My must read of the day is "Senators Writing New Sanctions in Case Iran Cheats," in the Associated Press:
Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., hope to have the bill ready for other lawmakers to consider when the Senate returns Dec. 9 from its two-week recess, according to legislative aides. Many in Congress are skeptical, if not outright hostile, to the deal reached by Iran and world powers over the weekend in Geneva.
The Kirk-Menendez measure would require the administration to certify every 30 days that Iran is adhering to the terms of the six-month interim agreement and that it hasn't been involved in any act of terrorism against the United States.
Without that certification, sanctions worth more than $1 billion a month would be re-imposed and new sanctions would be added. […]
Imposing stiffer economic penalties against Iran enjoys wide support in Congress. President Barack Obama has pleaded personally with lawmakers to give him more time and room for diplomatic efforts. The interim agreement promises no new penalties against Iran while it is in effect.
Administration officials say new pressure from Congress now could prompt the Iranians to walk away from the deal and cause unrest between the U.S. and its negotiating partners in the so-called P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
"We need to give diplomacy a chance to work," Tony Blinken, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Monday on MSNBC. "New sanctions now, on top of the ones that are already in existence and will continue to be implemented, we fear would be taken as a sign of bad faith, not just by the Iranians but, indeed, by our partners in the P5+1 and other countries around the world whose cooperation we require to implement the sanctions and make them effective."
If Iran refuses to periodically prove they’re holding up their end of the deal, they don’t deserve a deal.
It is idiotic to keep sanctions off the table for six months. Rules are rules. If you’re breaking or ignoring them, there ought to be immediate consequences. Any five-year-old can tell you that.
If there are no consequences for a recalcitrant Iran, Bill Kristol will be found prophetic. He says the deal is only "an accommodation … a way for the Obama administration to avoid confronting Iran and to buy time to acclimate the world to accepting a nuclear Iran."
Congress’s push for new sanctions is an easy test to see how serious the administration is about preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
Six months—which may not even have started yet—and extra cash gives Iran plenty of time to continue its nuclear quest. And at some point it will be too late to do anything "diplomatic."