ADMINISTRATION’S NEGOTIATION WILL FACE TOUGH CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY
|| By FITSNEWS || The administration of U.S. president Barack Obama claims to have reached a “historic understanding” with Iran regarding the country’s controversial nuclear program.
“I am convinced if this framework leads to a final, comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, our world safer,” Obama said of the deal, negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“If Iran cheats, the world will know,” Obama added.
What’s the “framework?”
According to Obama, Iran would agree to cut stockpiles of low-enriched uranium by 98 percent over the next decade-and-a-half – while reducing centrifuges over the next decade by more than two-thirds. Existing U.S. sanctions against Iran would remain in place pending approval of the agreement – which needs to get a “thumbs up” from both governments no later than June 30.
In addition to announcing the particulars of the agreement, Obama issued a stern warning to the “Republican-controlled” U.S. Congress – whom he referred to as “inevitable critics” of the deal.
“I will underscore that the issues at stake here are bigger than politics,” Obama said, speaking to Congress. “These are matters of war and peace.”
Obama also told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a critic of the negotiations – that if he “is looking for the most effective way to ensure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon, this is the best option.”
“Republicans” didn’t immediately criticize the framework, but they did indicate any final agreement would face congressional scrutiny to insure Iranian compliance.
“The American people, through their elected representatives, must have the opportunity to weigh in to ensure the deal truly can eliminate the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and hold the regime accountable,” U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said in a statement.
Hard to argue that …
What’s also hard to argue? The nebulous nature of the “framework.” In fact while Obama was gloating over the terms of the deal, Iran was underscoring its lack of satisfaction with the current agreement.
“We’re still some time away from reaching where we want to be,” Iran’s foreign minister said, according to Reuters.
167 comments
Ohhhhh nooooooooo!!!!!!!! GT meltdown in 5, 4, 3, 2……..
FITSNEWS comments are like the old sitcom Mr. Ed. The only difference is Mr. is a talking horse and GT is a typing jackass.
If we’re lucky he’s already had a fucking stroke.
Now now, that’s not nice.
This four page document was released.
http://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/documentcloud/index.html?docid=1700181-parameters-for-a-joint-comprehenisve-plan-of#
I love have the Repubs like to use ‘ …The American people, through their elected representatives’ when they don’t like something that might actually be constructive and helpful. If they wanted to cut taxes on millionaires or deny someone civil rights, they just do it, American people’s wishes be damned.
Actually I think recent polling suggests the majority of Americans supported a deal with Iran, so in effect, we are getting what the American people wanted through their elected officials – in this case that offical be “The Rock Obama.”
I agree, however, Bob Corker does not. Therefore, the people need to speak. And I do like the Rock Obama.
“You send letter? You like to send letter? How you send letter without hand.” That was great.
Its a frame alright. A frame up fur sure. A framework carries as much water as a ten gallon hat. https://earloftaint.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/kerry-vietnam-hat.jpg
Like that “framework” Ronnie Reagan reached in Iceland? Or the missile reduction “framework” George HW Bush reached in 1990? That sort of framework? Or the framework the founding “framers” of the Constitution reached. Or the framework reached with the Soviets over the Cuban Missile crisis? Or the framework Nixon reached with China?
No, more like Clinton’s nuclear deal to prevent North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons, which they promptly did.
Well actually, they did that under the negotiations that were set up by the President after Clinton, but hey, don’t let facts get in the way. Please!! Proceed!
Clinton’s lengthy negotiations with North Korea spanned his entire presidency, continuing into the eight years of Bush’s presidency, and now the eight year’s of Obama’s presidency. All efforts, by all administrations and the U.N. ultimately failed, and Pyongyang played a decades long game of cat and mouse using their nuke program to obtain aid from the west to feed their people and get gasoline for their perpetually hostile army. It has been working on obtaining nuclear weapons since 1956.
This timeline spans the years from 1985 to 2015:
http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron
In your simplistic partisan fantasy, you want to believe that Clinton had it under control until Bush came along. Nothing could be further from the truth, but don’t let that desire to make everything into a reductionist partisan issue get in the way of your uninformed crusade to pull for your team. Rah rah.
More background on their decades-long quest for offensive nuclear weapons, with 109 footnotes and 19 external sites references. However, the Clinton era negotiations are a good lesson to examine in the inevitable outcomes of operating diplomatically using a policy of appeasement: http://www.michaelrubin.org/15521/north-korea-agreed-framework
Iran is this foreign policy academic’s area of expertise. I have no doubt that you will refuse to read any of these links. But here is an opportunity to learn something new, even if you disagree with it. At least you will know what you are talking about, an not have to refer to complex matters with references to the Ayatollah’s underwear.
Nice reading, however, it still stands – Iran is not North Korea. If we take his premise, we should get rid of the State Department, have neogitiations with nobody, and enter a 100 years period of perpetual war, invading every country “we” don’t like. Great plan. Again, Iran is not North Korea, we have greater leverage, and they have items we want; i.e. natural gas. There is really nothing we would want from North Korea – seeing that we have plenty of bark and grass to eat.
But recall – negotiations with NK were problematic because of a lack of leverage. They were willling when the alternative was food, but after the famine receeded there was little leverage. They are the ost isolated and inward country in the world. They have no trade interests, and sanctions were almost worthless. Iran on the other hand, is significantly hurt by sactions, and that leverage has worked. And China would never support ungly regime change because it would result in a flood of hungry North Koreans streaming across the border into China. And the reality is North Korea is not a very big threat. Want to invade and remove the regime in NK, you put the food trucks up front, and the tanks in the back.
Ya throw the ball, ya hit the ball, ya catch the ball, sometimes ya win, sometimes ya lose, sometimes it rains.
Know what this deal reminds me of? “Peace in our time”. How’d that work out?
But of course, it’s not the same, and it’s not the late 1930s. And we’re not giving Iran a couple of countries in exchange for nothing. So in some ways, it is a bit different.
I get the distinctions, but the parallels are still there. Iran got everything they wanted in this deal and we got nothing but a bunch of “promises” that mean nothing except to allow us to falsely claim that something of substance was done.
How could you possibly have read the terms of this deal. This is just Obama hate, as with most of the far right. No matter what the deal had been, Republicans, Fox News, Rush, Beck and the rest of Obama haters were going to criticize it. No need to read it. No need to compare it to what we had before or what we could reasonably hope for short of invasion.
It’s on scribd. And posted below by Bible Thumper.
The Obama hate started from you nuts before the deal was even announced. Iran has agreed to shut down 12000 centrifuges. They get nothing if they don’t There is nothing they could have offered that the you nuts would have liked War War War. That is the only answer.
Are you more concerned with how ‘we’ view Obama or about the actual foreign policy, which you haven’t bothered to read? We are telling you that the deal pushes us closer to war, which we don’t want. Catch up on the facts before you start whinging about people criticizing your Dear Leader, mkay. There is a vast aount of foreign policy position papers and editorials and analyses from all sides that condemn this so-called deal, which hasn’t happened yet and has quickly been denounced by the Iranians as being misrepresented by the administration, including from Howard Dean, former Chair of the DNC.
I’m afraid you’re simply wrong. It’s a verifiable deal, that has yet to be fully detailed. So right now, we really don’t know what is in it outside of the framework announced. Which seems pretty good. We are fairly sure, however, the following things are not in it – Iran Hates Every, America Hates Iran, We Want to Bomb You, LEt’s Get it On MOFO and The Ayatollah’s Shorts Smell. Pretty sure those items are not in the agreement.
There is no deal, only the framework released today. You haven’t taken the time to read any of the article in the news, have you? Because you are making things up now. Your projection of bigotry onto others is sad, pathetic, and an indication of an inferior mind, considering YOU are the only person commenting here or anywhere who has stated any of those juvenile comments.
No I have heard and read the framework. I haven’t projected any bigotry. So get over it. You and GT (assuming you’re not the same) attack my statements, suggesting you have no real facts to counter them. If you’re so concerned about the facts, why don’t you go out and read the framework as covered by WaPo, NYT, WSJ and other unbaised news sources. Then we can have a level discourse.
I don’t give a crap how you view Obama. I know how you nuts view Obama, and anyone else who does not agree with you .”We are telling you that the deal pushes us closer to war.” Well to put things into prospective for you, I think as much of your advice and you as you think of Obama. I value you opinion at exactly as much as you apparently value Obama’s. Your credibility is exactly zero.
“which we don’t want” BS. That is the only thing that will make you nuts happy. There is absolutely no obtainable deals that you would ever support that did not involve our sending troops into or bombing Iran or trying to overthrow its government with the all to predictable disastrous results.
If you chicken hawks want a war I suggest you strap on an AK47 and go. The rest of us will hold down the fort at home until you get back. Just don’t write home for money, because we are not going to dump another three trillion dollars into the deserts of the middle east to satisfy your desires.
We have been tricked into a war by you people once before based on bogus information. We are not stupid enough to trust you again.
Here is a nice little news aggregator: http://newsmap.jp/#/w/uk/view/
The colors indicate timelyness, bright red being the latest skinny. The size of the squares indicate how many downloads/hits that headline is getting. Newsmap moved to Japan because Google was messin’ with ‘em. The link is structures to show World News as seen in the UK.
Whoa, that is cool! Book marked. Thanks, Fast Eddy. I can see already I’ll be on this all weekend. Love your avatar of Mr. Natural. I know someone who knew the ‘real’ Mr. Natural back in San Francisco. Really, he was another fella who went by that name, he invented the water bong and the shotgun bong. Spent the rest of his career as a physicist with the jet-propulsion lab at Cal Tech, tracking space debris in our orbit.
http://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/documentcloud/index.html?docid=1700181-parameters-for-a-joint-comprehenisve-plan-of#
If a Republican had produced this exact same deal, the Right would be proclaiming it a huge success. If the negotiations had ended without a deal, these same people would have blamed Obama for that.
I don’t claim to be a foreign policy expert, but people that couldn’t find Iran on a map think they are. Whether this is a good deal or a bad deal won’t be known for 10 or 20 years at least, yet everyone thinks they know now what it will and won’t do.
This much I do know. Every part of the Middle East is a giant tar baby. The US can do nothing over there, with ANY level of predictability as to the results. If we were smart, we would eliminate our need for their oil, which is the source of power for the numerous dictators in that region. Then we would stop caring about them, and they would stop caring about us.
No, they got to keep a level of nuclear program for domestic power, and nothing more. THey did get what they wanted in terms of economc relief, only AFTER they meet certain requirements. THis is a win / win – or as they call it in negotiating startegies, a positive sum gain.
So your proposal is we bomb them and invade?
Why is this always the assumption if someone dares criticized a deal? How about do nothing instead of making a deal that emboldens Iran and gives the illusion that now everything is hunky dory?
Because you don’t know what you are talking about. There is no way you can know what is in this deal. You are just spewing right wing Republican and Fake News talking points. Doing nothing will result in war. The right knows that.
Again, it was posted online for the world to read promptly. Links below.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/260718706/Parameters-for-a-Joint-Comprehensive-Plan-of-Action-Regarding-the-Islamic-Republic-of-Iran-s-Nuclear-Program#scribd
Good eye, girl … Thanks for the research. (But after reading that, it’s no wonder the mullahs dissed it. It almost makes O’Kerry look heroic … almost. It’s got the same Gruberized touches in it as BummerCare.)
No, actually, this deal pushes us closer to war. Get informed about the terms before you spew the predictable “right wing talking points” nonsense. The Iranians are already claiming that the administration is lying about their claims of what this agreement entails. Not only that, but the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary guard announced just prior to this that the destruction of Israel would essentially not be part of anything they agree to.
Well recall, unlike us in the West, Iranian negotiators have to be very careful what is released for public consumption in Iran until the supreme leadership signs off.
Meaning He should stick to the lefty loonie New York Slimes and be done with anything on the talk radio of Fox?
Yeah,let’s bomb em like we did in Iraq and Vietnam.
Hell,maybe send the troops in.
Oh yeah,
How did that work out?
Typical Right Wing BS.Lots of criticism ,no suggestion as exactly what to do.
We get in Ted Cruz wannabe,you agin it!
Yes , the suggestion is don’t get suckered by a bunch of liars. Doing nothing is better than making things worse, right? Typical left wing BS. If conservatives don’t like doing deals, it must be because they want to bomb away. Then pick a conservative candidate as the bogeyman.
The bottom line is that Iran got everything they wanted in this and we got nothing but “promises in return”.
The Occupier-in-chief was put into office by a bunch of liars and it appears he has not figured that out yet, either.
“The Occupier-in-chief was put into office by a bunch of liars and it appears he has not figured that out yet, either.”
Good grief you’d think your ODS would be winding down after all these years but guess not, huh?
Yes, it ended badly for too many. “Speaking softly” and carrying a great big stick is the way to treat all of those “enemy” combatants.
There are other choices: Check out “Charley Wilson’s War”. There are similarities, ah yes …
Thank you President Obama and Secretary Kerry!
Your Welcome!!!
And now, within a few hours of Obama’s fake announcement, Iran has this to say–they have agreed to NOTHING:
Just hours after the announcement of what the United States characterized as a historic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, the country’s leading negotiator lashed out at the Obama administration for lying about the details of a tentative framework.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Obama administration of misleading the American people and Congress in a fact sheet it released following the culmination of negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
Zarif bragged in an earlier press conference with reporters that the United States had tentatively agreed to let it continue the enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear bomb, as well as key nuclear research.
Zarif additionally said Iran would have all sanctions lifted once a final deal is signed and that the country would NOT be forced to shut down ANY of its currently operating nuclear installations. Following a subsequent press conference by Secretary of State John Kerry—and release of a administration fact sheet on Iranian concessions—Zarif lashed out on Twitter over what he dubbed LIES.
See above. I’m tired of repeating myself.
What a ridiculous PR ruse, NO agreement has been reached, and minutes ago Iran’s Foreign Minister has announced that NONE of the bullshit Obama just announced is true.
We are already at war with Iran: their Houthis deposed the government in Yemen, our
partner is fighting against Al Qaeda, Iranian backed Hezbollah troops in Lebanon, along with Iran backed Syrian troops, have been fighting at the Israeli border for control of the Golan Heights, to gain strategic control of areas close to Israel. Their aim is to recapture strategic posts that were lost to Al Qaeda Sunni front group Al-Nusra. Iran client state Syria continues to displace and slaughter their people to push out Sunni militia groups, this spills into Iraq where Iranian backed Shiite militias have been fighting the U.S. for years and are now trying to take over the territory that ISIS currently occupies, and keep it. In Libya, Iran has been arming various groups, with evidence now that Iran distributed arms used in the Benghazi attack, contributing to the chaos in that country after NATO toppled Gaddafi for some unknown reason. Iran wnats to be a regional superpower, and they will be, with Obama’s assistance, setting off a Middle East nuclear arms race, as Sunni nations have already formed an ‘Arab Army,’ in preparation for a coming war with Iran.
From the Washington Examiner: “Following the signing of an interim agreement with Iran aimed at scaling back its nuclear work, Iran accused the United States of lying about details of the agreement.
On Thursday evening, Zarif told reporters the latest agreement allows Iran to keep operating its nuclear program.
“None of those measures” that will move to scale back Iran’s program “include closing any of our facilities,” Zarif said. “We will continue enriching; we will continue research and development.”
“Our heavy water reactor will be modernized and we will continue the Fordow facility,” Zarif said. “We will have centrifuges installed in Fordow, but not enriching.”
Because the enriching will continue at Natanz.
Well as you are aware, they are allowed to continue enrichment under the framework. It’s the the enrichment, but the levels. Ensure the levels remain insufficient for a nuclear weapon is what counts.
Big headline @ Drudge: “… White House … Lying” about the Iranian “framework” deal.
Oh, Bummer.
Those fools really have stepped in it this time. It could place us in the middle of a war we really are not prepared to deal with.
It really is a replay of the Munich Agreement, with Israel as Czechoslovakia. The Western Powers, in their desperation to appease, have turned their backs on the Sunni world, Israel, and have succeeded in one thing only ensuring World War. The Saudis and Al-Sisi must be so pissed right now. But I am sure they knew this would happen, the Iranians would pose for a photo op, then go home and laugh about how they agree to nothing.
Accept that it’s the 21st century, we didn’t give any agreement to Iran to have a green light for invading Israel, unlike Prague – Tel Aviv has nuclear weapons, and – oddly – unlike Germany and Chech in 1938, Israel and Iran don’t share a border, but yeah, I guess other than those things, it’s just like the Munich Agreement. Accept for international verifications, a gradual relaxation of sanctions only as the Iranians meet certain goals. Humph!!! Come to think of it, it’s nothing like Munich at all.
Unless one calls that Iraqi desert a big broad war zone/no-man’s-land.
You still have to go through Jordan and Syria. And a bunch of Israeli nukes.
Syria? Seriously?
You are right about The King … He declared that He was on the sidelines until ISIS started killing his own. Now, more an ally to the Israelis than a stop gap.
When we have to have this many posts to even get to a pretend state where Iran has moved through Iraq, Syria, taken out Jordan, and finally is ready to invade Israel – I think we’ve proven the point it’s far from likely.
“… the Iranians would pose for a photo op, then go home and laugh about how they agree to nothing.”
Right. Every. Time. Of course you see, they answer to what they believe is a Higher Authority and his middle name is not Hussain.
“Big headline @ Drudge”
Drudge? LOL
Yes, it is a link to reporting about Zarif is saying on twitter right now and what he also stated in a press conference about the announcement, this afternoon. It is being widely reported, once again, Drudge links to news outlets, he does not generate his own content, he is a news aggregator.
… but he does write the headlines, usually.
” . . …. but he does write the headlines, usually”
Gulp – I’m gonna agree with Fast Eddy on this one!
“It is being widely reported, once again, Drudge links to news outlets, he does not generate his own content, he is a news aggregator.”
Drudge does sometimes generate his own content and the bulk of the links are of a certain point of view – read the Drudge headlines on any given day and tell me that is not biased.
And precisely which news website does not cater to a demographic as part of their business model? Huffington Post? lol
” Huffington Post? ”
I posted something from Huffington Post? Where?
Go take a couple of valiums – you’ll feel better and so will the rest of the world.
Read for comprehension; HuffPo was used as an example of another widely read website that also aggregates and curates news, but with a different target demographic. And I did not say that Drudge had no bias. I said that all news outlets do.
And they do. Beyond a doubt.
“Read for comprehension”
Re-read what you posted dear. You clearly were insinuating that Drudge was not a biased news source – that he “does not generate his own content” and that “he is a news aggregator” (Thanks, Wikli!).
“And precisely which news website does not cater to a demographic as part of their business model?”
You’re saying that Drudge is simply a “news aggregate” (Thanks, Wiki!) with no bias which is totally absurd.
NPR
Besides, no matter where it is reported, he said these things, you can go look on twitter, if you can read Farsi, or you can search for his statements from his press conference, and read them at a site that caters to your political preferences. it has no bearing on that fact that this is what he said.
Just a little over 24 hours ago, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary guard went on TV to state: “erasing Israel off the map” is “nonnegotiable.”
Militia chief Mohammad Reza Naqdi also threatened Saudi Arabia, saying that the offensive it is leading in Yemen “will have a fate like the fate of Saddam Hussein.”
Naqdi’s comments were made public as Iran and six world powers prepared Tuesday to issue a general statement agreeing to continue nuclear negotiations in a new phase aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord by the end of June.
You will be accused of Gross Silliness for this post, I imagine. Even though every bit of it is factual.
Don’t you DARE ever second-guess or criticize Obama! I think they still have that “Attack Watch” bullshit in operation, and hell, I might just have to turn you in to keep from going to Re-ed Camp myself.
I’m joking.
Kinda.
Sorta.
Ha?
Factual and documented, as is Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism: Al Quds, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Da-wa Party, various Shiite militias in Iraq like the Mahdi Party (Muqtada Al Sadr, remember him), training the Taliba, the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania linked to Iran, the Benghazi attack directly linked to Iran, 9/11 linked to Iran, bombings in the Mahgreb, the Horn of Africa, Armenia, and now Latin America through Hezbollah, too many incidents and links to even name here, it would take a dissertation. Client states of Syria, Lebanon, now Yemen. Iran has been the number one state sponsor of global terrorism for years and years, it is only very recently, maybe 2013, that they have been viewed as a legitimate nation with which to negotiate. We are helping them achieve their goal of Iranian regional supremacy, we ceded to the majority of their demands in this framework. We will also apparently unfreeze and turn over nearly 12 billion dollars from now through June, so says the State department. I have a lot of time to slog through all of this shit, it keeps my mind off the cancer. With the help of Stratfor, DEBKA, Global Strategic Intelligence, many intelligence sites, MEMRI TV, and watching where the latest defesne industry trade shows are held. Whenever and wherever they take place, such as in Egypt about twenty minutes before Mubarak was deposed, action is sure to follow. It doesn’t even seem to matter who is buying, partisanship and politics dissolve, as long as those weapons get out there and are used.
What the hell is Attack Watch?
Yeah. Remember when they attacked the World Trade Center? Bastards!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/world/middleeast/20terror.html
I recall this law suit. The basis of which is that Iran allowed transit of individuals who ended up being the eventual highjackers, and that in at least one memo Iran had some knowledge of the pending attack. Well – Condi Rice had a CIA report that specifically warned of pending highjackings in the US – so should we accuse her of implicit culpability as well? My point – Iran did not attack the World Trade Center. Iran did end up having to pay $6 billion in penalties, which were paid out of siezed NYC property. But that is akin to Israel accusing the US of sponsoring terrorism if a US citizen were to leave JFK airport, arrive in Tel Aviv and attack a bus of Jewish businessmen. Now Iran is know to have sponsored terrorist attacks (i.e. 1994 attack on Jewish synogog in Buenos Aires). Maybe we can put that on the top of the agenda for the next round of talks after this framework is codified.
Attack Watch was the program started by the Obama team, where they asked people to send them tweets, email, blog/forum posts and comments, etc., critical of the POTUS and his policies. For the purpose, supposedly, of having that team “debunk” them. It was widely taken as an attempt to build a database of “enemies” of the administration. It was so unpopular that they shut it down for a while, then brought it back later as Truth Team.
Obama ‘Attack Watch’ Website to Help Supporters ‘Fight Back’
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/obama-attack-watch-website-to-help-supporters-fight-back/
You and Brigid make a darling couple . . .
The picture says it all, three traitors that hate America and Israel making a nuke deal with a country that hates America and Israel. What could go wrong ? When it all goes to hell it will be Bush’s fault. It’s all planned out. Go back to sleep sheeple.
The only way to stop a nuclear Iran, if we are to believe they don’t already have the capability via North Korea or Russia, is to depose the Iranian regime. During the 2009 Green Revolution, there was a small hope when protestors were screaming about the rigged election, but even as Neda lay dying in the streets before the eyes of the world, we did nothing. Barely commented. By ‘negotiating’ or whatever it is we are doing (capitulating is more accurate) we are cementing the regime’s power. We could have refused to recognize that election, as we do with other countries.
If 3 million people demonstrating in the streets of Tehran couldn’t dislodge the regime, just how do you suggest the rest of the world change that regime? If it doesn’t change from within, we have zero leverage to change it from outside. We never had any luck with China, Poland or the Soviet Union. What makes you think it would be better trying with Iran. YOu’ve been socialized to hate Iran. I get it. I was around in 1979.
You have no clue who I am or what I feel towards Iran or anywhere else. I helped an Iranian student escape and get to the United States, recently, so don’t project your bigotry onto me.
Fine. My point still stands, this idea that we failed at overthrowing the regime in 2009 is pure fantasy. Nice on you for helping the Iranian student. And maybe now someday he can go back. But a huge swath of this “can’t trust Iran, their evil” is born out of 1979. Maybe not you, but a lot of others. BTW – how many American airlines has Iran shot down? Now tell me this – how many Iranian airliners has the US shot down? And on teh ground, you realize they’re the only ones working WITH us to defeat ISIS in Iraq.
Considering that we have been on a destabilization tear for decades now, starting with Iraq, continuing through Egypt, Libya, and trying in Syria, it is not an unheard of strategy. After all, it is what the CIA does and has done going back to the overthrow of Allende and the installation of Pinochet. However, outspoken support of the Green Revolution would have been the ethical thing to do, and some protestors were begging for us to say something, anything in their support. And yes, I watched an interview with an Iranian commander whose job right now is to turn ISIS ‘into slurpees.’ But they don’t merely want to defeat Sunni ISIS, they want to supplant them as the Caliphate themselves. And they have never been shy about their objectives, they broadcast them for the world to hear. They have been calling for Death to American and Death to Israel since 1979, in fact about eight or nine days ago, they did it when Khamenei was speaking about this current situation. When someone makes it their goal to annihilate, to erase from the map, we should take them at their word. I know of no event in which Americans gathered on the Mall in D.C. to chant Death to Iran. Their bellicosity can’t be swept under the rug. It is heartbreaking for the regular everyday people, the world over, who always pay the ultimate price for governments desire for power, greed, and conquest. I guess it has always been that way.
If their unwaiverin ggoal was death the America, death to Israel, they wouldn’t have negotiated the framework. They wouldn’t have initiated the talks. Remember, the trigger to the US, Europe and Iran at that table was a letter from the Iraqi President ot the United States.
To be transparent, Iran is on the top three countries I’d like to visit, along with New Zealand and South Africa.
And I admit I am unfamiliar with the plane shoot-downs. I will look it up though.
Rocky, I found the video of the Iranian commander that vows to turn ISIS into ‘slurpees.’ It is bizarre, and funny too. He reminds me of a Mr.T style weightlifter that you might see hanging out at Venice Beach, CA. Or one of the dudes in Full Force, all bodybuilders, who produced videos for Samantha Fox back in the 80s, lol.
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/4833.htm
Brigid – that’s priceless. He is like the Iraqi Shia Mr. T, Steven Segal and Vin Diesel, all wrapped into a beard. Too funny. Have a nice Easter weekend. Sorry about the comment last night about hating Iranians. You’re obviously more mature than that. TTYL – time to start Good Friday.
And, how did you feel when you learned that Ronald Reagan broke actual American law and had his little flunky Ollie North actually sell arms – arms, weapons – to Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran a few short years after American hostages were freed from the American embassy in Tehran and while an American embargo was in place?
Oh, America is not Israel and our interests are not the same.
Bibi has made that more and more clear every day he has been in office.
If you remember correctly the Dim controlled congress at the time supported the Sandineistas (Communists) against the Contras (freedom fighters). Reagan and North did the right thing to get arms to the rebels so as to save the country from becoming another Cuba. Same scenario as Obummer going against congress but for the right reasons.
“If Iran cheats, the world will know,” Obama added.
If you like your plan you can keep your plan.
“If you like your plan you can keep your plan”
The plans that could not be kept were junk plans – why in the world would you want to continue to allow folks to go to the emergency room for FREE treatment and then the rest of us pay for it!
He said if you like your plan you can keep your plan and that was a lie.
BTW they are still going to the emergency room for “FREE”.
“He said if you like your plan you can keep your plan and that was a lie.”
Folks like you should not be allowed to have health coverage – really. Or you should be forced to have one of those junk, rip-off plans that provide little benefits and charge ridiculous premiums.
He said it and he knew it was a lie when he said it,
“He said it and he knew it was a lie when he said it.”
LOL And you’re a mind reader now too, huh? Good lord – get a grip – the nigger’s second term is almost over – shouldn’t you be focused on Hillary?!?
When all else fails.
“When all else fails.”
It has been front and center from before the inauguration – but you’ll never admit it.
Admit what?
“Admit what?”
Please! Who do you think you’re kidding?!?
Again admit what?
Wow, that was ugly. Maybe you need to take a valium.
“Maybe you need to take a Valium.” I was thinking more like Exlax. LOL
Just like president, he does not even qualify for the viscous racial slur you – in your desperate ignorance – use to describe him.
Obama is SO incompetent and failed, there is hardly ANY group that will claim him as one of their own…other than the Democrat Dumb@$$#$…
50% job approval, probably will go to 55% by end of Summer – guess you’re “failure” assessment isn’t shared by everyone.
All the numbers are great when there is no election. The fawning and slobbering pollsters see to that, you Dumb@$$…
Want REALITY (you don’t)…See Nov 4…
Want reality – see yesterday’s announcement. How did that Bibi win work out for Israel and the “deal” now?
Brezhnev, Khomeini, Hitler, Stalin, Khrushchev, Mao, Saddam are all rotting…and they got their @$$#$ kicked in the end. Even though the Democrats have been in bed w/ their ideology…
You held hands with Slave-owners and the NAZIs…How’d that work out???
You and Obama will get your @$$#$ kicked too. Evil loses in the end. God told us you will lose…and he’s ALWAYS been right…and ALWAYS will be…LMAO….
OK. I’ve had it. It’s Good Friday. Go wallow in your own hate by yourself. I’ve got neither the time nor the desire to listen to you – old man!!! Evil does lose in the end – you might want to keep that in mind. See ya Judas.
You’re aligned w/ Hitler…and you’re accusing someone else of HATE….Now that’s RICH…LMAO…
PS: You and the fam – the big girls – going to gas-up the Denali (hasn’t been repossessed has it?) and haul yall’s substantial @$$#$ to Red Lobster this evening???…let me know if you are…I’d go up there just to get a glimpse of you in your natural habitat…Hahahaha…
Take your hand.Face the back of it towards your face. Now fold down your pinky, ring finger, pointer finger and your thumb. And hey, thanks for again providing nothing of value or substance to the discussion.
Red Lobster this evening or No…???…All that money you claim to make…
I’m sure you can afford a Cheesy Biscuit for you and the Big Girls….LMAO..
Think we’ll eat at home, then we’re at Mass – Stations of the Cross at 7. Stop on by – we might be able to get you a good spot up real close to the cross. Heck, maybe we’ll even put you on it. But only if I get to hold the hammer. Or you can portray Judas – I’ll bring the rope.
I’m not Catholic. But after those pedophile priests infiltrated the Catholic Church…I’m not surprised that you are a part of their church…
Sadly: I hear (and looking at voter demographics it seems) a majority of Catholics vote Democrat…even though the church has banned some of your most-worshipped Democrat politicians from receiving Holy Communion…
Strange – and dysfunctional – lot indeed…
Bless your heart! And have a blessed Easter!
Can someone please shut this moron up?
When I Call you out for EXACTLY who, and WHAT, you are…it usually draws a reaction like yours…LMAO…Thanks…I enjoyed that… (:
Along with Obama’s lies, one of the most odious things about his long campaign of a presidency has been the relentless insistence that all criticism of this supposedly holy and unassailable POTUS is due to his ethnicity. This lie is not stated by Obama himself, but more often by various flacks sent out to shill for him in the media.
For many of us who do criticize him, nothing could be further from the truth than to say we don’t like him because of his race.
You make a lot of comments with which I agree. On this, you are absolutely full of shit.
” . . . . supposedly holy and unassailable POTUS is due to his ethnicity. ”
LOL
Whatever, Buz. Don’t give a fuck what you think.
This isn’t a black and white issue, pardon the pun, but for many who oppose the president it IS all about his ethnicity. Others oppose him because he is a Dem. Let’s not be blind to the facts.
“Let’s not be blind to the facts.”
Obama-Haters like Buz are not interested in facts and detest anyone that supports the President.
I don’t hate him. Not even close to it. About half of my real-life friends support Obama, ardently. Obviously I don’t hate them. Sorry I don’t fit into your narrow little labeled box.
No, wait. I’m not sorry at all. Fuck your narrow little labeled box.
“No, wait. I’m not sorry at all. Fuck your narrow little labeled box”
LOL Whatever. Your posts speak for themselves in regards to the President. Sorry I don’t bow down to your high and mighty opinion of yourself.
“Many” is not ALL. Neither race nor party determine who I support and vote for. My support of Gloria Tinubu in two elections for US rep from SC 7 is proof of that. That’s a fact. And I’m not alone in that. But … if others who are Repubs oppose him because he’s a Dem, and “some” or even “many” of them oppose him because he’s black … well, shit … wtf else is new?
“”Many” is not ALL”
Nobody said it was all – I never said it was all – but simply because I do have an opinion – that is every bit as valid as your opinion but simply differs from yours then I am “absolutely full of shit”.
Obama didn’t lie. The insurance companies did.
Regardless of that opinion, it was a lie. Attacking the person stating the fact that is was a lie is not a good defense of the lie. I don’t hate the ACA. K don’t hate everything about Obama, don’t want him dead, don’t want him in jail.
But he’s lied to the American people more times than I can count. Big lies, too, not small ones. His campaigns have been full of lies, and in many ways his entire presidency has been one long campaign.
A President lied. OMG. And the Iraqis would welcome us, the war would pay for itself, I didn’t have sexual relations with that woman, read my lips, blah blah blah.
Doesn’t make it right that others have done it. Especially on such vitally important issues.
” His campaigns have been full of lies, and in many ways his entire presidency has been one long campaign.”
Thanks for your opinion, Buz. You’re full of shit – oozing.
I’ve always spoken well of you. So I guess you’re right. ;)
“I’ve always spoken well of you”
My opinion is every bit as valid as yours.
I have many opinions, on many subjects. I’m not an idealogue or a deeply partisan individual. I do not toe a party line. Your opinion, yes, is as valid as mine, in general. But when you’re full of shit on what you assert about me, you enter GT territory. No validity whatsoever.
“But when you’re full of shit on what you assert about me, you enter GT territory. No validity whatsoever.”
And what did I assert about your opinion that made me full of shit? You are the one who tossed shit first.
Geez my aching arthritic fucking knees! In the cosmic scheme of things, who cares? You are the one who said you don’t give a shit what I think about you. Yet you go on and on and on …
Not gonna wade back through all the shit-flinging to see who who flung it first.
” You are the one who said you don’t give a shit what I think about you.”
I lied! :)
Have a wonderful day. :)
“No validity whatsoever.”
Okay how about this. Sorry if I crossed the line and sorry if I overreacted. We are both obviously sensitive about our opinions of President Obama. I guess for me I have never in my lifetime seen a President be so disrespected by so many – right from the very beginning – he was not born here, he did not graduate from college, he is a Muslim, he fives a State of the Union address and has to endure some alcoholic white Podunk congressman from the South yell “you lie” – so many unprecedented instances of disrespect. Anyway, I apologize for overreacting and will try to do better!
Well. OK. Me too.
Convincing some of an “obvious” truth, like say, global worming, can be like pissing into the wind.
What the demos need now is someone who is able to “move on” from the lying “progressive” Fascist mindset … Someone who has a bit more pull in the center without lying about it. … Someone even the diehards can vote for … Someone not from the elitist crowd … Someone not Hillary.
You are dead on with the question, however the answer is NO. All the Dim with at least half a brain are now Republicans at best and Independents otherwise. The Dim party is made up of the extreme left wing of US politics. To even entertain the idea of Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders tell it all.
I would say that registering as “independent” is still increasing faster than either major party.
(As noted elsewhere latest polls show Biden ahead of either Warren or Sanders … :>| … ?)
**My plan was not “junk,” but what replaced it was much more expensive, poorly managed, “junk.”
Stop pizzin on us and telling us it’s raining.**
My plan was not “junk,” but what replaced it was much more expensive, poorly managed, “junk.”
Stop pizzin on us and telling us it’s raining.
don’t forget saddam hussein has wmds
I haven’t forgotten and Clinton didn’t have sex with Monica, neither are President anymore, so what’s your point?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2014/12/02/acas-hospital-penalties-help-save-12-billion-save-50000-lives/
ACA has nothing to do with my comment.
Iran has possibly decided that it would be easier to use their disembargoed oil profits to buy nukes from North Korea than to try to make them themselves.
Bibi’s done been boinked.
On a side note, I am a little disappointed we didn’t hear much from Tango on this. He was all about how Bibi was going to school Obama, and this and that – well seems like Bibi has new reality he has to contend with today – assuming this framework produces a workable deal. And BTW – there is no need for Congressional approval on this deal. And the GOP doesn’t have the votes to override a veto if they try. I wonder if AIPAC will demand all those GOP Congressmen return the donations when they come up empty.
Count the number of comments that you have to scroll down to to get to one that ays something about the topic. 2) note what they talk about instead
That depends on how you are sorting; Best, Newest or Oldest.
:)
As I stated last night, Iran is already at war with its neighbors on multiple fronts, & the Saudi-Egyptian-Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) axis,
who are working in concert to repel Iranian proxy aggression on
multiple fronts, with Israeli support and intelligence. Now a another
conflict area has opened around Suez, always a hot spot, and it appears that it is only heating up.
Fighting has been going on since last Thursday, and now nuclear Pakistan has
threatened to join in on the side of the newly formed ‘Arab Army.’ That
is very bad news, and I will look to find what has taken place since
then, as mainstream American news keeps us largely in the dark, then
acts surprised when massive fighting breaks out. This General Qassam Soleimani is everywhere–he was in Bhengazi coordinating the attack on the Embassy outpost, in Syria directing their internal war, in Iraq, in Lebanon. He is the man to watch, and his tactics are a mirror of American destabilization strategies, as his ultimate goal is to create chaos wherever we hold influence. Get out your maps. Where is the Colonel? I want his opinion on all of this. From DEBKA:
Tehran
took less than 48 hours for a decision to hit back at the surprise air
and naval attack launched by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and Egypt Thursday,
March 26, to contain the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels’ sweep through
Yemeni cities. debkafile’smilitary sources report that Iran’s top war
commander, Al Qods Brigadeschief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, landed in the
Yemeni capital Sanaa Friday,March 27 to organize a counter-offensive and
open Iran’s third direct Middle East warfront after Syria (in support
of Bashar Assad) and Iraq (with the US against ISIS).
The Saudi-GCC-Egyptian intervention found the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels
at
the gates of the big port of Aden, which commands the Straits of Bab
el-Mandeb, the vital gateway for oil shipping between the Indian Ocean
and Gulf through the Suez Canal and Mediterranean. Certain Yemeni army
units have joined the rebels. They are armed with advanced US weapons
that were supplied for the war on al Qaeda and now serve the revolt
against a Yemeni regime recognized by Washington. This rebel force had
already seized most of Yemen’s cities and stretches of its Red Sea
coast.
Soleimani’s arrival in Sanaa signaled Tehran’s determination
not to give up an inch of the ground gained by its proxies, while
underscoring its demand for dominance as the leading Middle East power,
promised by Washington in return for accepting a framework deal on its
nuclear program.
US officials persist in their public pretense that
the diplomatic and the military arenas are unconnected. So the deal is
presented as close to signing by the March 31 deadline, while the
flamesof Shiite-Sunni violence are allowed to spread into another corner
of the Middle East.
In the coming hours, Egyptian and Saudi naval and marine forces are
planning
landings in Aden, according to their military sources. They will fight
to contain the Houthi march across Yemen and prevent the fall of its
last major town, after two days of Saudi and Gulf air strikes against
rebel positions around Yemen. Debkafile’s military sources report that
the Saudi and Gulf air forces and Egyptian sea units managed in their
first 48 hours to cut off Iran’s air and sea supplies to the Houthi
rebels. Gen. Soleimeni will need to find a means of breaking the
Saudi-Egyptian blockade and restoring supply routes. Above all, he must
determine whether or not to co-opt Iranian air and sea forces to the
Yemeni front and so leading them into head-to-head battle against Saudi
Arabia and its ten Sunni allies. Egyptian and Iranian warships
maneuvering for control of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb were reported to
have clashed Thursday, the first day of the Sunni intervention in the
Yemen conflict.
From outside the region, Pakistan stands ready to step into the contest, promising Friday “a strong response” to any threat to “Saudi
integrity.” This opened the door for the Pakistani army to be drawn into
the wars of Arabia against Iran alongside the majority of Arab Sunni
nations. Islamabad was responding to a Houthi warning to invade the
southern Saudi provinces of Asir, Najran and Jizan, for which they
counted on a welcome by the local Saudi populations, most of which
belong to the minority Ismaili sect, that is closer to the Iranian
Shiite and Houthi Zaydi than to the dominant Sunni faith of the Saudi
royal regime. Friday night, President Barack Obama spoke with Saudi
King Salman and reaffirmed US support for the military action taken in
Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies, the White House said in a
statement. Obama and King Salman agreed that their goal is to achieve
lasting stability in Yemen through a negotiated political solution, the
statement said. Obama also underscored his commitment to Saudi Arabia’s
security.
The Behngahzi link you mention is one authors “story” based on his “sources” whom are never directly quoted. If FITS wrote the same story about a Conservative everyone would say he’s lying. So let’s dispense with that one. Iran is not the bogey man. They have a vested interest in Yemen, of course, since there is a significant Shia minotiry. Look, I’m not condoning their local efforts. They are a major regional power – and we cannot wish that away. They were in check so long as Saddam was in power, but as you are aware, he was removed in 2002. Their support for Assad is based on Assad’s protection to Hezbollah in Lebenon. But none of that is relevant to this framework for a final deal to halt the nuclear weapons program. Again, if it’s a big enough deal, we can put it on the agenda for the next round of talks. Because, I can guarantee you, there will be a next round.
Yes, I am examining this with a very critical eye, reading between the lines, keeping in mind the economic stakes as a main motivation, and that Yemen could be a staged Black Swan type of event, a Franz Ferdinand triggering moment. It’s from an intelligence site, so no on-the-record sources, but the bare bones check out. So we are partnering in the battle for Tikrit with Iran, but siding with the Arab Army nations in another event, whilst negotiating with a country that is openly hostile. Is all of this just theater? Is the military industrial complex/world banks the main driver here? So many possibilities, so many agendas, once you attempt to look behind the curtain. I posted a video link below for you of the commander from Iran who is in Tikrit now dealing with ISIS. At least that is what we are being told, who knows anymore.
Saudi Arabia has the interest in Yemen of ensuring no destabilizing influences – and they will continue to do so. Iran has an interest in affecting events in Iraq, and will continue to do so. Egypt has a vested interest in addressing instability in eastern Libya. But all four, the House of Saud, the Iranians, the Egyptians and the Kingdon of Jordan all have ttwo fundemental shared interets – 1) Defeat of ISIS, 2) Peaceful resolution to the Palestinian question. Combined they will beat ISIS. Combined they can impact the Palestinian question. And the Saudi’s and the Iranians have a huge shared interest – flowing oil to the world markets. (Iran has one other – a pipeline to Turkey and access to the European gas market). Want a real loser here – Russia. They are desperate to be in on the deal to pretend they matter – yet the deal paves the way for Iranian access to sell natural gas to Europe, eliminating the last of Putin’s trump cards.
I know, and Putin was running his mouth again today or yesterday, saying that if anyone makes a move on Crimea, he will use nukes. He is desperate to remind us that he is still in the game. And I fear that he will crank up another Afghan-like situation in order to keep himself relevant, instead if worrying about his own country. He is tight right now with Turkey, building them a nuclear reactor, incidentally. Another factor: Israel’s Leviathan natural gas project in the Mediterranean, which could be a turning point in fostering peaceful positive multi-nation cooperation–or not. Shaping up to be an interesting century. I’ve enjoyed our conversation!
There has been a great deal written about General Qassam Soleimani over the years, a profile in the New Yorker that is rather interesting, and apparently a new book coming out. He is always referred to as ‘elusive,’ ‘secretive,’ they claim there are few photos but then there are photos easily found online. Maybe Iran hypes him; maybe we hype him.
I am sorry that one thing was left out of negotiations: an American reporter from the Washington Post Jason Rezaian, a marine Amir Hekmati, and the Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. Bill Richardson was on the radio yesterday talking about them–I had forgotten about them, as has everyone else it seems, including the administration. I hope that they could be included in the next round of talks.
You are wasting your breath. Nothing you can say will make any difference to these nuts. They hate Obama, and would have trashed any deal he could possibly have obtained. There is only one acceptable deal to them, and that involves US troops in Iran.
It’s kind of fun watching Bibi howl. He has a talent for it.