For Obama, it's always been about Iran.

Started by MACMan, February 06, 2015, 10:06:48 AM

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MACMan

QuotePresident Barack Obama wishes the Islamic Republic of Iran every success. Its leaders, he explained in a recent interview, stand at a crossroads. They can choose to press ahead with their nuclear program, thereby continuing to flout the will of the international community and further isolate their country; or they can accept limitations on their nuclear ambitions and enter an era of harmonious relations with the rest of the world. "They have a path to break through that isolation and they should seize it," the president urged—because "if they do, there's incredible talent and resources and sophistication . . . inside of Iran, and it would be a very successful regional power."

How eager is the president to see Iran break through its isolation and become a very successful regional power? Very eager. A year ago, Benjamin Rhodes, deputy national-security adviser for strategic communication and a key member of the president's inner circle, shared some good news with a friendly group of Democratic-party activists. The November 2013 nuclear agreement between Tehran and the "P5+1"—the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany—represented, he said, not only "the best opportunity we've had to resolve the Iranian [nuclear] issue," but "probably the biggest thing President Obama will do in his second term on foreign policy." For the administration, Rhodes emphasized, "this is healthcare . . . , just to put it in context." Unaware that he was being recorded, he then confided to his guests that Obama was planning to keep Congress in the dark and out of the picture: "We're already kind of thinking through, how do we structure a deal so we don't necessarily require legislative action right away."

http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2015/02/obamas-secret-iran-strategy/