While the nuclear agreement with Tehran was sold to the American people through elaborate deceptions, writes Ben Cohen, its effects are all too real. Among them is the fact that eight years of efforts to realign the U.S. with the Islamic Republic have created policies that will be difficult to reverse:
The expectation that the [deal] would lead to a new era of Iranian power has come to pass. The Iranians do not have carte blanche to do as they please, but any restraints on them are likely to be imposed by the Russians rather than the Americans.
What started as a delusion stoked by the Obama administration has now become a strategic point of departure. The two key measures for dealing with Iranian aggression—robust sanctions and military action—have virtually disappeared at a time when the war in Syria is intensifying and fears of a new Hizballah assault on Israel are increasing. For that reason, the question of why so many influential Americans bought into the Iran delusion will be superseded by a much more urgent one: how to stop the Iranian advance during the next American presidency.
Read more on Fathom: http://fathomjournal.org/how-obama-sold-the-iran-delusion/