tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post1002340250928551189..comments2024-03-06T06:34:42.881-05:00Comments on EconoSpeak: Is Biden Going To Blow Reentering The Iran Nuclear Deal?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-74010149716095911442021-01-29T16:47:29.776-05:002021-01-29T16:47:29.776-05:00A.,
I do not think Israel's opposition is goi...A.,<br /><br />I do not think Israel's opposition is going to affect this, although they are certainly supporting the harder line faction in the Biden admin. But they were against having the agreement in the first place. So I do not think that is a big deal, although it is part of the reason so many GOPs oopose it. rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-49922548616947201892021-01-29T14:40:54.217-05:002021-01-29T14:40:54.217-05:00The point is whether Iran is going to be told to a...The point is whether Iran is going to be told to abide by new conditions before the US will enter the agreement again. Iran will never accept coercive terms, however. Iran has learned well, never ever accept more coercive terms from the US. Also, Israel obviously wishes no renewal of the agreement.<br /><br />I see no way back, sadly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-377349561420479542021-01-29T14:00:35.482-05:002021-01-29T14:00:35.482-05:00IN today's WaPo, Josh Rogin reports on open wa...IN today's WaPo, Josh Rogin reports on open warfare among Biden's foreign policy team, this time over policy towards Syria, but this related to the debate over policy towards Iran. This is up in the air, but I hope Biden will tilt to the more dovish side, at least with respect to the Iran nuclear deal, which he has long and loudly declared he wishes to get back into with it being functional. Going with Blinken et all will not achieve that.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-6787471806724015762021-01-28T23:56:46.192-05:002021-01-28T23:56:46.192-05:00Not necessarily. Again, Blinken does not agree wit...Not necessarily. Again, Blinken does not agree with the special negotiator, Malley, and my guess is that Biden does not either. But we shall have to see.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-34851049369466853892021-01-27T18:20:12.832-05:002021-01-27T18:20:12.832-05:00"Is Biden Going To Blow Reentering The Iran N..."Is Biden Going To Blow Reentering The Iran Nuclear Deal?"<br /><br />Tragically, blown already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-22124156697667217392021-01-27T18:19:08.906-05:002021-01-27T18:19:08.906-05:00"Another reason to worry is that in his testi..."Another reason to worry is that in his testimony, now-confirmed SecState Antony Blinken has defended the assassination last January of Iranian General Soleimani...."<br /><br />Horrible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-69137196341650419232021-01-27T18:18:03.934-05:002021-01-27T18:18:03.934-05:00https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-27...https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-27/blinken-says-iran-should-take-first-step-to-restart-nuclear-deal<br /><br />January 27, 2021<br /><br />Blinken Says Iran Should Take First Step to Restart Nuclear Deal<br />By Nick Wadhams - Bloomberg<br /><br /> U.S. a ‘long ways’ from returning to accord, Blinken says<br /> Secretary of state addresses Iran in his first news conference<br /><br />Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will meet its commitments under the Iran nuclear deal only after leaders in Tehran do so, highlighting a dispute that’s set to become one of the Biden administration’s most politically charged foreign-policy challenges.<br /><br />In his first briefing as America’s top diplomat, Blinken told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. wants to start meeting its obligations again under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.<br /><br />Blinken said after Iran returns to the agreement the U.S. would seek to build a “longer and stronger” accord to address what he called “deeply problematic” issues. But, he emphasized, Iran needs to act first and any U.S. return may take a while. He didn’t set a timetable on the reduction of U.S. sanctions or a resumption of Iranian oil sales.<br /><br />“We are a long ways from that point. Iran is out of compliance on a number of fronts, and it will take some time, should it make a decision to do so, to come back into compliance, and time for us to assess whether it’s meeting its obligations,” Blinken told reporters. “So we’re not there yet, to say the least.” ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-11142874530143410762021-01-27T13:55:09.946-05:002021-01-27T13:55:09.946-05:00Another reason to worry is that in his testimony, ...Another reason to worry is that in his testimony, now-confirmed SecState Antony Blinken has defended the assassination last January of Iranian General Soleimani. I think that was a big mistake. myself. Clearly there is a range of views within Biden's foreign policy group, with some hawkish types like Victoria Nuland and Blinken and Sullivan, but with other more reasonable voices like Sherman, Kerry, and Malley.rosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-91906038182174811722021-01-26T21:57:47.810-05:002021-01-26T21:57:47.810-05:00Had not heard Wendy was going to be Dep Sec, so th...Had not heard Wendy was going to be Dep Sec, so that is great. She is quite good and provides some continuity in regard to Iran dealings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-56841095467622669962021-01-26T17:20:22.964-05:002021-01-26T17:20:22.964-05:00No, President Biden isn’t having a political honey...<a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/26/nation/no-biden-isnt-having-political-honeymoon-trumps-historic-unpopularity-just-makes-it-feel-that-way/?event=event25" rel="nofollow">No, President Biden isn’t having a political honeymoon</a> <br /><br />via @BostonGlobe - January 26<br /><br /><b>Donald Trump’s historic unpopularity just makes it feel that way.</b><br /><br />Yes, it feels like President Biden is having himself a bit of a political honeymoon since taking office less than a week ago.<br /><br />His approval rating is well above 50 percent. ...<br /><br />Still, while it might feel like Biden is having a honeymoon period, the numbers suggest that he is fully in the “normal” range for a president, regardless of where he is in his term. It is just that Trump was so uniquely unpopular that experiencing a president above a 50 percent approval rating is perceived to be something it is not.<br /><br />There have been very few polls since Biden took office last week. However, one by Morning Consult puts Biden’s approval rating at 56 percent, a full 10 points better than where Trump was at a similar point after taking office in 2017. ...<br /><br />Trump is officially the most unpopular president since modern polling began in the 1930s. It will forever be his legacy ...<br /><br />Trump would go on to have the most unpopular presidency in the history of polling, going back to 1938. When he left office last week, two weeks after a riot on Capitol Hill that he was impeached for causing, his approval ratings stood at 33 percent.<br /><br />So, yes, when new president is sworn in and suddenly has an approval rating 23 points higher than his predecessor, it does feel like something different. ...Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-3410684002443411432021-01-25T18:58:13.044-05:002021-01-25T18:58:13.044-05:00Senate Confirms Yellen...
... Ms. Yellen now fac...<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/senate-yellen-treasury-secretary.html?smid=tw-share" rel="nofollow">Senate Confirms Yellen... </a><br /><br />... Ms. Yellen now faces a new and considerable challenge. As Treasury secretary, she will be responsible for helping Mr. Biden prepare the $1.9 trillion stimulus package he has proposed, steer it through Congress and — if it is approved — oversee the deployment of trillions of dollars of relief money.<br /><br />The magnitude of the task became clear over the weekend, as a bipartisan group of senators met virtually with senior White House officials on Sunday and expressed doubt that such a large package was necessary.<br /><br />Lawmakers in both parties raised the prospect of curtailing elements of the proposal, including the eligibility for a suggested round of $1,400 checks to individuals and ensuring that a more targeted distribution of additional aid, according to multiple people familiar with the discussion. They also asked the White House to provide data that would justify the proposed spending, which includes $350 billion in state and local aid and $130 billion to reopen schools shuttered by the pandemic.<br /><br />Now, Ms. Yellen will be thrust into the middle of the talks, responsible for convincing many Republicans and some Democrats that the economy needs another multi-trillion dollar spending package. At her confirmation hearing and in written responses to lawmakers, Ms. Yellen echoed Mr. Biden’s view that Congress must “act big” to prevent the economy from long-term scarring and defended using borrowed money to finance another aid package, saying not doing so would leave workers and families worse off.<br /><br />“The relief bill late last year was just a down payment to get us through the next few months,” Ms. Yellen said. “We have a long way to go before our economy fully recovers.”<br /><br />Ms. Yellen also argued that “near-term fiscal support is not inconsistent with long-term fiscal sustainability,” explaining that a healthier economy would ultimately generate more revenue for the government.<br /><br />The Biden administration has said that it hopes a package can win bipartisan support in Congress. However, if Democrats have signaled a willingness to turn to a budgetary mechanism known as reconciliation that would allow them to pass the legislation with a simple majority and bypass the usual 60-vote threshold needed. ...Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4900303239154048192.post-2178921273430497942021-01-25T18:52:25.689-05:002021-01-25T18:52:25.689-05:00In other news...
Janet Yellen wins Senate approva...In other news...<br /><br /><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/25/business/janet-yellen-wins-senate-approval-treasury-secretary/?event=event25" rel="nofollow">Janet Yellen wins Senate approval as treasury secretary</a><br /><br />AP via @BostonGlobe - January 25<br /><br />... Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Biden’s plan represented a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.”<br /><br />As Treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, will occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Biden’s economic policies. She enters the Treasury job after many years serving in other top economic jobs, including as the first woman to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018.<br /><br />An economist by training who was a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Yellen will represent the Biden administration in global financial affairs and lead a sprawling department whose responsibilities cover overseeing IRS tax collections, making policy on banking regulations and serving as the administration’s contact with Wall Street.<br /><br />In her previous roles, Yellen developed an expertise in areas ranging from labor markets to international finance. Publicly, she frequently signaled concern about how economic policies affect ordinary people, especially disadvantaged communities.<br /><br />She drew high marks for her stewardship at the Fed, where she employed record-low interest rates and massive bond buying, two policies begun by her predecessor Ben Bernanke, to support the economy as it struggled to emerge from a deep recession. She will now confront a new crisis brought on by a global pandemic. ...<br /><br />NYT: By a vote of 84 to 15, the Senate confirmed Ms. Yellen ...Fred C. Dobbsnoreply@blogger.com