Counting In Sevens Analysis

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will renew America’s security and standing in the world through a new era of American leadership. The Obama-Biden foreign policy will end the war in Iraq responsibly, finish the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, secure nuclear weapons and loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and renew American diplomacy to support strong alliances and to seek a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Iran Deal was made by President Obama this past July to stop Iran from building any nuclear weapons. The U.S. has had several controversies with Middle Eastern countries in the past. One of Matthews’ political concepts is to “keep your enemies in front of you.” Although the U.S is trying to improve the relationships between these countries, such as creating an alliance with Israel, the Middle East is still a major concern. By making this agreement with Iran, President Obama has given the U.S. the opportunity to keep an eye on the “enemies.” However, if either nation decides to break any prior promises, we could go to a long and costly war. Using Matthews’ tactic to see the enemy, and a with a drastic alternative for both countries, we can have more confidence that this conflict will not

Mr. Kerry and Mr. Zarif have failed to come to an agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons programs because they have failed to listen to each other, failed to ask questions in order to be knowledgeable and find the truth of the matter, and do not understand each other’s “terministic screens”. This means that they are simply creating an exigence and making it salient, but will never move past that point into an agreement because they have forgotten what it means to be a true and ethical rhetorician. Both Kerry and Zarif have talked with the intention of not listening, or only pretending to listen, to each other. The tension and dilemmas have quickly escalated and no one has come close to reaching an agreement that will ease tensions between the two. In fact, the violence is increasing and the chances of negotiation are quickly decreasing with the latest news reports indicating that negotiations have been extended once again by seven months.

On the White House website, a 112 pages’ document called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) gives some detailed about the deal with Iran. It says that the deal:

According to the National Research Council, “further progress in this area depends to a large extent on the results of bilateral U.S.-Russian cooperation” (U.S. National Academies Committee 2004: 13). The Obama administration took assertive steps in securing a disarmament treaty with Russia, an essential part of a grander strategy that targets the entire global community. With Russia as an ally, the U.S. gains more leverage in addressing the developing nuclear program in North Korea, a serious mutual concern for both countries (U.S. National Academies Committee 2004: 14). In regards to numerous issues on which U.S. and Russia hold contrasting points of view, such as the nuclear program in Iran, an effort to gain valuable compromise holds potentially greater benefits than military action or economic sanctions. President Obama seems to be taking deliberate steps towards achieving his long-term goals involving diplomatic effort and multilateral cooperation despite Americans’ growing concerns with domestic issues.

Obama then talked about diplomatic efforts overseas, such as in Syria and how Syrians want to get rid of Bashar Al-Assad. Also he announced that U.S. exists for the Palestinian people; however, Israelis should exist too and be secure. Finally, he asked the Congress to allow negotiations with Iran to dissolve the nuclear weapon issue.

World powers suspect Iran has been dishonest about its nuclear program and is seeking the ability to harness their nuclear power to build a nuclear bomb. Iran believes it has the right to nuclear energy and is adamantly stressing that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, even though they have been conducting suspicious research as well as publically stating that a goal of their state is to destroy Israel. As the secretary of State, you, John Kerry, have the ability to travel the higher road by reducing the sanctions. As our planet and global economy evolves, so should our policies. You have the ability to decrease the sanctions placed on Iran as well as the ability to keep Iran in line. An era of reduced sanctions and economic

The U.S. and Iran used to have a great relationship back in the day. President Jimmy Carter even spent New Year 's Eve in 1977 with the Shah, and toasted Iran as "an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world".(Bakhtavar) This just goes to show how close the two countries were at the time. But all that changed later into the 1970’s when a series of unfortunate events eventually lead to the complete deterioration of US and Iran relations. These events shifted U.S. Iran relations in a way that still impacts both countries. Even to this day the US have expressed their dislike of the Iranian regime. Similarly, the Iranian leaders have shown their dislike, more like hatred, for the United States. But that brings up the

Like you, I also selected Iran for this week's topic of discussion in my post. While at one point, Iran was our ally, our relations with them have been very difficult and as you mentioned rocky. There have been several conflicts between Iran and the United States that caused both of them to lose trust in each other. There are hesitation and mistrust until this day. The Iranian hostage crisis and the Iranian passenger plane that was shot down in 1988 heavily influenced this mistrust. President Obama worked to improve these relations and as you mentioned, I do hope that our next President can continue to work on relations with Iran.

have nuclear and hydrogen weapons, but for Iran, which is not a member of NATO and its security is not guaranteed by any country in the world, the simple principle of self-defense becomes so problematic?” (Vaez, 2017). The JCPOA satisfies Iran’s demand for increased influence while maintaining the priority of international nuclear stability. With worldwide peace and proliferation safeguards an international interest, the United States should utilize a selective engagement mindset, specifically in regards to a great powers focus, to maintain leverage and unity within the multilateral agreement, “Selective engagement endeavors to ensure peace among powers that have substantial industrial and military potential – the great powers” (Posen, & Ross, 2000). By prioritizing vital interests, the great powers can develop a collaborative and effective strategy to force Iranian nuclear cessation and maintain unity to avoid Iranian partnerships with nations seeking to increase their sphere of influence. Additionally, the international response to Iran establishes a

US officials assert that the Administration seeks to renegotiate the JCPOA, or negotiate a separate accord, to address the full range of U.S. concerns on Iran. The other powers that negotiated the accord with Iran—Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany—assert that the JCPOA is succeeding in its core objectives and that its implementation should not be jeopardized.

Over 30 years in latter part of September 2013, for the first time in 30 years, the president of the United States spoke with the president of Iran

Still, Iran continuously denies that its nuclear objectives are to construct atomic weapons, but a large majority of the international community remains skeptical to the legitimacy of this claim due to the secrecy of Iran’s productions and their refusal to cooperate with the IAEA on several notable occasions. However, in defense over the concerns pertaining to the secrecy of Iran’s program, Iran’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Javad Zarif, claims Western tension and dwindling support for Iran’s early nuclear energy programs forced Tehran with no choice but to continue their nuclear activities in a discreet matter. Zarif wrote in Colombia University’s Journal of International Affairs, “To avoid the

A critical examination of public statements made by EU officials and the content of CEPS EU-Iran workshop show an apparent lack of strategic imperative in EU-Iran negotiations during the post-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) period. Furthermore, it does not identify a coordinated EU effort in its relations with Iran or a planned approach which would synchronize and subordinate nation-level policies within all 28 EU Member States. This lack of a pan-European strategy, along with its centralized coordinating instruments at the EU Commission level, should be analyzed in coordination with an appropriate transatlantic committee.

In the seminar, Osman Saleh said, "We want to work with the US. It is important that we work with them. The Obama administration is gone! This administration seems to have limited understanding of the developments. Hence, we must make all efforts to educate and work with the administration"