Benjamin Netanyahu has described the upcoming nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group, led by the Obama administration as, “…a very, very bad deal.”
The terms of this “…very, very bad deal,” are quite stark.
Iran has achieved the following from the negotiations;
· $3 billion in cash.
· $9.6 billion in gold.
· $5+ billion in petrochemicals.
· $1.3 billion in automobiles.
· Enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb.
· 3,000 new centrifuges.
· 1 plutonium reactor.
By contrast, the Obama administration has achieved the following concessions from Iran during these same negotiations;
· Zero centrifuges dismantled.
· Zero ounces of uranium shipped out.
· Zero facilities closed.
· No delay on plutonium reactor.
· No stopping on missile testing.
· No stop in terrorism.
· No stop in human rights abuses.
After Netanyahu’s recent speech to Congress just before the Israeli elections, Obama’s complaint was that Netanyahu was not offering a viable alternative to these negotiations. It would seem that a viable alternative would be to have no deal at all. No deal is far better than this deal.
Netanyahu description of this as a “very, very bad deal” is dead wrong. This isn’t a very bad deal; this is either the most inept example of international negotiations in history or it is something else—something darker. I don’t believe this to be an overstatement. It is an utter capitulation to a brutal radicalized regime that murderously suppresses its own people at home and abroad. It is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
And we are allowing them the capacity to produce nuclear weapons.
This deal is a capitulation to a regime that is, as we speak, carving out a new empire for itself in the Middle East, in countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Nothing is done to stop this blatant power grab, not even a word of complaint. All the while, negotiations continue. Obama allows Iran to dominate the Middle East in previously unthinkable ways and as a consequence Iran has become the new superpower of the region, and the Obama Administration is deferentially acquiescing to them.
This deal represents an utter surrender to a regime whose leader openly, this last week, has called for “Death to America.” Iran’s supreme leader has effectively declared war on America and Obama in response has given them the means to follow through on their threats by giving them weapons of mass destruction.
This deal defies all common sense. Iran has openly and repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, the only friend America has there. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the American flag is held up high with honor, in all other Middle Eastern countries the American flag is burned. Israel is the only true, loyal and unwavering ally America has in that region, and Obama has given Iran the capacity to make good their threats to annihilate her.
In allowing Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, Obama has utterly betrayed Israel and its security. Iran has achieved all its aims in these negotiations and the world has gotten absolutely nothing back in return. Some would argue strongly that this will be the lasting legacy of President Barack Obama, a ruinous botched nuclear deal that is sure to increase the world’s instability and provoke a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
However bad though this deal is, I still don’t believe that this will be the lasting true legacy of President Barack Obama. I believe the true legacy of President Barack Obama will be the destruction of the balance of power in the Middle East.
Previously you might have disliked or even hated past US presidents but everyone respected that a US president did exactly what they said they were going to do. The word of a president of the United States was their bond. There is no such belief about Barack Obama and the consequences of this are both horrendous for the United States and far reaching for the Middle East more specifically.
This United States’ maintained balance of power was what kept Israel from being overrun by her enemies in all the previous wars. It was the sure knowledge that when it came down to it, the United States of America was the security guarantee for the nation of Israel and that if things went too far America would step in and say, “This far, no further.”
It was this balance of power that forced Jordan and Egypt into a lasting peace agreement with Israel, an agreement that holds to this day. It was this balance of power that forced the Palestinians to the negotiating table time and time again. The Palestinians knew that negotiation was the only means through which America would allow an independent Palestinian state to emerge.
Now that the balance of power has been destroyed there are legitimate doubts that Obama will indeed assure Israel of its long term survival should its back be against the wall. This means that there is now no motivation to come to the negotiating table from the Palestinians. After all, why negotiate for a partial settlement over only some of the land you claim when you can take by force all of the land which you desire?
The perception now is that Obama will not come to Israel’s aid militarily if war was to suddenly erupt so why not just take the land they want instead of negotiating for it?
It has been the destruction of this balance of power that has killed the so-called “peace process” and not Netanyahu’s pre-election statements. In fact, the assumption now is that regardless of what the Palestinians do, Obama will blame Israel for any outcome anyway. The Palestinians escape with a clear card every time under Obama therefore they are emboldened to push the boundaries: To request recognition by the United Nations, to join the International Court of human rights and drag Israel into the dock for war crimes, to request formal UN statehood recognition…to begin intifada and war.
The destruction of the traditional balance of power in the Middle East has undermined the stability of the entire region; you can be sure Hezbollah and Hamas have been watching closely, as have Al Qaeda and ISIS who all now correctly assuming two things. First, that Iran is now in the ascendancy in this region (not America) and second, that Israel is more alone than they have ever been.
America’s one time Middle East ally now stands alone, and they know they are alone. They no longer feel reassured by American presidents or secretaries of state offering their “umbrella of protection” to them. They watched in horror as Obama and Clinton stood idly by when Gaddhafi fell, literally ripped to pieces by his own people.
They watched aghast as Obama let Mubarak of Egypt, a stalwart of supporter for America in the region fall from power to be replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood—an organization that has spawned one terrorist group after another, from Hamas to Al-Qaeda. They watched mortified as Obama fawned after them.
Obama’s true, lasting legacy is the complete destruction of the balance of power in the Middle East. Obama has betrayed his friends to appease their enemies and in the process completely sold out Israel’s future security. The balance of power that has maintained a broad regional peace since 1973, is now gone.
What is unclear is how things will develop from here. But one thing is for sure, for Israel it will likely include war and as Netanyahu so rightly pointed out, Israel, even if she is alone, will stand.
“So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10).
“’Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.’ The Lord has spoken” (Obadiah 1:18)