Obama's failed Iran policy is obvious to nearly all

Jennifer Rubin:

The Obama administration won’t take no for an answer. The Iran talks yielded no progress again this week, and yet the Obama administrationdesperately clings to the charade:

Diplomats close to the talks, on both sides, said afterwards that it was not yet clear – after the third round of high-level negotiations this year – which side might budge first.

“We don’t want a crisis or collapse of talks,” said one Western diplomat. He said that not all of Iran’s engagement was positive, and that Iran did not specifically say what steps it was willing to take regarding easing concerns about its 20 percent enriched uranium, which is a few steps away from weapons grade. . . ..

“It’s not collapse, it’s not suspension,” the Western diplomat added. But there was also not enough common ground yet to commit to another top-level meeting.

Good grief. No wonder the Iranians don’t take us seriously.

Even former Obama adviser Dennis Ross, who certainly participated in formulating Iran policy, confessed to the New York Times, “The issue here is, ‘How do you deal with a process that’s going to be harder and harder to justify?’ If it looks like you’re engaging in a process for the sake of process, that’s a bigger problem.” But Ross is no longer in the administration and he may be trying to distance himself from a disastrous policy that has gone on far too long....

... The administration would be isolated even among Democrats should it persist in this useless process. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the type of influential Democrat who can’t be passed off as making political hay out of the Iran talks’ collapse, isn’t budging from his insistence that Congress proceed with oil sanctions.......And on Wednesday the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the military options. Former Democratic senator Chuck Robb, in prepared remarks, counseled that “the evidence from past and current talks demonstrates that negotiations and sanctions, however harsh, will not solve the problem alone. Iran’s stalling tactics during its most recent rounds of talks with the P5+1 this spring underscore this point. The time has come to dramatically increase the pressure on the Iranian regime.” He recommended: “At this late date, it is only the credible threat of force, combined with sanctions, that affords any realistic hope of an acceptable diplomatic resolution.” As part of this, he urged: “Boosting the visibility and credibility of the military option would send a strong signal to Iran and press the regime to negotiate in good faith.”...

Obama's main problem is that he is still trying to "lead from behind."  He does not want to push a solution without a consensus from the UN and that means getting people who do not support us like Russia on board.  That is not going to happen.  I think Chuck Robb has it about right.  It is going to take a credible threat of the use of force.  With Obama in office that kind of credibility is hard to come by when it comes to Iran.  Obama is only bold when it comes to whipping up on cripples like Libya and attacking terrorist using drones.  Iran does not fear him or respect him.