Not to put too fine a point on it, but the people on the
Republican right who have jumped to a kneejerk, sight unseen rejection of the
Iran deal are the same people who brought us the Vietnam War and the invasion
of Iraq. I don't mean the identical individuals, though there's some carry
over; I mean they are governed by the same impulse, including the assumption
that there are no limits to what American military force can achieve in
reshaping the world.
Neither Vietnam nor Iraq taught them much, leading me to doubt
they are teachable. And they would like to apply their same belligerent
ignorance to Iran.
I think Barack Obama and John Kerry have done great in
delivering a deal that, as both have well-argued, offers the best possible hope
of keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear power, while holding our own warmonger instincts
— and yes, we harbor them — in abeyance.
As I see, it we haven't fought a major war since Korea that
needed fighting. This is not to say the need for such a war cannot arise but
wouldn't it be grand if it didn't.
Let me add that given Obama's achievements it's crucial that
Hillary Clinton become our next president. No insult to Bernie Sanders, he's a
welcome contender, but only Clinton can win and it's crucial we have a Democrat
who will solidify Obama's gains from foreign to domestic policy rather than a
Republican who will seek to undo them from day one as a matter of principle.
By my count, last time we had two successive Democratic
presidents, was Kennedy - Johnson. That, of course, was a very special kind of
succession, predicated on the assassination of JFK.
Though lacking that kind of impetus, an Obama to Clinton succession
may be as much or more consequential.
