See nothing – hear nothing

July 31, 2015 by Michael Kuttner
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Reverberations from the misconceived and much touted Vienna agreement continue to rumble forth on a daily basis…writes Michael Kuttner.

Michael Kuttner

Michael Kuttner

Just as defenders of the calamitous Munich agreement frantically pulled out all stops to justify it and incidentally with the aid of most of the newspapers of the day denigrated all those who warned of its toxic consequences, so today, the same methods are being employed to sell an odiously flawed piece of paper.

A parade of US administration officials from the President down, are testifying that this agreement is the best thing since sliced bread and that rejection by Congress & the Senate will be a calamity of epic proportions. These declarations remind me of the frenetic expressions of support that issued forth when Neville Chamberlain arrived back from Munich. Reading through an analysis of what transpired then, I was struck by the eerie similarities to today’s situation.

According to historical scholars, Chamberlain’s supporters settled for hope over other credible options. British foreign policy at the time was predicated in favor of allowing Germany to play the part of a good European power. It is obvious that the Munich agreement helped rather than hindered the escalation of events which lead to war. They were only too keen to sacrifice a democracy in order to avoid a confrontation. Chamberlain and his advisers blinded themselves to Hitler’s real intentions.

Just update the names and you get the exact same scenario we now face. During this past week we witnessed more manifestations of how this flawed agreement is emboldening Iran and its proxy terror associates and how at the same time those frenetically trying to sell it prefer to ignore the gathering writing on the wall.

The Nazis made no secret of their ultimate plan to murder Jews. Likewise Iran and its proxies publicly proclaim the same intentions. Now as then the rest of the world prefers to look the other way and ignore the warning signals. One lesson Jews should have learned from the Holocaust is to take very seriously threats aimed at their delegitimization and destruction and not to place their fate into the hands of those who at the end of the day will not save them.

Examples of the ongoing toxic side effects of the Iranian appeasement abound.

An amazing revelation came to light this week. Apparently in addition to Iran getting 24 days advanced  warning of a possible inspection it has been revealed that if and when inspectors desire to visit the Parchin secret nuclear facility, the Iranians themselves will be allowed to gather soil samples and then hand it over to the IAEA. Can you conceive a more hare-brained arrangement than this one designed to deceive and conceal?

Obama continues to downplay Iranian funding of terror groups and denies that the massive inflow of funds will in fact increase the likelihood of more terror.

Kerry blithely dismisses all criticisms and instead prepares the ground for a vicious backlash by stating that Israel will be solely blamed and punished for any rejection of this deal. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister meanwhile visits the US Secretary of State and waxes eloquent in praising this tainted bill of goods. In fact he advocates a major role for the UN Security Council in forcing some sort, any sort of peace deal on Israel, not realizing that the UN is the least qualified body to impose anything.

UN Inspectors have admitted that Syria lied to them and in actual fact hid its chemical arsenal. Even when this deception was brought to the attention of Western Governments they refused to confront Assad and nothing has been done about it. This should ring warning bells and serve as an omen of what will happen when Iran cheats as it is bound to do. Need one have any more proof of the mendaciousness and total ineffectiveness of international guarantees?

Hollande of France has stated that he will ask the Iranian President for help in resolving Middle East crises. Imagine, the biggest sponsor of terror which vows to eliminate another UN member is now being petitioned to act as a benevolent peace maker. You couldn’t make this up.

Amnesty International reports an unprecedented spike in executions in Iran which indicates judicially sanctioned killings on a mass scale. Apparently the US led stampede to appease the Mullahs of Tehran did not include any demand to respect human rights and protection of minorities. As in the past, a collective moral bankruptcy on the part of the international community trumps any other considerations.

Hezbollah which is funded and supported by Iran has warned this week that Israel is a cancer which must be eliminated. Can anyone doubt that they have become emboldened by the spectacle of Iran triumphing over the weak kneed American driven negotiators?

After thousands of demonstrators marched through Tehran chanting death to America, John Kerry’s response when questioned in Congress on this was “chants of death to America does not actually prove that Iran wants to destroy the USA.” Knowing that no such demonstration can take place without the express approval and support of the Iranian authorities, one can only marvel at the naivety of those who think it a harmless charade.

A few days ago I read an interview with an Iranian journalist who now lives in exile in Germany. This is what she had to say about the much touted agreement: “the architecture behind the global policy is an incredible willingness to appease the dictators and to just get over this conflict. It is essentially in fact a business deal. The concept is that this deal will allow billions of dollars to flow into the coffers of the Iranian leadership. That is supposed to give them less of an incentive to build a nuclear weapon. It is basically a bribe. That didn’t work with North Korea or elsewhere because you cannot build a whole policy based on the hope that with enough money bad people will not do bad things. That is naïve and stupid. You cannot construct policy based on that hope.”

Reacting to Kerry’s impending visit to the Middle East which will not include Israel, Bibi Netanyahu has reportedly quipped that while we might not have been at the negotiating table we are certainly one of the courses on the menu itself.

Despite every indication that this agreement will be a train wreck of gigantic proportions those who negotiated it are now promoting its illusory virtues. Once again the same dead-end road is being traversed by people who refuse to see and hear the voices of hate and deceit. When the inevitable crunch occurs nobody can say they were not warned.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.

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