THIS IS APPALLING – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  Some outlines of a possible deal with Iran are emerging, and they are deeply troubling.  From AP:

GENEVA (AP) — The United States and Iran are shaping the contours of a deal that would initially freeze Tehran’s nuclear program but would allow it to slowly ramp up activities that could be used to make nuclear arms over the last years of the agreement’s duration.

Officials from some of the six-power talks with Iran said details still needed to be agreed on, with US and Iranian officials meeting Monday for the third straight day ahead of an end-of-March deadline for a framework agreement. US Secretary of State John Kerry joined the negotiations after arriving Sunday.

A breakthrough was not expected before Kerry returns to Washington later Monday. But Western officials familiar with the talks cited long-awaited progress on some elements that would have to go into a comprehensive deal. They described the discussions as a moving target, however, meaning changes in any one area would have repercussions for other parts of the negotiation.

The idea would be to reward Iran for good behavior over the last years of any agreement, by gradually lifting constraints on its uranium enrichment program imposed as part of a deal that would also would slowly ease sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Why would anyone want to lift constraints, especially if the current crowd is in power?  This is fantasyland.

Iran says it does not want nuclear arms and needs enrichment only for energy, medical and scientific purposes, but the US fears Tehran could re-engineer the program to its other potential use — producing the fissile core of a nuclear weapon.

The US initially sought restrictions lasting for up to 20 years; Iran had pushed for less than a decade.

Iran could be allowed to operate significantly more centrifuges than the US administration first demanded, though at lower capacity than they currently run. Several officials spoke of 6,500 centrifuges as a potential point of compromise.

COMMENT:  This is awful.  The article notes the need for constant inspections, which can be disrupted by the Iranian regime, which has been disrupting inspections all along.

Obama might well buy this, and other reporting this morning points out that there are forces in the State Department and elsewhere that are pressuring him to establish a "special relationship" with Iran, even though Iran is a major sponsor of terror and murders its own citizens.  These things don't bother a certain class of "sophisticates."  There may also be commercial interests involved.

We are heading for serious trouble.  It is time for Congress to raise its voice loudly.  It is time for the media to wake up.  Congress may act.  I don't think the media will.

February 23,  2015