"Barack Obama's tenure, particularly his second term, is studded with peacemaking deals, from the Iranian nuclear agreement, to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to the re-opening of relations with Cuba, and to now the accord on climate change. His first term brought us the Affordable Care Act. When are we going to back off our disappointment at his clear lack of bombast?"

"Senator Schumer stated that his was a very difficult decision, and one must respect his convictions. However, a number of Democratic leaders were disappointed by his action, which, due to his experience and influence, might have helped swing the vote the other way."

"I find it inconceivable that not a single Republican lawmaker plans to vote in support of the nuclear deal with Iran....We are light years away from the thinking of the Founding Fathers of a group of disinterested representatives voting for the common good. Also, they did not envisage the position of lawmaker as a lifetime sinecure."

"...[T]he kindest word one can find in the whole episode of the talk before the Congress, is that Bibi used bad judgment. Firstly, in lending himself (or more) to a cabal of the Israeli Ambassador to Washington and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to set in motion the visit without informing America's principal policymaker, the President of the United States. Secondly, to do this in the midst of a political campaign in Israel, where such an initiative would presumably produce a winning vote."

The closer the Western powers and Iran come to a negotiated settlement, the more we hear the West and Iran are destined to be enemies. Can the political establishment in the West and Israel ever say 'yes' to peaceful co-existence with the Islamic Republic? CrossTalking with Charles Cogan, Chuck Freilich, and Jim Lobe.

"...I will note, in the context of inviting a new war in the region, that, for the first time, a majority of members of Congress (268 out of 534 members of the 113th Congress) are millionaires. Our congresspersons have a net median worth of $1,008,767. Additionally, at the beginning of the 113th Congress, the average age of a member of the House of Representatives was 57, and the average age of a senator was 62, according to Wikipedia. None of them should ever have to go to war."

"The Obama Administration is on the way to becoming the peacemaking presidency, after having been handed down two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) and having been urged to start two others (Syria and Iran). The way the President handled these challenges should ease the way for Hillary Clinton in 2016, should she decide to run."

"The French are the most forward-leaning of Europe's militaries....Former President Nicolas Sarkozy led the charge to get rid of Gaddafi. His successor, François Hollande, intervened rapidly and effectively to save some 6,000 expatriates, mostly French, from being overrun by Islamist fanatics in Bamako, Mali. Earlier this fall, the French were all revved up to join in an air attack on Syria...."

"...[I]n the event of a worst-case scenario in which negotiations completely fail, Barack Obama has committed himself to an unprovoked military attack on Iran, which would have a disastrous effect on world public opinion and lead to unpredictable human and material damage."

"Suspicion on both sides — Iranian and American — is extremely high. Iranian fear of American-sponsored regime change may seem unrealistic in today's world, but the fact is that Iran was the victim of an American regime change back in 1953."