Sunday, January 24, 2016

J.Post January 19: What 'victories'?


Unassailable evidence of a chronic dearth of oxygen in Washington is provided by President Barack Obama’s description of recent engagements with Iran as “diplomatic victories” (“US slaps ballistic missile penalties on Iran following massive sanctions lift,” January 18).


This anti-rational and utterly unbelievable portrayal of events leaves us no choice other than to attribute it to the malign influence of atmospheric conditions. Surely, sound reasoning would view these events not as signs of victories, but as a continuing chain of shameful defeats.

One has every right to expect from a country being granted billions of dollars in sanctions relief along with full acceptance into the international diplomatic community that it dare not risk such extremely valuable prizes only a week before the agreement goes into effect. But instead of being careful, Iran does not hesitate to seize American sailors and then force the US into dealing for their release.

A genuine victory by the US could be claimed only if Iran politely informed it of the trespass of its ships and just as politely suggested that the vessels leave their territorial waters. Iran is spitting in America’s face, and America’s president insists on calling it rain.

Unfortunately, this is consistent with the whole tone of appeasement that the US has adopted toward Iran, and therefore cannot accommodate any claims by Washington of victories. It does, however, exponentially increase the anxiety level of many countries, because the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism has now been unleashed with increased strength and substance.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikvah