A classmate of mine from high-school e-mailed me on Sunday. He was enthused about the breakthrough deal (by the so-called “E3/EU+3” or “P5 +1” group) with Iran on the nuclear issue. He lives in London for some odd reason, and is a successful architect there. Rather short message: “C’mon Patrick, say something nice!”
He’s a progressive individual who still maintains some residual belief in Obama. In this respect, he is not alone. I guess he wants me to acknowledge that Obama has done something right, for a change. Full disclosure: I have read the 4-page Geneva document in question, entitled “Joint Plan of Action”. More about it later.
I explained to my friend that I had examined this matter rather carefully, in view of Washington’s brazen deception involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. My examination concluded that no Iranian nuclear weapons program to build an A-bomb exists. Not now, not ever. Except possibly during the reign of the Shah, who was a megalomaniac, greatly encouraged and enabled by fellow megalomaniac, Henry Kissinger.
Nothing has changed over the years, except that, if anything, the lies and the confidence tricks about Iran’s nuclear program or “ambitions” have gotten bigger under the successors to the “neoconservative” Cheney/Bush Administration. B. Obama and Hillary C. carried forward Washington’s long-standing, intellectually dishonest and shameful policy toward Iran. That was to be expected.
As for the current negotiations in which John Kerry is involved, obviously Iran is in a desperate fix due to the economic sanctions imposed upon it for no reason. These sanctions and the freezing of Iranian assets abroad are unwarranted and de facto acts of war. It amounts to extortion, racketeering, blackmail and bullying, pure and simple. Israel and its ferocious American lobby were the primary reason for this particular item of madness.
I suspect it got so ridiculous, so divorced from reality (since Iran has no bomb, no nuclear weapons program, and is not a military threat to a nuclear-armed Israel or anybody else) that the ongoing charade of crying wolf could not continue indefinitely. Russia and China may have pointed this out to Messrs. Kerry and Obama. Unlike the leadership of America, England and France, the leadership of Russia and China have not been co-opted by the international Israel Lobby. Germany, as usual, is scared to death, so it went along with the fraud of demonizing Iran, so as not to become a target itself. That is the big picture explanation, if you want it straight.
However, something has changed. The present interim agreement with Iran is a volte-face in diplomatic terms. (Among other important things, it amounts to de facto diplomatic recognition of the Islamic Republic of Iran and thus the abandonment of Washington’s long-term, de facto policy of “regime change”.) No wonder the “neocons” are going ballistic. Their not-so-hidden agenda has been shelved.
This assumes that the “Joint Plan of Action” dated “Geneva, 24 November 2013” can be taken at face value. The agreement is predicated on a 6-month timetable, “renewable by mutual consent” leading to a comprehensive solution which would “involve a reciprocal, step-by-step process” where “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. Hmm. Sound familiar? Could this possibly be a rerun of the endless, multi-decade “peace process” sham in the conflict over Palestine? I don’t think so, and that is why Bibi Netanyahu is having a cow.
After all, the document in question addresses solely Iran’s nuclear program. In the preamble it states, “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek or develop any nuclear weapons.” During the six month period, Iran is tasked by the P5 + 1 to undertake certain measures to back up that oft-repeated affirmation. This should be relatively easy, even though it amounts to proving a negative, for the simple reason that there is no nuclear weapons program in Iran.
Tehran has insisted all along that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, such as energy production and cancer treatment, under the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, to which Iran is a signatory. Many countries are doing the same thing, without being harassed by the UN Security Council and Washington. Tehran has now agreed to “intrusive monitoring” according to John Kerry and the White House.
Nobody is asking for extraordinary monitoring of, say, Brazil. It has not been targeted However, I’m certain that the leaders of Brazil, at the end of the day, would agree to such an insult, such an imposition upon Brazil’s national sovereignty, if it were required to keep Brazil from being wrecked economically and its assets abroad from being stolen. Tehran has arrived at the same conclusion.
You will recall that G.W. Bush made a big show of sending weapons inspector David Kay and the “Iraq Survey Group” into Iraq after the successful 2003 invasion of that god-forsaken country. The purpose was to find those awful weapons of mass destruction which were the supposed reason for the war. No such weapons were ever found. In January 2004, Kay resigned his position, even before the end of the fruitless search, stating that he believed WMD stockpiles would not be found in Iraq. “I don’t think they existed,” he said. Hmm.
May I suggest that Washington throw David Kay into the breach again, this time to Iran. Tehran should allow Kay to go wherever he wants and do whatever he pleases. Let’s see how long it takes before he resigns for the second time, having arrived at a similar, if not identical, conclusion. The boogeyman of a nuclear-armed Iran has all been a magnificent and horrible fraud. Let’s move on.
PATRICK FOY is an essayist and short story writer. He graduated from Columbia University, where he studied English literature, European history and American diplomatic history. His work can be found at www.PatrickFoyDossier.com.