Never fear to negotiate — the Iran deal

Four days after the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, I'm still channeling quotes from JFK: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."

That sage advice from 52 years ago came to mind after reading about the angry objections to the deal negotiated by the United States and European powers with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions. While Secretary of State John Kerry touted the deal's limits on Iran's enrichment of uranium and its openness to increased international inspections, the government of Israel and some members of Congress slammed the deal as an open door to Iranian nuclear arms.

The deal is an interim agreement, not a final treaty. In the interim, Iran agrees to stop enriching uranium beyond the 5% level and to dilute the 20% enriched uranium it already has. Along with open inspections of nuclear facilities, the agreement is intended to prevent Iran from enriching uranium to weapons grade and, thereby, prohibit Iranian nuclear arms. In return, the Western powers agree to an easing of some trade sanctions against Iran, including the release of some Iranian money embargoed in Western banks.

One can easily argue that it's an imperfect deal — Iran might find a way to expand its stockpile of 5% enriched uranium and then back out of a permanent agreement. But what international treaty was ever foolproof? The West retains its right to reimpose the sanctions that forced Iran to agree to negotiations in the first place.

Rather than imposing even harsher sanctions on Iran, as some members of Congress have proposed, the United States should recognize victory when it happens. The sanctions worked. Iran was forced to negotiate an end to any nuclear weaponry ambitions it might have had (something the regime never admitted to). The United States' purpose in imposing these sanctions was to force Iran to give up any nuclear weapon plans. That goal has been achieved, at least for the interim. Further negotiations, along with the threat of renewed sanctions, can bring that goal to full realization. Unless Congress decides that what it really wants is not a peaceful relationship with Iran but war.

If a permanent deal with Iran works, the world will be safe from the possibility of Iranian nuclear bombs, and Iranian oil will return to the world market, further stabilizing the cost of energy, with economic benefits worldwide. The United States might even re-establish a cordial international relationship with Iran, something it has not had for more than 30 years. 

Coming soon to a beach near you

On a business trip to "Little Washington" Thursday, I squeezed in a five-minute visit with former colleague Ray McKeithan at his office at the Washington Daily News. Ray and I had worked together about 20 years ago when he was ad director at The Wilson Daily Times and I was editor. We've reconnected occasionally in the time since he left for greener pastures, and I was sorry I had only a few minutes to catch up. I'll have to drop in on him again sometime.

Topics at my business meeting ranged far and wide, but one topic of concern drew gasps — the likelihood that oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico could wind up on North Carolina beaches. This has been speculated in some news reports and scientific modeling, but to hear coastal residents discussing this as an issue we'll have to prepare for and face brought the topic close to home. One apparently knowledgeable participant in my meeting said oil was approaching the Florida Keys, and once it got that far, it would be only a matter of days before it flowed into the Gulf Stream and hurdled toward the North Carolina coast. Oil sheens and tar balls could be lapping up onto North Carolina's precious beaches before the summer's over, but that's not all. The oil could easily find its way into the Intracoastal Waterway. A hurricane or a smaller storm could push the oil even farther inland, up estuaries and tidal streams.

If the news from the Gulf and the apparent helplessness of the best petroleum engineers BP can hire were not enough to sour America on offshore drilling, the desecration of beaches in 10 or more states could alter the entire national attitude toward offshore drilling and petroleum in general. This incident — drilling for oil in mile-deep water while cutting corners on safety precautions with the complicity of lax or incompetent federal regulators — could become the Three Mile Island or the Love Canal of the oil industry. An overheated reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant soured the country on nuclear power, even though the environmental damage was minimal. A chemical company's uncaring poisoning of residents at Love Canal shocked America and led to stricter controls on chemical companies and the dumping of poisons.

Americans are angry over the apparent inability of BP and the government to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and are worried about the long-term environmental damage of this spill. The longer the oil continues to billow and the more oil that washes ashore or kills marine wildlife, the more willing Americans will be to clamp down on the powerful oil industry. They might even be willing to curtail their own use of oil by finding alternative energy supplies. Until they take that final step, oil sucked from underwater wells or delivered by huge tankers will remain a hazard to plants, seafood, animals and people.