La Salle University's Ed Turzanski: Obama's Iran Deal Will Be Little More Than Midnight Basketball On Steroids
By Chris Stigall
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Ed Turzanski, a co-chair at the Center for the Study of Terrorism, Foreign Policy Research Institute Templeton Fellow and professor at La Salle University, spoke with Talk Radio 1210 WPHT morning host Chris Stigall about the looming deadline for negotiations on a deal with Iran that keep getting pushed back.
"If every day is a deadline, there is no deadline. So, if it continues to shift then you know there really is no hard point. The purpose of a deadline is to compel people with the lash of necessity and the only one lashing themselves with necessity is the Obama administration. It's quite clear that the president wants a deal no matter what. In fact, you had a number of former national security types, including five who have served this administration, the lead one being Dennis Ross (who was responsible for the Iran portfolio in the first go around for Obama) who said this is a bad deal, don't sign it. Everyone has figured it out except him."
Turzanski compares President Obama's world view and especially when it comes to Iran and ISIS to the failed "Midnight Basketball" campaign of the 1990's.
"Here we have that old historical view on Midnight Basketball has now blossomed into an international world view that quite frankly, has put the administration in a position that our allies just don't take it seriously. They don't feel for a minute that he's going to do what needs to be done."
While he does not feel that our allies expect Obama to reach a deal, Turzanski is confident that he will but has zero faith in it being any good.
"They're going to do a deal and it will be really bad but the implementation aspects are going to be so fuzzy that it will just be kicking the can down the road. Everything he does is to kick the can down road for the next guy to deal with or in this case Congress. He wants to punt it to Congress so, if it doesn't work because it's a bad deal it will be their fault not his."
