Great Pieces by Trita Parsi and Hans Kristensen
Posted: May 15, 2014 Filed under: Nuclear 3 CommentsI’ve read two exceptionally good pieces today that I just wanted to highlight for readers. One is by Trita Parsi in Foreign Policy, entitled “No, Sanctions Didn’t Force Iran to Make a Deal.” In this piece I think Trita gives a tour de force rebuttal to what he accurately describes as the establishment myth coming out of the current negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran. Hossein Mousavian has made similar arguments, as I noted a few months ago.
The second is a piece in Arms Control Today by Hans M. Kristensen, entitled “Nuclear Weapons Modernization: A Threat to the NPT?” I’m actually kind of surprised that ACT published this piece. It seems a bit lefty and anti-USG for them. But I’m certainly glad they did. The piece gives a good overview of nuclear weapons modernization programs in the nuclear weapons possessing states, and links them directly (and correctly) to NPT Article VI. It’s exactly these kinds of arguments that the Marshall Islands are going to have to make in their cases before the International Court of Justice against the United Kingdom, India, and Pakistan.
Arms Control Law 
Unfortunately Trita insists on repeating the myth of a “fraudulent election” in 2009 despite not only the total lack of evidence of fraud but also there ead no need for fraud since the reformist Mousavi was himself a regime-insider who had served as PM and was vetted and cleared to run for office. He was no dissident. Furthermore the same pollsters he’s citing also concluded that Ahmadinejad had won the 2009 elections.. In fact candidate Mousavi criticized Ahmadinejad’s acceptance of the Turkey/Brazil brokered deal, which was killed off by Obama even after Iran had said yes.
I suppose one myth has to be replaced by another.
Yes, that’s fair. I know there is an ongoing dispute about what happened in 2009.
The sanctions have encouraged the Europeans to make a deal, because sanctions work on both buyers and sellers, and the European economy is sick partly a result of the sanctions.