French Official Reportedly Stated That Killing Iran Deal Would Lead To Better Deal

01 Aug, 2015 by William Teach

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Of course, almost any deal could be better than this turd sandwich

Top French Official Contradicts Kerry on Iran Deal

Secretary of State John Kerry has been painting an apocalyptic picture of what would happen if Congress killed the Iran nuclear deal. Among other things, he has warned that “our friends in this effort will desert us.” But the top national security official from one of those nations involved in the negotiations, France, has a totally different view: He told two senior U.S. lawmakers that he thinks a Congressional no vote might actually be helpful.

His analysis is already having an effect on how members of Congress, especially House Democrats, are thinking about the deal.

The French official, Jacques Audibert, is now the senior diplomatic adviser to President Francois Hollande. Before that, as the director general for political affairs in the Foreign Ministry from 2009 to 2014, he led the French diplomatic team in the discussions with Iran and the P5+1 group. Earlier this month, he met with Democrat Loretta Sanchez and Republican Mike Turner, both top members of the House Armed Services Committee, to discuss the Iran deal. The U.S. ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, was also in the room.

According to both lawmakers, Audibert expressed support for the deal overall, but also directly disputed Kerry’s claim that a Congressional rejection of the Iran deal would result in the worst of all worlds, the collapse of sanctions and Iran racing to the bomb without restrictions.

“He basically said, if Congress votes this down, there will be some saber-rattling and some chaos for a year or two, but in the end nothing will change and Iran will come back to the table to negotiate again and that would be to our advantage,” Sanchez told me in an interview. “He thought if the Congress voted it down, that we could get a better deal.”

This is followed by a blurb about the French embassy and Audibert denying the comments, but, the congress critters cited, as well as a few others, both Republican and Democrat, stand by their claim as to what Audibert said.

Audibert’s comments as recounted by the lawmakers are a direct rebuttal to Kerry, who in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations on July 24 said that if Congress voted down the deal, there would no chance to restart negotiations in search of a tougher pact. Kerry also said that Congressional rejection of the Iran deal would erode the U.S. credibility to strike any type of international agreement in the future. “Do you think the Ayatollah is going to come back to the table if Congress refuses this and negotiate again? Do you think that they’re going to sit there and other people in the world are going to say, hey, let’s go negotiate with the United States, they have 535 secretaries of State?” Kerry said. “I mean, please.”

That’s a rather Authoritarian comment, wouldn’t you say? Last time I checked, the Constitution enabled the election of citizens to represent the interests of the nation’s citizens.

Q: Does the world stand with the U.S. in supporting the #IranDeal?
A: Very much so → http://t.co/HFlEmHIIFv

— The Iran Deal (NARA) (@TheIranDeal) July 30, 2015

That was retweeted by the White House and Josh Earnest (Press Secretary), among others.

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/627139635114823681

Every poll has the deal underwater. But, hey, good news, China is thrilled by this deal

As members of Congress debate whether to back the deal over Iran’s nuclear program, one source of support seems guaranteed — China. It’s one of the biggest winners in the agreement, with the lifting of sanctions as Iran pulls back key elements of its enrichment program set to allow Beijing to deepen its historic partnership with Tehran. While China is undoubtedly eyeing the potential economic benefits, Beijing also likely sees an opportunity to challenge U.S. influence in the Middle East.

Russia would likewise see more money and influence in the region. Syria and many terrorist groups would see more support from an Iran flush with cash. Iran would have more influence and control of the region. And could restart their nuclear program in just eight years. What, exactly, is the benefit for the interests of the United States, the nation Kerry and Obama are supposed to represent?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.