It is only natural for U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to be in the midst of an ongoing campaign to market the nuclear deal with Iran to the American public and Congress. To their credits, there are some issues neither of them is trying to sugarcoat, including how the agreement will inject billions of dollars to the Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations, many of which are trying to undermine the U.S. Stating the obvious is also a part of this campaign -- what is the point of Kerry warning Israel against striking Iran's nuclear facilities, when it is common knowledge that the chances of that happening are very slim? If anyone believed a strike of that nature was feasible three or four years ago, than nowadays they do not think it is achievable. Thus, Kerry is warning Israel against a diplomatic scarecrow. In the next two months, the significance of the agreement will be examined in broader contexts and not only on the concessions the U.S. has made in the exhausting negotiations, or the congressional accusation against Kerry for being "duped by the Iranians." The accord will be tested by its inclusive impact on the Middle East, because beyond the scope of achievements and failures involving the deal, there is also a strategic shift: The "New Middle East" former President Shimon Peres has talked about is becoming a reality, but not necessarily the one he envisioned. In practice, Obama has accelerated processes that pulverized the political map drawn 99 years ago between France and Britain in the Sykes-Picot Accord. The Iranian terror has played a major role in it, but not exclusively or necessarily in connection with the ayatollahs' nuclear program. The latter, which has now received the international recognition to officially turn Iran into a nuclear threshold state -- helped change the Arab countries' policy towards the U.S. and the West. Other issues come to mind: To what extent will Egypt and Turkey seek to balance the emerging nuclear threat illustrated by Iran's new status as a nuclear threshold state- Saudi Arabia has already reached the conclusion that the U.S. has become a broken reed: Who would stick by Washington if the Saudis decide to cease serving as agents to the U.S. in the region- Not only is the agreement with Iran problematic, it carries disastrous repercussions that may aggravate the regional turmoil. Obama will not only leave the White House as the one responsible for boosting Iran's nuclear abilities, but mainly as the one who diminished his country's power.
