But the warmongers, horrible for them, obviously, so of course they are foaming at the gills...I feel their pain.

I was discussing this with my better half (who doesn't follow politics or news or... well. He is pretty, though) when I realized that this has an even wider impact than the obvious:

It makes the old guard of Cold Warriors obsolete.

Sure, they've technically been obsolete since the USSR broke up (gods forbid THAT band gets back together), but the ideology and political infrastructure stayed healthy and active - but that depended on seeing diplomacy as a failed and flawed tool.

I'm wondering if this is a step in an even larger picture: every time I think the side effects of some action by the current administration are luck, they seem to leverage change on a wider world focus than expected.

I suppose I'm just not used to having a president smarter than I am - not worth going back to the Bushes for comfort, though.

Yeah, I find it extremely telling when Republican's like Boehner use the term "antiwar President" as a pejorative, like that's a bad thing!

Will be interesting to watch Republicans, and possibly some Dems? try to sabotage this. And the reaction to this from the rest of the planet, like the tend to be sane Europeans. Especially the other countries that also participated in the negotiations.

-90% Jimmy

Sadly Putin wants the Clod War again to make his second rate country important on the world stage again.

Glad you're here! Oh Dear God let's hope so! I share your views about this President. He's smarter, AND with a far more interesting and more open outlook on things.

Just imagine - his legacy will bring a whole new meaning to "Tear Down This Wall." st. ronnie may have done that with all kinds of pomp and circumstance and phony red-white-&-blue showbiz and Busby Berkeley staging, but President Obama will have broken open the stale rusty locks on TWO other nations - Cuba AND Iran. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if he considers trying to change the prevailing mindset about North Korea, too.

This is a new era. Bang-bang/shoot-shoot isn't necessarily the answer anymore. Old moldy cold-war thinking isn't necessarily the answer anymore. Not in this new century, with its new challenges and alliances and staging. Criminy! I think President Obama really is playing a long game. Maybe the 21st Century started with HIS administration, NOT bush/cheney's. bush/cheney may have been just a sick hangover from the old thinking of the last century (after all, it was headed by two frickin' human barf bags!). Maybe this is him finally taking out the old garbage.

I enjoy reminding people about that luuuvvvvly Valentine's Day in 2007 when george w dry-drunk admitted - "sometimes money trumps peace." He DID. He actually said that.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/02/14/301847/--Money-Trumps-Peace

Well, maybe peace is starting to trump money. Could that actually be possible? Dare we even start thinking in that new way?

For the sake of our planet, seems to me, we damn well better.

I only wish Americans would take to the streets to celebrate peace. The last large spontaneous street celebration I remember was for the the killing of bin Laden.

One aspect, among many, of the take-over of the US by the military-industrial complex is the need for continuous war. Money wags the dog. Must sell munitions in order to keep the cash flow healthy. Sell military weapons of destruction to anyone with the money to pay. With the loyal RWNJ's to pound the war drums, Americans may never get the chance to celebrate peace.

Let's see the nations put their money where their mouths are, first.

This deal hasn't even passed congressional oversight, yet. Peace is a one-day-at-a-time process, just like fighting any other addiction.

And War is the addiction of choice amongst banksters and crony Capitalists.

All week.
All month.



Thanks for posting, bigtree!

are spitting tacks right now.