Lucas: Obama’s Iran Deal Falls Woefully Short
Obama’s Iran Deal Falls Woefully Short
By Congressman Frank Lucas
“This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification.” — President Barack Obama
This is how the president characterized and defended his recent agreement with Iran to delay the country’s nuclear development program. The deal today looks much different than the president’s originally stated mission to outright prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Unfortunately this latest agreement is nothing more than a speed bump in Iran’s long march toward an atomic bomb.
President Obama’s self-styled landmark deal looks more like the shortsighted product of a legacy-minded, second term president whose time in office is ticking away. The result is a watered down deal that simply delays a pathway to a nuclear Iran, rather than outright preventing it. In exchange for Iran’s cooperation, the United States has vowed to lift sanctions that have been crippling Iran’s economy for years.
One report from economists at Bank of America predicted Iran’s economy would be nearly twice its current size without sanctions. Needless to say, sanctions have been our most significant bargaining chip short of military action, and we are trading it in to merely delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions.