The Patriot Post® · Obama's Unilateral Disarmament

Earlier this spring, Barack Obama hosted a nuclear summit to chase his dope-smoking college dream of a nuclear-free world. Well, he may not be done. Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin writes, “The Obama administration is determined to use its final six months in office to take a series of executive actions to advance the nuclear agenda the president has advocated since his college days.” If Rogin is correct, Obama intends to use his phone and pen to further disarm the U.S. via executive action.

One of the possibilities includes extending the deadline for the New START with Russia. But that is arguably the most benign. Obama also may seek to alter long-standing U.S. policy by declaring “no first use” for American nuclear weapons. Furthermore, in addition to blocking modernization of the U.S. arsenal, he may eliminate development of the Long-Range Stand-Off weapon — nuclear cruise missile — because, Rogin says, it’s “a capability Obama doesn’t believe the United States needs.”

While the commander in chief is busy seeking to weaken the U.S., he’s greatly strengthened our geopolitical adversary, Iran. According to German intelligence, Iran has pursued “illegal proliferation-sensitive procurement activities,” especially seeking to obtain “goods that can be used in the field of nuclear technology.” In other words, the mullahs are after nuclear weapons in violation of its much-ballyhooed agreement with the West. But this is no surprise at all to readers of these pages — pretenses aside, Obama effectively gave Iran the green light with his horrible nuclear deal.

It’s also no surprise to see that the Obama administration’s response to the German report is essentially, “Nothing to see here; move along.” According to State Department spokesman John Kirby, “We have no information to indicate that Iran has procured any materials in violation of the [nuclear agreement].” You know, other than the German report.

Kirby then eviscerated a straw man. “The deal has never been about trust,” he lectured. “It’s never been about spirit, it’s never been about how we feel about Iran — it’s about them meeting their commitments.” Wrong. For example, Iran can verify its own soil sample at the Parchin complex. Ronald Reagan’s famous line with the Soviets was “Trust, but verify.” Obama turned that on its head with this deal, essentially making it “Trust Obama and let Iran verify.”

“The Obama administration can’t ignore the sheer weight of evidence showing Iran isn’t upholding its side of the bargain,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “From illicit procurement for its nuclear program to testing ballistic missiles, Iran is showing that it had no intention of ever following international agreements, even ones that granted them enormous concessions. The administration’s decision to continue implementing the deal and ignore Iran’s actions isn’t just delusional, it’s dangerous.”