[Crossposted in CounterPunch]

A prep school classmate of mine e-mailed me last Sunday, November 24th. He was enthused about the breakthrough deal (by the so-called "E3/EU+3" or "P5 +1" group) with Iran on the nuclear issue. He lives in London, for some odd reason, and is a successful architect there. Rather short message: "C'mon Patrick, say something nice!" 

He's a progressive and an intelligent individual who still maintains residual belief in President Obama. In this respect, he is not alone. I guess he wants me to acknowledge that Obama has done something right, for a change. I may do that. Full disclosure: I have read the 4-page Geneva document in question, entitled "Joint Plan of Action". More about it later.

I explained to my friend that I had examined this matter rather carefully, in view of Washington's brazen deception involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. I concluded that no Iranian nuclear weapons program to build an A-bomb exists. Not now, not ever. Except possibly during the reign of the Shah, who was a megalomaniac, egged on and enabled by fellow megalomaniac, Henry Kissinger. 

Very little has changed over the years, except that, if anything, the lies and the confidence tricks about Iran's nuclear "ambitions" have gotten more outlandish. The liberal successors to the "neoconservative" Cheney/Bush Administration--B. Obama and Hillary C.--carried forward Washington's long-standing, intellectually dishonest and shameful policy toward Iran. That was to be expected. The irresponsible numbskulls in Congress cheered from the sidelines and even poured oil on the fire.

As for the current negotiations in which John Kerry is involved, obviously Iran is in a desperate fix due to the comprehensive economic and financial sanctions imposed upon it for no good reason. These sanctions plus the freezing of Iranian assets abroad are unwarranted. They are de facto acts of war. It amounts to extortion, racketeering, blackmail and bullying, pure and simple. As any serious observer knows, Israel and its ferocious American lobby were the primary reason for this particular item of madness. 

I suspect the situation became so ludicrous, so divorced from reality (because Iran has no atomic bomb, no nuclear weapons program, and is not a military threat to a nuclear-armed Israel or anybody else) that the ongoing charade of crying wolf could not continue indefinitely. It was becoming dangerous, just hanging there, unresolved. Russia and China may have pointed this out to Messrs. Kerry and Obama. 

Unlike the leadership in America, England and France, the leaders of Russia and China have not as yet been co-opted by the international Israel Lobby. Germany, the powerhouse of Europe, is scared to death when it comes to this issue. Germany acquiesced in the crooked business, so as not to become a target itself. That is the big picture explanation, if you want it straight.

However, something has changed, as yet unclear. In diplomatic terms, the present interim agreement with Iran is a volte-face. Among other things, it is tantamount to diplomatic recognition of the Islamic Republic of Iran and thus the abandonment of Washington's long-standing, de facto policy of "regime change". No wonder the mendacious "neocons"  have become hysterical and are going ballistic. Their not-so-hidden agenda is off the table.

This assumes, of course, that the "Joint Plan of Action" dated "Geneva, 24 November 2013" can be taken at face value. The agreement is predicated on a six-month timetable, "renewable by mutual consent" leading to a comprehensive solution which would "involve a reciprocal, step-by-step process" where "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed". Sound familiar? Could it be a repeat of the multi-decade "peace process" sham in the conflict over Palestine, now applied to Iran? 

I don't think so, and that is why Bibi Netanyahu is having a coronary. He can see the writing on the wall. His bilge and that of his front-men is no longer taken seriously. The document in question is surprisingly straightforward. The nuclear issue is the only topic. The preamble states, "Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek or develop any nuclear weapons."

During this six-month period, Iran is tasked to undertake certain measures to back up that oft-repeated affirmation. This should not be a difficult prospect. In fact, it should be relatively easy (even though it amounts to proving a negative) for the simple reason that there is no nuclear weapons program underway in Iran. The White House already knows that, of course, because its 16 intelligence services have already informed the White House of Iran’s non-threatening nuclear status years ago.

Tehran has insisted all along that its nuclear research program is exclusively for civilian purposes, such as energy production and cancer treatment, under the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, to which Iran is a signatory. Many countries are doing the same thing, without being harassed by Washington and its minions. Tehran has now agreed to "intrusive monitoring" according to John Kerry and the White House. Indeed. One wonders, why?

Nobody is asking for extraordinary monitoring of, say, Brazil. It has not been targeted. Fine. However, I'm certain that the leaders of Brazil, at the end of the day, would agree to such an imposition upon Brazil's national sovereignty, if it were necessary to keep the country’s economy from being wrecked and its assets abroad from being stolen. Tehran has arrived at the same conclusion.

You may vaguely recall that G.W. Bush made a big show of sending a weapons-inspector named David Kay, an avid supporter of the Iraq invasion, into Iraq after the successful 2003 conquest of that godforsaken country. The stated purpose was to find those awful weapons of mass destruction, the supposed reason for the war. No such weapons were ever found. 

In January 2004, Kay resigned his position as head of the “Iraq Survey Group”, even before the end of the fruitless search, stating that he believed WMD stockpiles would not be found in Iraq. Did he know beforehand? "I don't think they existed," he said. Fool me once.

Washington should throw David Kay into the breach once again, this time to Iran. Tehran should allow Kay to go wherever he wants and do whatever he pleases. Let's see how long it takes before Kay resigns for the second time in a huff, having arrived at a similar, if not identical, conclusion. Please be advised that the boogeyman of a nuclear-armed Iran has all been a magnificent fraud. Let's move on.

--Copyright 2013 Patrick Foy--