Limited Support for Iran Nuclear Agreement

Iran’s Leaders Seen as ‘Not Serious’ in Addressing Nuclear Concerns

http://www.people-press.org/2013/12/09/limited-support-for-iran-nuclear-agreement/

This article done by the Pew Research Center is a poll done on what percentage of the American public agree/disagree with the nuclear deal. According to Pew the majority of Americans (2,001 were polled) disprove with the deal 43%, 32% approve, and 25% do not have an opinion on the issue. Some of the more detailed numbers anyone could have guessed such as the majority of Republicans disapprove of it while the majority of Democrats approve of it. One thing that I found interesting about the survey is that it seems according to the numbers that the more educated a person is the more they seem to approve of the deal. Another big portion of the survey is do the American people think that Iranian leaders are serious about addressing issues about their nuclear program 62% seem to think their not. While this article probably won't have any impact on Iranian nuclear policy it is still an interesting tidbit of information pertaining to where the American public stands on the issue.

Iran Nuclear Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KjIJ3Ct6Kc

I came across this YouTube video that mocked the ability for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons by just calling a number and making purchase.  Once the Iran terrorist made the call weapons were delivered to him by what it appears to be President Obama.  Unfortunately, I could not recognize what character played the woman who took the call but I am sure the other character was an image of President Obama. Please take a moment to share your views about the video and declare a sense of meaning to what it may represent to you.

Iran, From Enemy to Ally

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/opinion/iran-from-enemy-to-ally.html?ref=nuclearprogram&_r=0

This article discusses how the nuclear deal with Iran could be a starting point for friendlier relations between them and the U.S, but that it would take time to develop a friendlier relationship with Iran. After reading this article I found it interesting that after the cold war the former allies/friends in the Middle East seem now to be our enemies. Iran was once on friendly relations with the U.S and formed along with Saudi Arabia President Nixon’s “Twin Pillar” Strategy to counter Soviet influence in the Middle East According to the article. Another interesting thing that the article points out is how Israel and Iran are both in the religious minority, Israel of course being a Jewish state and Iran being a Shiite state; while the majority of the Middle East are Sunni. Iran could also be an important ally against Al Qaeda because they too are opposed to them, which could make another good case to be on friendlier relations with them. The article points out that a barrier to a friendship between the U.S and Iran is Saudi Arabia and how they would react. Saudi Arabia is a major supply of oil and they could if a friendlier relationship with Iran develops limit or cut off the supply of oil to the U.S, which could be a road block to potential warmer relations. While this would not cripple U.S infrastructure it would raise the price of fuel. The author of the article states that this really would not hurt the U.S due to our new investments in the fracking industry. While I do agree that fracking is becoming a major source of U.S fuel I do not believe that the industry is strong enough to offset the lack of Saudi oil.

Hypocrites

http://beforeitsnews.com/libertarian/2012/12/us-nuke-tests-expose-us-real-intention-analyst-2472194.html
This cartoon was actually really amusing. It shows how we have double standards. We as a country have nuclear weapons and yet we are telling another country that they cannot. In the article that it talked about how just days ago the US actually conducted a nuclear test in Nebraska. I just think it is so crazy how little we know about what goes on in our own country. I think that the US is being very hypocritical when they tell Iran that they cannot have nuclear weapons and they are watching  every detail about what they are doing with their facilities. Yet, here in our country we are testing our weapons in underground facilities.

Timeline of Iran's nuclear programme

Major events in Iran's development of nuclear power since 2002.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/04/201241410645752218.html



This article is pretty straightforward it lays out a time line of important events from January 2002 - November 2013. I found it helpful to use as a quick reference for events and a good play by play of what went/is going on. The article does not go into any great detail about any of the events most points are a sentence or two i.e “US President George W Bush describes Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of evil", warning of the proliferation of long-range missiles being developed in these countries. The speech causes outrage in Iran and is condemned by reformists and conservatives alike.” However, it is a good starting point for a refresher course in Iranian nuclear development history. I found it funny how much I forgot or did not know about what was going on with this topic during the Bush presidency.

Cartoon View

larger view

This cartoon was drawn prior to negotiations being agreed upon. I just found it online and felt it was worth sharing because of who drew it. It was drawn by an Iranian who has been exiled. In this cartoon he is warning the US to be cautious and think before shaking hands on a deal with Iran. He reminds the US and everyone else of the human rights abuses that Iran has inflicted on it's people. Iran's foreign minister may look like someone that can be dealt with and maybe trusted, but the US should think twice and remain cautious when making negotiations. 

A Narcissistic US, An Anxious Saudi Arabia And A Hysterical Israel

http://www.eurasiareview.com/02122013-narcissistic-us-anxious-saudi-arabia-hysterical-israel-oped/

This is an opinion piece that I found on the eurasia review website. Pretty much, the author of the article relates the US, Saudi, and Israel to mental patients, ie. diagnosing each country with a psychological disorder. It's actually kind of funny, and makes you think about each country's role a little bit differently. The article personalizes the countries, making them human and relatable.

The US is diagnosed as a narcissist. Everything that the United States does is for power and control. It's all about their ego, whether it's a positive or negative decision. The US wants economic and military power over the rest of the world, another trait of narcissism and being power hungry. In addition, like a narcissist, the US gets easily bored with what they have, taking it for granted, and then finding another issue to concentrate on or another area to control or destroy.

Saudi has abandonment issues and an anxiety disorder. They are constantly worried about being dropped by the US as an ally and that the US will one day soon make amends with Iran and make them their strongest ally in the Middle East. This paranoia that Saudi has stems from the US narcissism, wherein the US is regularly lying and keeping things from the Saudi's. These fears of abandonment will manifest themselves in self-injury, which the Saudi's showed by not accepting a seat in the UN security council, basically throwing a tantrum.

Israel is hysterical. They are taking the Iran negotiations really hard and truly to heart. They are known to react emotionally to most situations, and this one is no different. They believe that their relationships with other countries, such as the US, are extremely intimate. Therefore, they feel like they have been betrayed by the interim deal. They feel highly threatened by an Iran nuclear program and continue to speak out against it in all forms of media, even going as far as asking American Jews to oppose their government for it's decisions.