The Next Disaster: Dismantling Sanctions on Iran

John Kerry is racing to negotiate and conclude some kind of 'hazy' deal with Iran this weekend (November 9th) for a photo opportunity. The current administration's belief in political theater, in contrast to actual substance, is just amazing. It's as if they actually believe that their public showmanship is an actual substitute for real statesmanship!

Remember how Putin thoroughly check-mated our intellectually deficient administration during the manufactured Syria "crisis?" Remember that the administration boxed itself in with "red lines in the sand" that were red, then pink, then red again. Then, finding a complete lack of support for any use of force against the Assad regime, they accepted the premise that the Assad regime can be trusted to declare and destroy their chemical weapons. This premise is, of course, completely absurd.   It's especially true since the entire episode lasted many weeks, giving the Syrians plenty of time to move and hide any and all such weapons, especially with the assistance of their Russian friends.

As a result, Assad will remain in power forever under it's Russian protectorate.

The Appeasement of Iranian Mullahs

Now Kerry is rushing to Geneva this weekend to be "seen" doing/achieving something.  I suspect that Obama, who is enraptured in his own splendor and believes supremely in the primacy of (his own) 'theater," needs some kind of public "win" after the series of recent embarrassments. First was the Syrian chemical weapons debacle and then the late awakening of the public to the utter failure of Obamacare.  Then, most recently, came the lies to cover the lies about Obamacare. Remember that the passage of Obamacare itself was an effort to give the administration some kind of "win" in the political stage after wasting over a year as 10s of millions of Americans languished in un- and under-employment.

Intellectual bankruptcy, lies, and phoniness continue to abound.  More lies about Iran this week from Obama courtesy of Jonathan Tobin at Commentary magazine,

The president told NBC News on Wednesday that the current negotiations “are not about easing sanctions.”...But his administration, which fought the adoption of crippling sanctions in the first place, has apparently already been backing away from them for months.

Confirmation from the Daily Beast:

Long before a nuclear deal was in reach, the U.S. was quietly lifting some of the financial pressure on Iran, a Daily Beast investigation reveals.  A review of Treasury Department notices reveals that the U.S. government has all but stopped the financial blacklisting of entities and people that help Iran evade international sanctions since the election of its president, Hassan Rouhani, in June.

So now, after years of Iran lying about their nuclear program (and everything else), the notable silence of our administration in any kind of support of Iranian students during the brutal crack-down in 2009, the administration has decided to appease the Mullahs giving them more time for the centrifuges to spin.  Just whose side is Obama on? Is he a Muslim collaborator? 

Just when economic sanctions had that regime 'on the ropes,' the President decides that he's going to let them off the hook. It's the worst timing possible because, for the first time in my adult life, effective sanctions were negotiated and are actually working! So just when you have leverage, Obama removes the very thing that's created the leverage! You know how it's going to work out, right?  Everyone does except Mr. Obama.

Israel Warns The World of Obama's Folly

Now comes word from Netanyahu, another ally of the US who has been alienated and offended by the Obama administration.  From the Weekly Standard

"I met Secretary Kerry right before he leaves to Geneva," said Netanyhau. "I reminded him that he said that no deal is better than a bad deal. That the deal that is being discussed in Geneva right now is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal. Iran is not required to take apart even one centrifuge. But the international community is relieving sanctions on Iran for the first time after many years. Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and it pays nothing. And this is when Iran is under severe pressure. I urge Secretary Kerry not to rush to sign, to wait, to reconsider, to get a good deal. But this is a bad deal--a very, very bad deal. It’s the deal of a century for Iran; it’s a very dangerous and bad deal for peace and the international community."

America's Weakness and Intellectual Incompetence Could Bring Disaster

A chain of events leading to complete disaster is conceivable and not out of the question.

What's not so widely-reported is that our Middle East ally Saudi Arabia is thoroughly annoyed about Washington's incompetence. They hate the Iranians and their involvement in Syria and throughout the Middle East.  First, Obama ill-advisedly left Iraq with no American presence, which has allowed for unfettered Iranian involvement in Iraq.  Not surprisingly, without American advisors, Iraq is re-collapsing in failure meaning more Iranian hegemony is nearly guaranteed.  Then came Obama's ham-handed handling of Assad and the chemical weapons debacle which has helped Syria and it's allies: Russia and Iran.

Now I hear word is that Saudi is about ready to completely throw up their hands with the US if they pursue a nonsensical agreement with Iran.   I understand that they have signaled a meeting with the real power broker in the world, Vladimir Putin.  After all, vacuums will be filled.

So, expect another diplomatic screw-up and the potential of a nuclear Iran by the end of the Obama's term.  If so, this means that Saudi Arabia will go nuclear as well.  I've read where Saudi has already lined up the purchase of nukes from Pakistan if so. 

I worry that this unintentional (intentional?) aiding and abetting of Iran and the ruining of another long standing alliance with Saudi Arabia,  combined with the US policies of money printing and dollar debasement, might lead to a dollar and economic crisis for the US and world.   The potential chain of events could be triggered by Saudi's willingness to accept other currencies for oil payments rather than just dollars.  The breaking of the petrodollar's status is itself a nuclear option.  This would be followed by other oil exporters in the region.  Demand for the dollar would fall dramatically, demand for treasury notes and bonds would drop (due to less petrodollar recycling) leading to a calamitous fall of the dollar and/or  rising US interest rates.  Confidence is a delicate thing.  Loss of confidence is a disaster for the US.

The decline of America could literally occur overnight.  Suddenly, US citizens might wake up one morning and find themselves significantly poorer vis-a-vis the rest of the world due to a decline in the dollar. They can't say that they weren't warned.  Ron Paul, for one, has warned of this possibility for many years now. 

Furthermore, a decline and debasement of our currency is what the Federal Reserve has tried to do with it's unconventional monetary operations (money printing) for the past 5 years.  The surprise is that it happens all at once.  Furthermore, the Obama administration has been working hard all along to dial back American power in the world.  He might get his wish too.