WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE JCPOA

New JerseyThe Nuclear Deal With Iran Is A CalculatedRisk That Is Decidedly Worth Taking“The nuclear deal with Iran is a calculated risk that is decidedly worth taking. The risk isthat by lifting potent economic sanctions, it will strengthen Iran’s sputtering economy,empowering an avowed enemy of the United States and its allies in the Middle East.That is enough for both Israel and some Sunni Arab states to oppose the agreement,and it is a valid concern that President Obama will have to address as Congress debatesthis over the next few months. Iran and its proxies are defending the brutal Assadregime in Syria, provoking Sunni-Shiite tensions in places like Yemen, and supportingterrorists groups that are devoted to the destruction of Israel, including Hamas andHezbollah. And this agreement focuses solely on the question of nuclear arms; it makesno demand that Iran change its behavior in the region. But critics of the deal tend toignore two hard realities. One is that Iran is well along on the path to building nuclearweapons, and will surely acquire them if this agreement is rejected. Even if sanctions arekept in place, a nuclear Iran would be far more dangerous.”– Star-Ledger, 7/15/15NevadaThe Criticisms Center More On What The Treaty Doesn’t Do Than What ItDoes, And On The More Existential Idea That You Don’t Make Deals With AnEnemy. But This Deal Is In Fact Remarkable For What It Didn’t Have To Do ToAccomplish Something Of Paramount Importance To The U.S. And The World.“The criticisms center more on what the treaty doesn’t do than what it does, and onthe more existential idea that you don’t make deals with an enemy. But this deal is infact remarkable for what it didn’t have to do to accomplish something of paramountimportance to the U.S. and the world. It doesn’t normalize relations between the twocountries. Obama noted Iran’s ongoing support of terrorism and its funding and useof proxies such as Hezbollah to destabilize parts of the Middle East. He stressed thatU.S. sanctions over human-rights violations and other issues will continue…It’s farfrom perfect, but it makes the world safer than it would have been. And maybe moreimportant, it shows the potential for finding areas of shared interest and collaborationeven between opponents.”– Las Vegas Sun, 7/26/15