Can France Save Obama from the Iran Nuclear Mess He Has Created?

President Barack Obama's may have permitted his desire for a nuclear agreement with Iran to get ahead of the reality of domestic American and allied politics. And it also may have provided a rapprochement in the enduring but always delicate French - American relationship. In the aftermath of the Geneva meetings that ended Sunday without an agreement, conservative American congressional leaders, fond of France-bashing in recent years, praised Paris for blocking an agreement between western powers and Iran over Teheran's nuclear program."Vive la France!" Republican Senator John McCain, the Senate's expert on national security issues, wrote on his Twitter account. "France had the courage to prevent a bad nuclear agreement with Iran," he said, referring to the Sunday announcement of the failure to reach an agreement with the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany. During the three days of non-stop negotiations in Geneva, France repeatedly voiced concerns over the emerging deal and its lack of guarantees, causing Iran to call France a negotiations spoil sport. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham didn't see it that way : "Thank God for France and thank God for push back," he said on "State of the Union," the CNN Sunday political events show, suggesting he favored more sanctions against Iran. "My fear is that we're going to wind up creating a North Korea-type situation in the Mideast, where we negotiate with Iran and one day you wake up...and you're going to have a nuclear Iran," Graham said. ~~~~~ So now, it would appear that President Obama's desire to get an Iran nuclear deal will depend on his ability to keep a lid on both conservatives in Congress and worried allies abroad. They are all worried that Obama may want a nuclear agreement with Iran so badly that he is willing to accept a deal that eases economic pressure on Iran too soon and gives it time to complete the development of a nuclear weapon. Republican Senator Bob Corker reflected the congressional tension over Obama's negotiating stance with Iran when he told NBC News, "But we're also concerned about an administration that seems really ready to jump into the arms of folks and potentially deal away some of the leverage we have." The truth may be close to Senator Corker's summary because Barack Obama is in the second year of his second term with nothing positive to show for his presidency. His health care law, never favored by a majority of Americans, is unravelling rapidly. He is mired in what conservatives and some moderates in Congress call lies and cover-ups over the Benghazi attack, the IRS political harassment program, the NSA worldwide electronic spying systems, and a failed Middle East policy, especially in Syria. An Iranian nuclear deal may be his last chance for a positive footnote in US presidential history. But Congress and US allies do not agree. According to those present, the talks in Geneva ended without agreement partly because American allies refuse to formally recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium, although Iran insists it does not have a nuclear bomb program and is enriching uranium for energy and medical uses. And France said it has concerns that proposed limits on Iran's ability to make nuclear fuel don't go far enough. France also balked over a planned heavy water reactor that would produce greater amounts of by-product plutonium that can be used to make nuclear weapons. US Secretary of State John Kerry later tried to minimize the French concerns, but the public comments of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius raised questions about cracks in the coalition. In exchange for nuclear concessions from Iran, the US and world powers are offering Teheran limited and reversible relief from sanctions that have strained its economy. But this is largely an Obama strategy and he faces opposition from both the US Congress and allies for his willingness to ease sanctions on Iran, even temporarily. Some, in fact, want to impose new economic sanctions on Iran. At Obama's request, a sanctions bill in the Senate Banking Committee is on hold, but it's unclear how long the Senators are willing to wait. Vice President Biden, Secretary Kerry and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough have talked with lawmakers and the White House is sending Kerry to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to ask the Senate Banking Committee to hold up the legislation once again. ~~~~~ American ally Israel sees Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon as a threat to its existence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the outline of the agreement that emerged last week as "the deal of the century" for Iran. His comment prompted Obama to call to reassure Netanyahu that the US still agrees about the need to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And Obama must also assuage the fears of other US Middle East allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have expressed their concerns about interim agreements that would allow Iran to keep enriching uranium. Kerry visited Saudi Arabia last week and stopped in Abu Dhabi on Monday after the Geneva talks recessed. Negotiations will resume in Geneva on November 20. ~~~~~ Dear readers, the Iranian nuclear deal seems very much to be turning into another Obamacare. President Obama would not and still will not listen to reasonable requests to alter course on Obamacare because he is determined to win on the basis of his first conception, flawed as it was by ignorance of the health care industry and economics and by inept leadership by his White House and departmental leadership. Concerning Obamacare, he appears to be willing to destroy the American health care system rather than admit he was wrong. And now, with the Iranian nuclear negotiation, Obama may be headed down a similar path. He does not accept the advice of those in the Middle East who understand Iran. He refuses to admit that France is in disagreement with his idea. He continues to assure Israel that he will protect its vital interests even while ploughing ahead with an idea that will put those interests in jeopardy. Only France has the power to save Obama from himself this time. I hope it works. As John McCain said, Vive la France!