capable Iran puts them within a fallout zone. Trusting other nations to make life and death decisions for them is the ultimate of folly.
President Biden recognizes that Iranian nukes are “a serious threat,” but very strangely, some power drives him to return to the 2015 Obama-facilitated nuclear arrangement with Iran, “even with the understood risks.” It’s almost as if President Biden has an understanding with his former boss to finish what the former started in return for a political endorsement, and to resurrect various Obama appointees for the same or similar strategic positions involved in diplomatic and other strategic spheres. Was this all just coincidental or just serendipitous?
Even America is not free from Iranian wrath, as chants of “Death to Israel!” have been occasionally followed with “Death to America!” All the while we were called the “Great Satan.” Common sense should alert President Biden and our nation’s leaders, including diplomatic corps, as well as our popularly elected representatives and senators, as to what we may be risking should we just plow forward to get a deal done.
Once nuclear bomb-capable, what alternatives would Western and European nations possess to face off any future Iranian threat, even minor, knowing that at any moment Iran could play the nuclear bomb card, in effect black-mailing us to comply? Our deeply ingrained Judeo-Christian religious principles valuing “life” within a game of chicken puts us at a disadvantage.
I SUSPECT IRAN already senses this and may even be capitalizing on our well understood weaknesses. We can ill-afford appeasement, as history records that this tactic may embolden an abuser and lead to war. In this case, potentially a world war.
Israel, better than most nations, fully grasps the budding lethal consequences of what the entire Middle East may be facing. It has little doubt been preparing its options to deal with a nuclear-enabled, missile-enabled Iran since neutralizing neighboring Iraq and Syria’s relatively brief venture into the nuclear arena years ago. Its opinions and extensive intelligence machinery should be welcomed by President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Biden before discussions are concluded, likely this week or next week, in Vienna.
Let us keep in mind that Israel may well serve as the ultimate firewall protection before the United States and others become vulnerable to Iran. The seasoned diplomats representing China, Germany, France, Russia and Britain need to understand this reality.
Quid pro quo logic only works if all parties are in acceptance of the end game goals as well as the rules to achieve it. As it stands, Iran demands appear significantly more than it is willing to assure. None of which includes finite measures to reduce with the intent to eventually eliminate: 1) perceived acts of terrorism, including from proxy terrorism; 2) human right’s abuses, including hostage taking; 3) destabilizing militia area sponsorships; 4) inter-continental missile development containment; 5) implementing removal of the estimated 150,000-plus missiles currently situated throughout Lebanon, as well as those housed in Gaza; 6) granting unlimited monitoring and verification by IAEA nuclear inspectors, which may or may not be worth the paper it is written on should Iran become angry and unilaterally decide to withdraw from any commitment to these various elements.
All parties to the Biden resurrection of the Obama 2015 nuclear agreement might be best served to temporarily cease and desist and regroup before committing to an eventual, unwinnable tragedy.
The writer is author of the geopolitical thriller First the ‘Saturday People’ and an op-ed contributor to The Miami Herald, The Washington Examiner, The Jerusalem Post, American Thinker and other media resources.