++Col. Wilkinson appeared on the Real News Network and talked about all those in the Green Room today who were against the Iranian deal. Wilkinson's views are on video posted at Democraticunderground.
++But what is apparent from the early reactions are how irrelevant the critics are. William Leurs commented today that this was a sustained effort by people who had to combine the political with the military and the technical to get to this end.
++Israeli press is beginning to register how irrelevant Bibi is to the whole discussion and as a consequence, because the Israeli establishment went along, the state of Israel to the future of American policy toward the Middle East. They can't provide stability or even the resources to fight ISIS and the Iranians might. The loss of Netayanhu on this issue has profound ramifications for the future of Israel's importance to the United States as the major influence on Middle Eastern policy. The gamble was obviously not worth it.
++The Iranian hardliners, we learn from Huffington Post, are depressed because they felt they gave up their deterrence. Particularly shocking to them is the transfer of so much enriched uranium out of the country and the invasive regime of inspection and verification.
++Turkey, Egypt,and the Gulf States hailed the agreement and hoped it would bring some stability to the region. Turkey also liked it because they can renew business links with Tehran. The Saudis thought it would bring more instability.
++At home every Republican candidate for President renounced the deal and Republican congressional leaders vowed to stop the deal. But as John Kerry made it explicit in an interview with Andrea Mitchell, they have no alternative.
++In fact the alternatives seem ludicrous when contrasted with the deal itself. Turning up sanctions would only lead to the isolation of the United States. Almost all our negotiating partners would simply peel off from us and conduct trade on their own. The military options, espoused by the neoconservatives,would have less effect at a higher cost than the deal itself.
++We have learned from the George W. Bush years that the neoconservative project was fraudulent and so enormously costly to our country that it has affected our way of life and our personal liberties. Unfortunately, President Obama hasn't managed its corrosive legacy but through the Iran deal and the normalization of relations with Cuba he has restored America's once great diplomatic prowess and brought it to bear on producing results for our national interest and for the global interest.
++The issue that has been presented in stark contrast is whether the United States will actively and constructively participate in multinational negotiations that aren't totally dictated by the United States. We see President Obama and his team willing to take that risk while the Republicans look more isolationist by the moment.
++Jennifer Rubin surfaced against to say the deal is ludicrous. Her column was a model of those who believe the United States is a hyper power capable of dictating outcomes in a complex world. Those days lasted only a few years after the end of the Cold War but since 9/11 and the debacle in Iraq the United States can't assert it is "exceptional" and above international agreements and law as it has done.
++The next challenge to this hyper power view of the United States will be the Climate Change talks in Paris. The Obama Administration has painstakingly cobbled together the major polluters to take a dramatic stand to fight carbon emissions. We remember the days when the Bush Administration walked away from Kyoto. Everyday the Republican Congress tries to chip away from the EPA mandates and the efforts by the administration to fight climate change. We have seen their response to Pope Francis' bold call to the world on the subject.
++We are now moving to the point of no return in finding ways to negotiate in a multi-polar world. Those who resist now become irrelevant.
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