Obama wants to prevent new Iran sanctions

[uebermann]

[The Comrade]

the sanctions are actually too effective. they're so effective they've essentially turned one of the more industrialized countries in the region into a raw-materials starved inflation hell-hole for business. given a few more years i can't imagine iran existing still. most people stop blindly following their government BEFORE eating each other in the streets becomes a regular occurrence. and without half a century of indoctrination and political purges like north korea, they wouldn't have enough time to close the flood gates of revolution.

that said, i think the sanctions are just spiteful at this point and totally unnecessary. iran is a great country and could be a great ally if we'd stop f**k with them. and i, personally, prefer their form of theocracy to those wahabbist f**k in arabia.

[uebermann]

[Leviathan]

Hell no. This might be the one and only instance of sanctions actually working. We will break them within 5 years if we stay the course.

[The Comrade]

part of our f**k with iran is being up israel's ass. imagine if a president tried something like the oslo accords now? they'd be called an israel hating liberal soft on terrorism or something similar. we've grown closer to israel in recent years due to our policy in the middle east and specifically with iran. if we stopped blindly opposing middle eastern countries, via our proxy israel, a lot of the perception of us being best friends with israel would evaporate. plus, any lift on the sanctions would be an immediate rebuff on israel's stance over iran's nuclear program, which i think would go a very long way in satisfying iran and showing we're capable of being friendly to both nations.

that, and we have amazing soft power.

[Indy]

What happened was, and this is my take, the sanctions are/were working and this is what drove Iran to the bargaining table recently to make the "grand bargain" which Kerry was ready to sign.

Unfortunately, when Bibi got wind of this he was having none of it because Bibi can't apparently stand the idea of the U.S. being friendly with Iran someday, which would take away their biggest bogeyman. So Bibi literally got on the phone to leaders around the world squawking to everybody he could about how we can't negotiate with the Iranians and... the whole thing fell through.

The problem is, obviously there's a thaw going on there--for now--and doubling down on sanctions is only going to send us back to 1979. Of course, the tea party can't get enough of doubling down on bad Mideast policy so of course they want to do it, and if Obama resists then they will cast him as a terrorist-loving appeaser and no friend of Israel, unlike them, who are BFFs of Israel until the Rapture comes and all them Jews better accept Christ or be consumed by a wave of Jesus fire.

So that's where we're at right now. I'm usually pro-Israel but Bibi can suck it on this one.

[Professor]

So, what's in it for the US with keeping Israel as an ally? They don't have oil. Why are they a greater ally than Iran or the others?

[Leviathan]

If you can't see why the United States is a more natural ally of the small, advanced and democratic Israel, as opposed to the theocratic terrorist sponsors in Tehran, then you are simply lost.

Don't break the sanctions until that regime is finished.

[eynon81]

[Leviathan]