Thread by @SeekerOTL

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HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED

(narrative construction and the DC elite)

One of several books I’ve read over the last couple of years on Obama administration foreign policy is “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy” by Trita Parsi.

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My initial reaction was amusement at the author’s unfortunate choice of a title.

He clearly DIDN’T THINK SHE COULD LOSE.

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But she did lose and Trump quit the Iran Deal.

Nevertheless, the book is still a worthwhile read for the insight it gives into the Iran Deal negotiations.

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The author had considerable access to major players on both sides of the negotiations.

On one side was, of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran; on the other side was the P5+1 (US, UK, France, China, Russia + Germany).

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One thing is clear from reading not only this book but several on Obama’s foreign policy: the Iran Deal was to be his legacy.

Obama was not overly interested in Ukraine and gladly delegated that responsibility to Joe Biden.

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Parsi’s book can be a tedious read at times because negotiations can be tedious at times. It’s a series of seemingly endless rounds of talks that yield few results.

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In November 2013, finally, there was a breakthrough. The P5+1 and Iran agreed on a short-term deal that would slow down the development of the Iranian nuclear program while providing sanctions relief for Iran.

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However, unexpectedly, the deal was nixed when France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius said in a radio interview that France would not accept a “fool’s game.”

theguardian.com/world/2013/nov…

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The French, without consulting the rest of the P5+1 members, killed the deal.

This may surprise some readers -- why would the French want to stall negotiations with the Iranians. Aren’t the French supposed to be a bunch of “surrender monkeys”?

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Not when it comes to Iran. France enjoys a close relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Apparently there are a couple of prominent families in those countries that enjoy a close relationship (that’s all I’ll say about that 😬).

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The Saudis were adamantly opposed to any deal that would allow their arch-enemy Iran to develop its nuclear capability.

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So France undermined the deal. Everyone knew France undermined the deal and they knew it was due to France’s close relationship to Saudi Arabia.

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So who did John Kerry blame?

He blamed Iran!

That’s right. The “Mullah-loving” Obama administration blamed Iran.

theguardian.com/world/2013/nov…

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Why? Because France is one of our closest allies. So we blamed Iran.

That’s how the game is played.

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I tell this story to make a point about Spygate. It doesn’t matter who “hacked” the DNC, Russia was going to be blamed.

That’s how the game is played.

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In retelling of the story of the Iran Deal negotiations, I gave you a nation -- Saudi Arabia -- that wanted Hillary Clinton to lose very badly. A country that actually did benefit from her defeat (“cui bono?”) when the Trump administration quit the Iran Deal.

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Now, to be clear, I have no evidence that Saudi Arabia was behind the “DNC hack” (though they were more than capable. Hello Pegasus).

That’s not my point.

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My point is - do you think anyone in the DC Establishment wants to know? Of course not. The same goes for any of our allies. We’re not going to blame them, if they were involved.

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Better to send in Mueller to do a non-investigation. Clear the President of collusion, but keep the Russian narrative alive.

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Republicans counter with the “Dems R the real Russian appeasers” argument, which only helps to perpetuate the narrative.

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The last three years has been an exercise narrative construction.

That’s how the game is played.