For the Iran deal

The Obama administration is using the August recess to promote the Iran deal. We have reviewed President Obama’s speech last week at American University. It is an unsavory speech by a president who is losing the argument in the court of public opinion.

Obama himself has sunk to new depths to promote the deal. For the details, please see Lee Smith’s eloquent Tablet column on Obama’s invocation of Jewish scapegoats. Obama has brought us to an incredibly low moment of our history.

The administration has also released an open letter from 36 retired admirals and generals supporting the deal with Iran. Karen De Young reports on it here for the Washington Post; the Post has has also published the letter here. The letter provides a condensed version of talking points in favor of the deal. It may be impressive that the administration found 36 retired officers to sign the thing, but the thing is pathetic on its face.

Twenty-nine scientists and engineers “with an understanding of the science and technology of nuclear power and nuclear of weapons” have also sent a letter of support to President Obama himself. (Only 29?) They congratulate the president “on the successful completion of negotiations in Vienna.” The New York Times has posted the letter here.

Emily Landau is head of the arms control program at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. She responds to the scientists’ letter in “What 29 top US scientists don’t know.” Her response also serves to comment on the retired officers’ letter:

The recent letter of support sent to President Obama for his Iran deal secured last month – signed by 29 scientists, including Nobel laureates – was obviously well-timed to lend firmer scientific backing to what many regard as a severely flawed nuclear deal. This is an impressive group of individuals, with achievements that speak for themselves, and their opinions obviously matter. Yet, the very fact of their scientific achievements does not mean that their assessments of the deal are correct. Indeed, their collective judgment of the Iran deal must be assessed on its merits. And in this regard, unfortunately, more than anything else, the contents of the letter echo the well-known talking points of the Obama administration, and suffer from some of the same deficiencies….

I’m going with Landau and sticking with former Staff Sergeant Robert Bartlett (video below).

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses