At The Atlantic, Ankit Panda writes—The Slow Death of the Iran Nuclear Deal:
The 2015 Iran deal is dying—not with a bang, but with a series of whimpers. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the agreement featured at its center a simple bargain: Iran would agree to verifiable limits on its civil nuclear program given past concerns about nuclear weaponization; in exchange, Tehran would receive economic relief from sanctions related to its nuclear activities. The agreement lasted in that form until last year, when the Trump administration announced that the United States would stop complying with its commitments under the agreement and reimpose sanctions on both Iran and, eventually, those who do business with the Islamic Republic.
Exactly one year to the day since President Trump’s declaration, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced a phased set of measures that would suspend some of Iran’s commitments under the agreement, while underscoring that Tehran remained within the JCPOA. He said Tehran would immediately stop observing limits on building up its domestic stockpiles of low-enriched uranium—the kind suitable for reactor use, but not weaponization—and heavy water. After a 60-day period, unless the other signatories of the accord—Britain, France, Germany (the so-called E-3), China, and Russia—managed to deliver on economic benefits in the oil and banking sectors, Tehran would suspend further compliance with sections of the JCPOA, Rouhani added. [...]
In effect, however expensive continued compliance with the deal might have gotten for Iran after the Trump administration reimposed sanctions last year, the U.S. had now sought to change the very terms of compliance—even though it is no longer party to the pact. The remaining countries, try as they might, have been unable to present Iran with a sufficiently robust solution that would work around the reimposed sanctions. [...]
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QUOTATION
“Remember the Maine.” “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.” They’re war slogans. We remember the slogans, not the wars. You know why? That’s show business. That’s why we’re here. Naked girl, covered in napalm. “V” for victory. Five Marines raising the flag, Mount Surabachi. You remember the picture in 50 years, but forget the war. The Gulf War, smart bomb falling down a chimney. 2,500 missions a day, 100 days. One video of one bomb. The American people bought that war. War is show business. That’s why we’re here.”
~~Conrad Brean, fictional presidential adviser played by Robert De Niro in the film Wag the Dog (1997)
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BLAST FROM THE PAST
On this date at Daily Kos in 2007—How Late is Too Late?
Having always been extremely interested in Daily Kos demographics, let me ask you: How forgiving are you willing to be? What's your timetable on Republicans coming down the rat-lines off the USS Bush?
I'm not talking about the practical side of things, the we'll-take-your-votes-if-it-leads-to-a-veto-proof-majority pragmatism.
What I'm asking is: If a Republican (or Democrat) finally comes around in September and says the U.S. needs a timetable for withdrawal, does that wash away for you what will by then have been that person's five-and-a-half-years of parroting the Administration's war hype, backing the war and the occupation and downplaying all the rottenness, from Gitmo to Abu Ghraib, from Anbar Province to the Walter Reed Annex, from the secret prisons of Thailand to the secret machinations of the Defense Policy Board?
Will you, in the deep recesses of your tolerant liberal heart forgive them and count them on "our side" if they come around in, say, January 2008, before the primaries? June? September? What's your timetable?
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Greg Dworkin parses the polling on impeaching the current president & electing the next one. Joan McCarter watches the Trumpsters roll out chained CPI, again. Trumpworld's Biden smear begins to unravel. As does Jacob Wohl’s latest stupid plot.
BELOW IS THE 3RD ROUND OF A POLL PREVIOUSLY TAKEN HERE ON MARCH 9 AND APRIL 7.