Just hours before the Cuban embargo was to be put in place, President John F. Kennedy asked his press secretary to go out and buy him as many Upman Cuban Cigars as he could.
When he returned, he had 1,200, and Kennedy levied the sanction shortly after.
It took us more than 50 years to realize policies of isolation and manipulation aren’t all that effective, and even today, half of our elected officials seem to be stubbornly attached to the old way of doing things.
It’s the reason we are having the same conversation again today. The Iran nuclear talks had set an arbitrary deadline for a preliminary deal to be put in place, but the United States and Iran have now extended the talks two additional days to try to reach an agreement.
Though the extension of the deadline was criticized by Republicans — many of whom were critics of the deadline itself — it’s important to note this deadline was never intended to be set in stone. Rather, it was simply a tool to appease skittish Republicans threatening additional sanctions and give negotiators time to fine-tune details before the real June 30 deadline.
If progress has really been made and there really is a chance for a deal, the U.S. has a responsibility to ourselves and the rest of the world to stay there — regardless of what political pressure it might bring.
But unfortunately, Republicans — and some Democrats — don’t seem to get this message.
Since the beginning, they have been calling the talks dead on arrival and ?criticizing the Obama ?administration’s every move by threatening additional sanctions and even sending a letter to Iran. They also invited a foreign leader to criticize the administration about the ordeal.
Then, ignoring the fact that domestic political turmoil about these talks only weakens the bargaining power of the U.S., they call President Obama a bad negotiator.
The likes of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who led the charge to send a letter to Iran signed by 46 other Republicans, are the ones undermining these negotiations — not Iran and not the Obama ?administration.
Not only does freshman Cotton appear to be out of his league working on the national stage, he and his party have consistently failed to see the danger in infusing domestic politics in foreign affairs.
I must stress to these lawmakers that these talks are not happening in a vacuum.
Iran is putting a lot of political capital on the line to even come to the table, and if the talks fail, Iran’s leaders will need to save face — likely by blaming the U.S. and taking a shift toward further extremism.
If we are going to have a chance at making real progress with Iran, it’s now. Republicans have to stop meddling in the affair to score some cheap political points and realize they have a responsibility to govern, not just to win elections.
thompjak@indiana.edu
