I don’t know Paul Pillar or his politics. He could be a random drunk off the street for all I know. i do know is column on the Iran deal is nonsense on stilts. The reason I know that is this part:

For anyone who genuinely wants to avoid an Iranian nuclear weapon and whose attitude toward the nuclear negotiations with Iran has not been shaped by some other agenda, the “Joint Plan of Action” that was agreed to in Geneva this weekend is a major achievement that deserves enthusiastic applause.

When you start with a “no true Scotsman” fallacy, it is safe to assume you have staked out an indefensible position. In this case, anyone who thinks the deal is a bad one or defective in some way is guilty of having a hidden agenda. or, worse still, wants to see Iran get the bomb. if he had come to this conclusion after an exhaustive analysis of the various criticisms and alternative, maybe it is Ok to make the claim. To go with the weakest, lamest logical fallacy available as your opening gambit indicates to the reader that there is no need to read the rest. Just take his word for it. it also indicates the writer does not posses an organized mind.

It actually gets worse. His first point is that the deal makes it harder for Iran to get a bomb.

First, it unmistakably moves Iran farther away than it is now from any ability to make a nuclear weapon, and even farther away from any such ability it would have in the future in the absence of this agreement. Among the facets of the deal that do this are the stopping of enrichment of uranium to 20 percent and the conversion of all current material enriched to this level into forms making it unavailable for enrichment to the level required for weapons.

That sounds good except Iran has never stood by any of its past deals. Why should we believe them now?

Second, Iran’s program will be subjected to an unprecedented degree of international inspection, going beyond the treaty obligations of Iran or any other country and providing additional assurance that any Iranian departure from the terms of the agreement would be quickly detected.

How is this different than what has been in place for a decade or so? He does not say. The Iranians, however, have weighed on on this point.

Addressing concerns over the language in the agreement between the six world powers and Iran regarding Tehran’s ability to continue work on its nuclear program, Rouhani said, “Let anyone make his own reading, but this right is clearly stated in the text of the agreement that Iran can continue its enrichment, and I announce to our people that our enrichment activities will continue as before.”

It is no wonder the rest of the world is laughing at us. It is one thing for the French to sign off on these silly deals. No one cares what the French have to say about anything. France is a minor country with no influence. The world does care what the US has to say. When we blunder into Iraq, it matters. When we keep blundering into Afghanistan, it matters. When we screw over an old ally because they have a long relationship with the Bush family, the world notices. When we screw over an old ally because the party in charge seems to hate Jews, the world takes note.

I’m one who thinks we should disengage from the region. Buying oil and gas does not require a million troops in and around the region. Selling the Saudis and Israelis the tools to keep the really bad actors under control can be done from a distance. We can certainly give them quiet assistance if they need to put a beating on one of these bad actors. Otherwise, it is not our problem. Deliberately helping the bad actors get nukes, however,  is madness.

The Paul Pillar guy and this administration suffer from the same delusion. That is, they think everyone is an ideologue, except them. They are the empiricists, weighing the facts and rendering sound judgments. They are so convinced of this that they cannot even consider an alternative to their own tightly held beliefs. The irony of their position is lost on them, which is what makes it so bizarre. It takes a special sort of narrow mindedness to be so obtuse. But, here we are.

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