U.S. going way too easy on Iran, say . . . French socialists?

You think it's just Benjamin Netanyahu who is horrified at the easy deal the Obama Administration is prepared to give Iran over nuclear weapons? Well, it is him, but not only him. Far from it. How bad have things gotten when the socialist government of France thinks you're being a patsy?

Even worse, when your loyal propagandists at the Associated Press write this headline: "France Out-Toughs United States Over Iranian Nuclear Program." Ouch:

France, analysts say, was motivated by factors including its tough stand against the spread of nuclear weapons, skepticism about Tehran's trustworthiness, and the longstanding French tradition of speaking out on the world stage. Critics faulted France for alleged grandstanding and seeking closer ties with Iran's foes.

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After the Geneva talks ended early Sunday with no deal, diplomats including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that progress was nonetheless made and negotiations will continue Nov. 20. He said the U.S. was "grateful" to the French and shared some of their concerns.

It's not every day the French and Netanyahu see eye to eye on anything, but they're both concerned that the U.S. and others are moving way too fast in pursuit of a deal just for the sake of a deal. And that does sounds like an Obama Administration special, does it not? Announce that you've reached an agreement just for the sake of making the announcement and winning the news cycle, regardless of how it affects your strategic position, because who cares about that anyway? The nation most likely to be the target of Iranian nukes cares a lot, and Netanyahu let Obama and John Kerry know that in no uncertain terms, as the Times of Israel reports:

“Over the weekend I spoke with President Barack Obama, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with French President Francois Hollande, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron,” Netanyahu related. “I told them that, based on information Israel has received, the deal taking shape is bad and dangerous. Not just for us, but for them as well. I suggested they wait and think carefully, and it’s good that they decided to do so. We will do everything in our power to convince these powers and these leaders to avoid a bad deal.” “According to all the information” Israel was receiving, said Netanyahu, the deal taking shape was a bad, dangerous one. He said he had “no delusions” that a deal would yet be on its way — there is “a great desire” for a deal, he said — but vowed to do all he could to ensure it was not a dangerous one. Under the current terms, he said angrily, “not a single centrifuge would be dismantled, not one.” He added that he’d asked the world leaders with whom he spoke, “What’s the hurry?”

It's sort of like those budget deals where Congress announces X billion dollars in "deficit reduction" that will take place "over 10 years," but when you really look at it you see there are no real cuts and basically everyone has just put on a show for the sake of claiming they "fought hard" or whatever. And the protests of Netanyahu and the French might not be enough, as the Times of Israel reports that "President Barack Obama has made a 'strategic decision' to allow Iran to retain nuclear enrichment capability." In other words, Obama is not interested in seeing the West use its leverage to force Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions, since that would involve some serious diplomatic, economic and strategic pressure, and would also require the U.S. to use its leverage to get the Russians on board. When was the last time we arm-twisted the Russians into doing anything? These days, the nature of that relationship is that Obama bungles his way into a fix and Putin bails him out at a high price. The Russians have an interest in Iran's influence in the region, and really have little motivation to strong-arm Tehran make any concessions. They will not do so unless the U.S. can put apply the sort of pressure that would prevail upon them to do so, and that requires leverage that Obama and Kerry either don't believe they have are are not terribly motivated to use. So Iran gets to keep its nukes, Israel's security is jeopardized and the deal is so bad that even the socialist French are appalled by it. Just thought you'd be glad to know Obama's policies are wreaking havoc outside the U.S. as well.