ISSUE ONE:
Remember the treaty on conventional forces in Europe?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty...rces_in_Europe
It was big news in 1990, and among the more noteworthy provisions of the treaty was the ability of NATO and the (then) Warsaw Pact to literally drive -- or in some case fly by helicopter -- with little warning onto the military bases of the other side and demand to look into buildings, factories, warehouses, gyms, almost any building with a door more than ten feet wide, and look for tanks, APC's, artillery, rocket launchers, etc. It was the most intrusive and bulletproof inspection and verification protocols ever devised. (Which is probably why earlier this year, with ZERO public notice, the Russians renounced the treaty).
But the point is: a treaty in the form of "I promise I won't ..." is meaningless without strict full unannounced intrusive inspection protocols. And the Iran nuclear treaty doesn't have anywhere near enough inspection provisions.
Somewhat related. See the photograph below. It's from Davis-Monthan AFB, the "grave yard" of American military aircraft. Q. Why are the B-52 (nuclear bombers) sitting there chopped up, with the broken-off wings, noses and tails neatly displayed next to the mutilated airframe? A. So the Russians can use any satellite image to insure that they were rendered non-flyable. That's a requirement under the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty).
Trust, but verify, said President Reagan.
For Iran, I would say "Don't trust, and damn well verify."
ISSUE TWO:
The United States, and the other six nations on our side of the Iran nuclear deal agree to lift sanctions.
Now the Iranians can withdraw money from banks; land their tankers, merchant ships, and aircraft in other countries. Look at the treaty, at least half of the text is a listing of every Iranian corporation that does business overseas, every Iranian airliner, every Iranian cargo ship by name and registry number. They are all legal now.
In fact, expect Irainan caviar and pistachio nuts to soon appear at a food store near you. I am not making this up, see Clause 5.1.3, at page 67 of the text of the treaty below.
So, I ask. What happens if Iran donates SAM equipment to a terrorist organization for destroying civilian airliners? Or smuggles another cargo of weapons into Gaza (see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Affair).
If the signatory nations, especially the United States, impose sanctions on the Iranians, WE are in violation of the treaty, and give Iran the green light for nuclear weapon development.
It looks to me that the Iranians have bought freedom of maneuver from allied sanctions for the next 10-15 years, provided they don't get caught working on unauthorized nuclear weapon research or development, a goal they may or may not have had anyway.
They get relief from multi-billion dollar sanctions, for the next 10-15 years. We get pistachio nuts.
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