The story from the New York Times:
The United States and Iran have agreed in principle for the first time to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, according to Obama administration officials, setting the stage for what could be a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avert a military strike on Iran.
The timing:
News of the agreement — a result of intense, secret exchanges between American and Iranian officials that date almost to the beginning of President Obama’s term — comes at a critical moment in the presidential contest, just two weeks before Election Day and the weekend before the final debate, which is to focus on national security and foreign policy.
The disclaimer:
There is still a chance the initiative could fall through, even if Mr. Obama is re-elected. Iran has a history of using the promise of diplomacy to ease international pressure on it. In this case, American officials said they were uncertain whether Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had signed off on the effort. The American understandings have been reached with senior Iranian officials who report to him, an administration official said.
Washington denies the NYT story.... so does Iran.
Just four days ago, reports said Iran was moving fast toward nuclear weapons despite sanctions.
Then you have the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei saying in June 2012, the Islamic Republic of Iran is today more powerful than ever before in its history.
Putting it all together we get a scenario that would be so predictable no fictional writer would even attempt the plot line for a book or a movie because it is all so unbelievable.
Starting with unnamed Obama administration officials coincidentally leaking any type of news about Iran on the eve of the presidential foreign policy debate at a time when Romney is surging in the polls and Obama is seeing his electoral map narrowing, just two weeks from the election date.
Let's pretend for one minute that Iran and Washington have made any type of agreement, "in principle," as the NYT reports.
Iran has been caught lying multiple times about their nuclear program. Does anybody believe a known liar will keep their word in any circumstances?
If so, I have this bridge in Brooklyn.... call me.
Here is the one paragraph that says it all:
Iranian officials have insisted that the talks wait until after the presidential election, a senior administration official said, telling their American counterparts that they want to know with whom they would be negotiating.
Here is the most likely scenario:
The Obama administration, with the help of the NYT, just tried to preemptively counter the really bad news they knew was imminent:(H/T Pirate's Cove)
Sixty-two percent of those polled agreed that "Iran and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are friends of Egypt," though 68 percent held unfavorable views of Shiite Muslims.
Iran's deputy defense minister said recently that the Iranian regime is seeking more military cooperation with Egypt. "We are ready to help Egypt to build nuclear reactors and satellites," he said on the occasion or Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy's meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month. Morsy's office has said the two didn't discuss military cooperation.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents want Egypt to have its own nuclear bomb.
Obama's foreign policy has completely unraveled.
Tomorrow's debate on foreign policy should be very interesting.
[Update] Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy is deeply connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is common knowledge. Remember the Muslim Brotherhood called for more protests during the worldwide attacks against American embassies.
Now remember Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu words from Meet the Press in September:
“I wouldn't rely on their rationality,” he continued. “Since the advent of nuclear weapons, you have countries that had access to nuclear weapons who always made a careful calculation of cost and benefit. But Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism.”
“It’s the same fanaticism that you see storming your embassies today,” Netanyahu added, in reference to the wave of violent protests rocking American embassies in the Muslim world. “You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?”
The leaked misinformation reported by the NYT is likely meant to distract from the damaging, deadly, ramifications of a close connection between Egypt and Iran developing.
