Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran and 11th dimensional chess
I remember shortly after Obama took office and started to make overtures to Iran many conservative opponents who were already reflexively opposing anything Obama did (following the lead of their representatives in Washington) attacked this as a losing proposition and the only way to deal with Iran was with force. McCain supposedly only joked about bombing Iran, but he seems to want to bomb a lot of people. I think that was his solution to Syria as well.
Of course, we remember prior to that, Iran had been engaging in a charm offensive early in Bush's term with a moderate president and even expressed concern and a desire to help shortly after 9/11. Then, with invasion of Iran and a giant warning signal to Iran by calling them part of an axis of evil, that country elected (installed) Machmoud MembersOnlynejad and the country took on a much more hostile approach to the U.S. and the West in general. Forces within Iran even helped with the insurgent campaign against U.S. troops in Iraq.
After years of slow, deliberate diplomacy with Iran we are finally seeing a major breakthrough with the country and it's nuclear program. Obama and team fought through the rhetoric of Crazybeardedholocaustdenierajad until he fell out of favor with his own people and more importantly, the mullahs. That guy is no more, and Iran elected (installed) a moderate again.
Of course, things could still turn sour, but it is gratifying to see the less flashy and more potent work of diplomacy paying huge dividends and proving Obama's course was the correct one. I am happy to see it is pissing off the right people as well (Saudi Arabia and Israel). This, along with the diplomacy with Syria is true progress in foreign policy with difficult nations who are often at odds with the U.S.
Just wanted to acknowledge Iran and possible breakthrough as a HUGE win for Obama team.
Here's the latest news on developments
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/09/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-talks.html
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