Thoughts on the Iran Deal

As of this moment, it appears that the United States will participate in the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran to limit its nuclear program. The United States will be joining China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union in this agreement.

Anyone who has been following the news knows that this has been one of the most divisive foreign policy issues in recent memory. It has also created rifts between the current Israeli and American administrations, and has fostered extreme rancor and attacks within the American Jewish community, as American Jewish groups have taken sides in the debate.

The level of incendiary rhetoric around the Iran deal has made it difficult to assess its actual merits and deficiencies. I am not a foreign policy expert, and I rely on reading broadly and conversing with people of different political stripes whom I trust in order to try to reach reasonable assessments. I have had some very enlightening conversations with friends and colleagues who do not share my point of view.
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