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Obama's Iran "Framework"
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - The framework is only an "understanding" among Iran and the six powers because many of the specifics are still being negotiated. But Mr. Obama wanted to announce some agreement near his self-imposed March 31 deadline, lest Congress ratchet up sanctions on Iran. The general outline of the accord includes some useful limits on Iran, if it chooses to abide by them. All this would be somewhat reassuring if the U.S. were negotiating a nuclear deal with Holland or Costa Rica - that is, a law-abiding state with no history of cheating on nuclear agreements. But that's not Iran. The framework lacks the crucial "anywhere, anytime" inspections provision, even as Mr. Obama calls it the most intrusive ever. It was dispiriting to hear Mr. Obama resort to his usual false dilemma gambit that Americans have only two choices - his agreement or war. The truth is that the critics of his Iran framework do not want war. But they also don't want a phony peace to lead to a nuclear Middle East that leads to a far more horrific war a decade from now.