WASHINGTON — Prussian King Frederick the Great offered this rebuke to those who refused to allow any concessions: “If you try to hold everything, you hold nothing.”
President Obama might make a similar retort to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack on the alleged “bad deal” the U.S. is contemplating with Iran. Netanyahu rejects any concessions that allow Iran to enrich uranium; he thinks the U.S. goal of a one-year “breakout” period before Iran could build a bomb isn’t enough.
To which several leading administration officials respond: OK, then, what’s a better practical idea for controlling Iran’s nuclear program? They see in Netanyahu’s maximalist goals an air of unreality — of fantasy, even. They grant that their solution isn’t perfect. But they argue that it’s far better for Israel and the West than any other plausible scenario.
The Iran nuclear talks, arguably the most important diplomatic negotiations of the last several decades, will come to a head next month. Netanyahu will take his case against the agreement to Congress on Tuesday in an unusual speech organized by the GOP House speaker.
His own political leadership will be tested in Israeli elections on March 17. The Iran negotiations will reach a March 24 deadline for the framework of a final comprehensive accord.