Iran Deal: Before the ink is dry, Ayatollah gives US the middle finger...

[BaiHu]

At the same time, he reiterated criticism of western powers and Israel, and said the agreement did not signal an end to the hostility between them.

"Their actions in the region are 180 degrees different from ours," Mr. Khamenei said, while also praising the annual anti-Israel rally, known here as al-Quds day, and the slogans of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

And then, in the next paragraph no less, the 'cover' is given to this admin:


But his portrayal of the agreement itself was positive and he expressed no criticism of its specifics. Analysts said his speech will likely silence hardliners and speed up the deal's acceptance by Iran's Supreme National Security Council and parliament.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/18/new-york-times-digital-ayatollah-khamenei-backing-iran-negotiators-doesnat-fault-nuclear-deal.html

Meanwhile, in 57-shades-of-offshore-accounts:


Kerry admitted in an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya News that he was troubled by those statements.

“If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling, and we’ll have to wait and see,” Kerry said, suggesting the Ayatollah’s public comments should be taken seriously.

“I don’t know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that’s his policy,” Kerry added. “But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/21/john-kerry-anti-american-comments-from-irans-ayatollah-very-troubling/

This is too rich...Evolve? like Obamacare? Benghazi? OPM? They all just happen to evolve under one administration...

[cclaxton]

Which is worse? ISIS or IRAN?
In my view ISIS is much worse:
- Their atrocities speak for themselves, much worse than what Iran has imposed, even during the revolution.
- Since Sunni's make up the vast majority of Muslims, their ideology has a larger base to infect, and thus a greater threat against US.
- While Iran has supported proxy wars, they have not attempted a wholesale military invasion of any bordering countries, as Russia has done, for instance.

Seems to me that, as long as Iran leaves Israel alone, they may have a better chance of stabilizing that part of the middle-east, assuming we want it to be stabilized.

Others?
Cody

[Kyle Reese]

In a geopolitical sense, Iranian designs portend a pan-Arab alliance (excluding Syria) and arms race in the Middle East. I'd say that both Iran and ISIS are existential threats to the security of the United States an our allies in the region. With a secessionist movement gaining (http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/01/welcome-to-basrastan-iraq-basra-secession-oil-shiite-south/) in popularity in southern Iraq, Iran has the potential to control, via proxy, vast resources and wealth in the coming months and years.

Also, actors like Qasem Soleimani (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/14/nuke-deal-helps-qasem-soleimani-the-top-iranian-general-with-american-blood-on-his-hands.html) bear watching.

Appeasing them today will lead to dire consequences for us and our allies in the future, I think.

[BaiHu]

In a geopolitical sense, Iranian designs portend a pan-Arab alliance (excluding Syria) and arms race in the Middle East. I'd say that both Iran and ISIS are existential threats to the security of the United States an our allies in the region. With a secessionist movement gaining (http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/01/welcome-to-basrastan-iraq-basra-secession-oil-shiite-south/) in popularity in southern Iraq, Iran has the potential to control, via proxy, vast resources and wealth in the coming months and years.

Appeasing them today will lead to dire consequences for us and our allies in the future, I think.

What irks me is that the sanctions on Iran were working. The oil price was crushing them (thanks SA) and Obama gives up every advantage. You would have thought oil was at $150/barrel, Cushing just blew up and Teslas were like $100k and no one had a 3 prong plug :p

[Kyle Reese]

What irks me is that the sanctions on Iran were working. The oil price was crushing them (thanks SA) and Obama gives up every advantage. You would have thought oil was at $150/barrel, Cushing just blew up and Teslas were like $100k and no one had a 3 prong plug :p

Small price to pay for peace in our time, brah.

[Dagga Boy]

Which is worse? ISIS or IRAN?
In my view ISIS is much worse:
- Their atrocities speak for themselves, much worse than what Iran has imposed, even during the revolution.
- Since Sunni's make up the vast majority of Muslims, their ideology has a larger base to infect, and thus a greater threat against US.
- While Iran has supported proxy wars, they have not attempted a wholesale military invasion of any bordering countries, as Russia has done, for instance.

Seems to me that, as long as Iran leaves Israel alone, they may have a better chance of stabilizing that part of the middle-east, assuming we want it to be stabilized.

Others?
Cody

This is not a choice. That is kindergarten world politics. So what about Iran funding and arming the Sunni in Gaza as well as their proxy Shia army in Lebannon. There are a lot of complicated blocks. They are essentially running a Cold War in the Middle East. Then you have differences within ideology. The Saudi vision, Jordan, Egypt, and others have a very different outlook on Sunni power than what ISIS is doing. And then you have Iran and Turkey with shared goals of support for the Sunni in Gaza and a mutual hatred of the both the Kurds and Israeli's.
The issue is simple. Very few of the groups over there actually like us.......and those are the ones who we tend to be distancing ourselves from,

[45dotACP]

The issue is simple. Very few of the groups over there actually like us.......and those are the ones who we tend to be distancing ourselves from,

True that...

Though from what I am reading between the lines, the Russians, Chinese, and Germans all want that sweet sweet oil and don't much give a damn about Israel or the stability of the middle east. All the wars and killing there mean about as much as all the wars and killing the war torn African nations experience...which is to say nearly nothing.

One would think that the one lesson we'd have learned since 9-11 is that we can't just sit back, watch the world burn and expect nothing to spill over to the U.S.

[BaiHu]

More news on this front:

http://irantruth.org/breaking-obama-made-side-deal-on-irans-military-site-hid-details-from-congress/

[BaiHu]

More news on this front:

http://irantruth.org/breaking-obama-made-side-deal-on-irans-military-site-hid-details-from-congress/

Perhaps I need to quote some of this:


“According to the IAEA, the Iran agreement negotiators, including the Obama administration, agreed that the IAEA and Iran would forge separate arrangements to govern the inspection of the Parchin military complex – one of the most secretive military facilities in Iran – and how Iran would satisfy the IAEA’s outstanding questions regarding past weaponization work. Both arrangements will not be vetted by any organization other than Iran and the IAEA, and will not be released even to the nations that negotiated the JCPOA. This means that the secret arrangements have not been released for public scrutiny and have not been submitted to Congress as part of its legislatively mandated review of the Iran deal.”
The American public has not been given all the facts on the Iran deal, nor has congress. This is not only distressing but a violation:
“Even under the woefully inadequate Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, the Obama administration is required to provide the U.S. Congress with all nuclear agreement documents, including all “annexes, appendices, codicils, side agreements, implementing materials, documents, and guidance, technical or other understandings and any related agreements, whether entered into or implemented prior to the agreement or to be entered into or implemented in the future.”

[BaiHu]

Sadly, this is not getting a lot of coverage:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/iran-nuclear-deal-protest_55b07aaee4b08f57d5d3b04b

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/07/22/live-blog-stopiranrally-in-times-square/

[cclaxton]

This deal is being used for political purposes rather than a serious discussion of the issues. It's one thing to have a reasoned discussion on the matter...it's another to run around yelling and shouting the sky is falling and the world will end, so vote (Republican or Democrat)...fill in the blank.
Cody

[BaiHu]

Ya mean like the occupy crowd? This deal is dog shit. Did you read the quotes or link I posted before?

[RevolverRob]

Obama's foreign policy is a joke. He and John Kerry got played like a violin. There was a time in our country where such actions would have never happened, because no one had the gall. It's a sad day when you think about the fact that W's foreign policy was orders of magnitude better. Hell even JFK's abysmal foreign policy was better.

I had a very good friend try to convince me yesterday that Obama's "diplomatic" approach was good. That it is better than the "heavy-handed" approach of years past. And that he felt like it was a move to make the introduction of things like McDonald's to Iran easier. I pointed out that is just called Cold War II - and this time the culture in Iran isn't as receptive to materialistic possessions like the communists were in the USSR. They are far more idealist and fundamentalist. The USSR was doomed, because of the heavy-hand internal policies of Stalin and predecessors following Khrushchev and terrible famine. That made it easier to sell them on capitalism and even that took 50 years.

Buckle your seat belts, boys and girls. We are about to see a new wave of terrible domestic and foreign policies in our country, all because Obama and his administration are a bunch of spineless wimps. Prepare for the return of McCarthyism (Do you harbor any sympathies towards Islam?! Do you know any of your friends or neighbors who do?!) and the return of the Policy of Containment (only this time, we'll go to Indonesia, crap countries in Africa, various 'Stans, and the Philippines).

-Rob