Tag Archives: John Kerry

Jul 22 2014

Obama desperate to save Hamas from defeat!


Kerry and Ban in truce bid to save Hamas from defeat. Israel holds reply. Cairo won’t amend truce proposal

Re-Post from DEBKAfile Special Report July 21, 2014, 11:59 PM (IDT)

US and UN Secretaries get together on Gaza truce

US and UN Secretaries get together on Gaza truce

Three rival groups are in a tug-o’-war over a ceasefire initiative for the Gaza conflict: The US and UN are pulling one way; Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the other; and Qatar, Turkey, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, are trying to manipulate the others.

Monday night, July 21, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo to press their case with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi: Kerry’s directive was outlined by President Barack Obama a few hours earlier, “to focus on bringing about a ceasefire than ends the fighting and can stop the death of innocent civilians.”
Ban came from Doha, Qatar, as part of a whistle stop tour of Kuwait City, Jerusalem, Cairo, Ramallah and Amman. Upon landing in Cairo, he told reporters: “The violence must stop, it must stop now. I urge all parties to stop violence unconditionally and return to dialogue.”

Reported to be pushing for a long-term ceasefire, the UN Secretary went on to comment that it was impossible to go back to the situation that caused the conflict. He ruled out the “status quo ante” for the Gaza Strip as untenable.

This was an indirect vote of support for Hamas’s terms for a ceasefire, such as ending the blockade on the Gaza Strip and reopening all the crossings.

The UN Secretary had nary a word to say about the Palestinian Islamists’ long record of terrorism, culminating last month in the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers, the shooting of 1,850 rockets at the Israeli population in less than a month and the network of secret tunnels dug especially to burrow under the Israeli border for attacks and kidnappings.
After hearing the two comments, Hamas’ political leader Meshaal Hamas called off the statement he had planned to issue Monday night from his base in Qatar. He saw he had no need to push any further to win the support of the UN and US officials. They were already on his side and he could count on them both to twist Israel’s arm for an early ceasefire to rescue Hamas from defeat before its terrorist machine was completely ravaged by Israeli troops.

Hamas officials also rejected suggestions floated for a long-term humanitarian ceasefire.
Following reports that Cairo had agreed to give in to Hamas demands, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri said firmly that Cairo is not willing to amend its former truce initiative.

The Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had won Saudi endorsement for this proposal in two conversations they held in the last few days. It is based essentially on a ceasefire which, if it holds, would be followed by separate Egyptian talks with Israel and Hamas on future arrangements.
This proposal was accepted by Israel and snubbed by Hamas, which continued to shoot rockets instead. Israel reacted four days ago, by sending ground troops into the Gaza Strip to finally dismantle Hamas’ long-running terror machine.

That Hamas stands by its negative response to the Egyptian ceasefire initiative was underscored by Gaza Prime Minster Ismail Haniya in a pre-recorded statement Monday from his hideout: “Hamas will fight with blood before giving up its terms,” he said. “Their [Israel’s] air strikes did not break us, and neither will their ground attacks.”

Hama leaders have grasped that the truce initiatives promoted by Kerry and Ban will essentially allow them to carry on as before with certain benefits thrown in. As of writing this report, the Netanyahu government has not reacted to the web of ceasefire diplomacy being woven. His silence can be interpreted in three ways:
1. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been running Israel’s campaign against Hamas in close rapport with Saudi King Abdullah and President El-Sisi, is saving his biggest gun – flat rejection of their truce proposals – for use in direct encounters with Kerry and Ban when they arrive in Jerusalem Tuesday, July 22.

2. The IDF needs more time to complete its missions, which are to destroy Hamas’ network of terror tunnels and disarm, or at least degrade, its rocket and military infrastructure.
3.  Netanyahu is keeping his cards close to his chest for a reckoning with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, touted as go-between in the ceasefire bid, over his threat Monday to bring charges of war crimes against Israel before the international court in The Hague and UN institutions, as well as accusations of apartheid.
The prime minister may well stipulate that Kerry and Ban rein in the Palestinian leader before Israel gives its attention to any requests for joining a ceasefire.

Jul 19 2014

Obama, Kerry and Hillary can’t seem to negotiate anything can they!


Iran nuclear talks end with deadline extended

Re Post from Yahoo by Simon Sturdee with Jo Biddle in Washington

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif give a press statement in Vienna, on July 18, 2014
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Vienna (AFP) – Marathon talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna ended Saturday after negotiators gave themselves four more months to try and bridge major gaps and strike a historic nuclear deal.

New rounds of talks were expected in the coming weeks, with the date and place yet to be decided, diplomats said.

“While we have made tangible progress on some of the issues and have worked together on a text (for a deal)… there are still significant gaps on some core issues,” lead negotiator and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told journalists in the early hours of Saturday.

The talks will now continue until November 24, she added.

Under the terms of the extension, the United States said it would unblock some $2.8 billion (2.1 billion euros) in frozen funds, in return for Iran converting a quarter of its 20-percent enriched uranium stocks — which can be used to make a bomb — into fuel.

American officials spoke of resuming talks, perhaps at expert level, in August, with the UN general assembly in September also expected to provide a stage for the next phase of negotiations.

In a statement repeated in Farsi by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Ashton said the parties would “reconvene in the coming weeks… with the clear determination to reach agreement… at the earliest possible moment”.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a press …

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a press conference after talks over Tehran’s nuclear  …

Last November, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany agreed an interim deal under which the Islamic republic froze certain nuclear activities for six months in return for some sanctions relief.

The deadline for a lasting deal was July 20, with the sides having the option of extending.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who also tried to broker a breakthrough in Vienna earlier this week, said Friday that the extension was “warranted by the progress we’ve made.”

“To turn our back prematurely on diplomatic efforts when significant progress has been made would deny ourselves the ability to achieve our objectives peacefully,” Kerry said.

“A lot of work has been done and we’ve agreed… that we would like to try and complete this process and to take this extra time in order to do that,” Ashton also said in a statement Saturday.

“We are determined to make sure that the agreement is a very good one.”

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Catherine Ashton (R), EU foreign policy chief, and …

Catherine Ashton (R), EU foreign policy chief, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lea …

– Extending breakout –

The final deal would ease fears that despite its denials Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons after a decade of atomic expansion.

But it is highly ambitious and fiendishly complex.

The six powers want Iran to dramatically reduce its nuclear programme for a lengthy period of time and agree to more intrusive UN inspections.

This would expand the time needed for Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon, while giving the world ample warning of any such “breakout” push.

The two sides are believed to have narrowed their positions in recent weeks on a few issues such as the Arak reactor, which could give Iran weapons-grade plutonium, and enhanced inspections.

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A general view of a heavy water plant in Arak, 320 …

A general view of a heavy water plant in Arak, 320 kms south of Tehran, 26 August 2006 (AFP Photo/At …

But they remain far apart on the key issue of Iran’s capacities to enrich uranium, a process which can produce fuel for reactors but also the core of a nuclear bomb.

– Unlocking of funds –

The terms of the extension call for Iran to turn medium-enriched uranium into reactor fuel, which will make it “very difficult for Iran to use this material for a weapon in a breakout scenario,” Kerry said.

Although Washington will unblock some of Iran’s funds, “the vast majority of its frozen oil revenues will remain inaccessible,” he added.

Over the past six months, Iranian oil sales have brought in a further $25 billion, on top of the about $100 billion already frozen in accounts around the world, according to US officials.

But both the US and Iran face tough domestic pressure.

US lawmakers, widely supportive of Iran’s arch enemy Israel, have threatened to ramp up sanctions without a sufficiently rigorous agreement.

Iran’s negotiators in turn face pressure from hardliners, who view the United States as the ultimate enemy and oppose any agreement seen as a concession.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, on a visit to Cairo, said Saturday he hoped that with the new deadline, Iran will “at last make the necessary choices that we expect to reach a complete, credible and lasting agreement.”

His German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for Iran to “show it is ready to dispel all doubts” about its nuclear intentions.

The next few months “could be the last and best chance for a long time to end this nuclear argument peacefully,” he warned.

The Iranian exiled opposition in Paris meanwhile slammed the extension as “providing time to the mullahs for further deception.”

Jul 17 2014

Poor Obama, he just can’t get Iran to give up their Nuke


Not that many of us thought that Obama and Kerry were serious about stopping Iran from getting nukes but this is really ridiculous.  Extend the deadline because you are so far apart that you can’t even talk; obviously these clowns have never negotiated anything!

Re Post from Powerline by Paul Mirengoff Posted on July 16, 2014

The Iran nuclear negotiations — slow motion defeat for the U.S.

John Kerry reportedly is preparing to extend the deadline for negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. Evidently, the two sides are too far apart to reach an agreement by the deadline date of Sunday, July 20. In fact, as Seth Mandel points out, they are sufficiently at loggerheads that they plan to stop talking before the deadline is reached.

Why are the two sides so far apart? Probably because Iran has no serious incentive to reach a deal.

America’s incentive to reach one is as strong as ever. Obama wants a piece of paper that he can tout as a foreign policy success. He also wants to preempt an Israeli attack against Iran by insisting that he has negotiated a satisfactory resolution. Israel is unlikely to put much faith in the piece of paper, but will be under immense pressure to “give peace a chance.”

By contrast, Iran’s incentive to reach a deal is now vastly diminished. The incentive that drove the mullahs to the bargaining table last year was the sanctions regime and its debilitating impact on the Iranian economy.

But thanks to the considerable relief President Obama granted Iran from sanctions last year, the Iranian economy has picked up substantially. Eli Lake reports that, according to a new study, Iran’s economy is now growing at a rate of about 2 percent per year. That’s a modest number, but a huge improvement over the 6.6 percent contraction of 2012-13.

The study estimates the value of Obama’s economic relief at $11 billion over the last six months. The value of the relief extends beyond the additional money Iran was permitted to obtain through oil sales and from the release of funds from global banks. According to Mark Dubowitz, author of the study, the de-escalation of sanctions has improved international sentiment towards the Iranian economy, thereby encouraging investors and bankers to risk doing business with Iran.

Dubowitz says that when these factors are taken into account, the overall value of the relaxed sanctions will likely exceed the $20 billion per year that he originally predicted.

With its economy recovering, Iran has little incentive to reach an agreement. In theory, Obama could try to revive the prior sanctions regime which, in theory, might reverse Iran’s economic recovery.

But Iran understands that (1) Obama is highly unlikely to walk away from the table, much less go back to square one with sanctions, since to do so would be to admit failure and (2) as we suggested at the time of the original deal, the old sanctions regime probably cannot be restored in any event given the need for international cooperation.

Thus it is not surprising that, in the words of a State Department official, “Iran has not moved from their—from our perspective—unworkable and inadequate positions that would not in fact assure us that their program is exclusively peaceful.” Why should they?

And so we’re left with the status quo, which is, by the State Department’s own admission “unworkable and inadequate.” As I said at the time the original deal was struck, “The mullahs got an easing of sanctions [and] retained their capacity to go nuclear in short order.”

Obama and Kerry blew it. Mandel concludes:

[They] had leverage: economic sanctions. They used up much of that leverage just to get the Iranians to the table, and now the Iranian leadership wants to run out the clock.

Thanks to the weakening of the sanctions, and the lack of stronger sanctions to begin with, they’re in a position to do so. And Kerry seems prepared to play along.