The unfolding drama of the Brazil-Turkey nuclear deal and
the Obama Administration’s reactive push to move a draft sanctions
resolution in the United Nations Security Council will have profound
effects on the character of international relations for years to come.
At least two such effects warrant particular attention.
First,
for those in official Washington or anywhere else who still doubt that
the “post-American world” is here, the deal to refuel the Tehran
Research Reactor (TRR) brokered by Brazil and Turkey should serve as a
blaring wake-up call. As we noted earlier, two rising economic powers
from what we used to call the “Third World” have now asserted decisive
political influence on a high-profile international security issue. And,
in doing so, they have signaled that Washington can no longer
unilaterally define terms for managing such issues. As a consequence,
President Obama’s most serious foreign policy challenge—repairing
America’s image as a global leader—just got more daunting.
Second, by answering Brazil and Turkey’s extraordinary diplomatic effort
with an arrogant assertion of the P-5’s power to demand the rapid
imposition of new sanctions on Iran and reinstating a demand that Iran
must suspend enrichment to avoid new sanctions, the Obama Administration
is following a course that could inflict serious d… >>>
