March 18, 2014 | Quote
Exposing the Iran Farce
The Geneva talks between the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – and Iran are already heading downhill from the perspective of the West. The sanctions-relaxation part of the interim deal is helping to revive Iran’s economy, diminishing the incentive for Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. Mike Makovsky, chief executive of the pro-Israel group JINSA, tells Right Turn: “The international sanctions regime is eroding, and with it crucial leverage of the United States and its P5+1 partners. Iran could earn $12 billion alone or more in oil exports revenue from the November initial agreement through July, when the deal expires, versus if sanctions were still in place.”
Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who helped construct the sanctions architecture, sees problems with the administration’s rhetoric as well. “The White House shouldn’t be concerned with ‘confidence-building measures’ with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; it should be playing on his long-standing insecurity about American power,” he says. He explains, “While sanctions were never going to stop the nuclear program in isolation, serious, specific presidential bellicosity married to massively enhanced sanctions might still have a chance.”