Obama Iran deal, Obamacare and Pinocchio

On July 14, 2014, US President Barack Obama announced to the world that a historic nuclear agreement had been reached with Iran. He said, “Today, after two years of negotiations, the United States, together with our international partners, has achieved something that decades of animosity has not—a comprehensive, long-term deal with Iran that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon… Today, because America negotiated from a position of strength and principle, we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region. Because of this deal, the international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon… Inspectors will have access to Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain… inspectors will also be able to access any suspicious location… the IAEA has also reached an agreement with Iran to get access that it needs to complete its investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s past nuclear research… if Iran violates the deal, all of these sanctions will snap back into place [emphasis mine]” (Michael  McIntee, “Obama Announces Iran Nuclear Deal – Full Video Of Remarks & Deal Summary”, theuptake, July 14, 2014).   

The White House also stated that “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop, or acquire any nuclear weapons” (ibid).

It sounds wonderful. Obama got everything he’d wanted from Iran (ibid). The world, he told us, will now be safe from a nuclearized Iran.

That’s not just a good deal. It’s a great deal.

Well, it’s great, all right, except for two things: (1) it’s not legally binding (“Obama Admin: Iran Nuke Deal Nonbinding”, Washington Free Beacon, November 25, 2015). (2) It was never formally signed by anybody (ibid).

This information comes to light because Julia Frifield, a State Department Assistant Secretary for legislative affairs, has written a letter to US Rep. Mike Pompeo (R. Kansas) to tell him these things and to assure him that this deal is “not a signed document” (ibid). It isn’t a treaty (ibid). It isn’t an executive agreement (ibid).

The meaning of this is clear: if nothing was signed and this deal isn’t legally binding, then, of course, Iran is under no obligation to do anything.  This is what the New York Post is now suggesting (Benny Avni, “The Iranian scorpion stings us again”, December 1, 2015). Benny Avni writes, “Remember the Iran nuclear deal? You know, the one our leaders hoped would turn around the behavior of a rogue, terror-sponsoring state by the sheer force of diplomatic will?

Wait, deal? What deal? “The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,” State Department spokeswoman Julia Farifield acknowledged.

And this week the International Atomic Energy Agency will issue its latest report, a stepping stone toward implementing that much-ballyhooed, um, non-deal. The Vienna-based UN agency’s director, Yukiya Amano, said last week the IAEA wouldn’t be able to certify in its report that “all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.

Ouch. Tehran has long urged Amano to close the file and assure everyone that there never was a “Possible Military Dimension” to its nuclear program. Now, the mullahs say, unless Amano certifies that they never intended to build a nuclear bomb, they won’t shut down the spinning centrifuges. They may even take all their marbles home” (ibid).

Obama told us this deal was a deal. He told us it would force Iran to stop building a nuclear weapon. Now, Iran doesn’t have to comply? It can ‘take all its marbles home’ without consequence?

We’ve seen this kind of ‘deal’ before. This is Obamacare, Deja vue. Remember Obama’s healthcare plan promises? You could keep your doctor. You could keep your healthcare plan. Everybody would save money.

Those promises were untrue. With Obamacare, “A President and his party were caught in a blatant, premeditated lie.  Despite their repeated promises, you couldn't keep your doctor, and you couldn't keep your health insurance, and it didn't save everybody money.  It was not just an unmitigated mess; it was a program and a policy sold to the American people by a president lying through his teeth (Fritz Pettyjohn, “A Once in a Century Opportunity”, American Thinker, November 30, 2015).

Is Obama is doing the same thing here? If these new Iran-deal reports are correct, Obama has sold to the American people another ‘Obamacare’ lie. He’s reprising his role as Pinocchio, the lying dummy. Only this time, it’s not your doctor he’s lying about. This time, he’s lying about an Israel-hating, West-hating scorpion, telling you the scorpion’s tale has been cut off when it’s still firmly affixed; soon, because of the terms of this deal, that scorpion is going to have another 100+ billion dollars released from sanction to do what it loves doing—spreading Islamic terror.

What kind of deal is that? It’s a ‘sweet-heart’ deal—for Iran.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was raked over the coals for opposing this deal. He was vilified. He was demonized.

Well, this deal is not legally binding. Who’s the demon here?