By Steve Levy
For 40 years, American presidents boasted that they would never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
They talked the talk, but only Donald Trump is actually walking the walk by giving the order to take out their military program.
When Democrats and the leftist media, who reflexively criticize Trump‘s efforts, are asked what their plan is, many retort that they would’ve simply relied on the plan negotiated by President Obama in 2015.
If only Trump had left it in place, they claim, Iran would never have been able to get nukes.
This is utter nonsense and is simply revisionist history that these leftists seek to sneak through the cable TV debates, figuring that no one will call them out on their falsehoods.
Well, let’s look back on what the Obama/Iran agreement did and did not do.
First off, we have to understand that Obama came into office with a completely different mindset than previous presidents.
He was indeed the son of a Third World Marxist professor who hated America and labeled it a racist, colonialist, capitalistic pariah.
The younger Obama’s “Blame America First” mindset was exemplified by the worldwide apology tour in which he engaged immediately upon taking office.
He actually thought that, if he could apologize for America’s past alleged sins and humble himself before tyrants, such as Iran, they would like us more and end their efforts to annihilate us — the Great Satan.
Obama sought to shift away from our alliance with Israel in the Middle East to show the Palestinians and the Arab world that we could hold Israel at length, foolishly thinking that it would make them more sympathetic to our country, our values and our way of life.
He did everything he could to pander to the Iranians, including the ending of sanctions and giving them billions of dollars, thereby enabling them to become richer, more powerful and better able to expand their terrorist hegemony throughout the region.
Obama saw Iran rushing toward the production of a nuclear weapon, and the last thing he wanted was for it to be effectuated on his watch. Ultimately, he never sought to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. His only goal was to make sure he placated them enough to delay them from acquiring the weapons until after he left the Oval Office. So Obama and his chief stooge, Secretary of State John Kerry, engaged in one of the weakest negotiation processes in world history.
The Obama/Kerry plan started off well enough. The idea was that, in exchange for loads of cash and legitimacy to the Iranian theocracy, Iran would, in return, abandon all of its nuclear efforts, including a domestic nuclear program from which it could then enrich uranium to create a bomb.
That’s where it started off, but that’s very, very far from where it ended.
When the Iranians said that it was a non-starter to give up a domestic nuclear program, Obama and Kerry quickly caved, and said, “OK, but we’re going to stop you from getting centrifuges.”
When the Iranians balked at losing centrifuges, Obama relented again.
When Obama demanded that there be no enrichment of the domestic uranium, the Iranians said no deal. But rather than walk away from a bad deal, Obama and Kerry wilted once again.
It was clear that Obama was so desperate to cut any deal for his legacy that he would give Iran anything they wanted, and Iran knew it.
The Obama team figured that their political operatives, such as Ben Rhodes, would be able to spin a very compliant press into making it appear that this was the greatest deal in history. It was Rhodes’ own words that showed how shallow and conniving the Obama administration was on this issue.
“We created an echo chamber. They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say. All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus. Now they don’t. They call us to explain to them what’s happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”
And so, Obama felt emboldened to push through the worst deal possible, believing that he could control the narrative so the public would never discover that he was actually paving the path for the Iranians to construct a nuclear bomb the moment the Obama plan expired.
Don’t believe me. Instead, reference an article in 2015, noting, “He (Obama) says Iran’s ‘breakout’ time to build a bomb could shrink to almost zero” after the deal expires.
As noted in a brilliant New York Post editorial: “Simply put, this deal doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program — it preserves it. Obama once vowed that he was committed to ensuring that Iran never acquired nuclear weapons. At best, he’s kicked that can down the road for a decade. And then Iran will be a nuclear threshold state — too close to producing nukes to be stopped.”
Yes, Obama, like presidents before him, kicked the problem down the road. Trump is the first one to say no more punting to the next guy. We don’t know how this will turn out, but we do know how much carnage would result if Trump refused to take action, as did his predecessors.
Let’s hope and pray his bold action tames the fanatical beasts seeking to destroy us.