Why Iran Hawks Can't Be Honest About What They Really Want

[Purveyor]

Senator Lindsey Graham was for the interim deal with Iran before he was against it.

Sorry, let me back up. In 2013, as a major first step in securing a nuclear deal, Iran and the US, along with other world powers, agreed to an interim deal known as the Joint Plan of Action. The agreement froze Iran's nuclear program and lifted some economic sanctions temporarily, as a hold-over until the countries could reach a final, comprehensive agreement.

As The Hill's Jordan Fabian points out today in a sharp article, at the time Sen. Graham was outraged by the interim deal, saying "you can't trust the Iranians" and pledging that Congress would pass new sanctions, thus violating America's commitment in the interim deal and killing it.

Now, as Fabian notes, Graham suddenly loves the interim deal. He's said the US should not sign a comprehensive final deal with Iran at all, but rather should just stick to the interim agreement for the remainder of President Obama's time in office. The interim deal "has worked pretty well for the world," he said on Face the Nation, but the US should "not do a final deal" until Obama leaves office. In other words, he wants to halt the diplomatic process outright.

Graham's spokesman explained to Fabian that the senator "wasn’t wild about the interim deal when it was announced but it’s looking better in light of what President Obama is now discussing."

If you want to understand Graham's seemingly baffling flip-flop, you need to understand that Iran hawks like Graham believe that Obama is focusing on the wrong issue. The fundamental problem isn't Iran's nuclear program, they believe: it's that the Iranian regime is so fundamentally evil that America's only viable choice is to destroy it outright. But proposing war with Iran is wildly unpopular, so they can’t actually say that. Instead they need to say something else — something less unpopular — that makes a deal impossible.

more...

http://www.vox.com/2015/4/10/8379927/iran-hawks-lindsey-graham

[malthaussen]

1. I doubt we can trust the Iranians.

I know we can't trust Senator Graham.

-- Mal

[GoneFishin]

2. And also the possibility suggested by others that they don't want relations with Iran to become good

enough to where the Iranian government might turn over documentation which proves concretely who was involved in the October Surprise used by the Reagan team to screw Jimmy Carter out of a second term.