Paul Waldman, "No, the Iran nuclear negotiations aren’t Munich in 1938": Who Cares If Khamenei Is Calling for Israel's Annihilation?

Paul Waldman, who writes a blog for The American Prospect ("We're liberal, progressive, lefty—call it what you want, we're proud of it"), has written a Washington Post opinion piece entitled "No, the Iran nuclear negotiations aren’t Munich in 1938," which is even more risible than that of David Ignatius published by WaPo earlier today. Waldman concludes:

"This [nuclear] agreement [with Iran] won’t give us everything we would want in a perfect world — that’s what happens when you negotiate with an adversary. But if you’re going to advocate war with Iran, you should at least have the courage to admit that’s what you’re after. Any time you hear the words 'appeasement,' 'Chamberlain,' or 'Munich' in the coming days and weeks — and you will — know that war is exactly what’s being promoted."

Unbeknownst to Waldman, Iran already is at war: Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are running rampant in Yemen, Iranian-commanded militias are committing ISIS-style atrocities in Iraq, and Syria is mired in a hell imposed by Iranian-supported madman Bashar al-Assad.

Moreover, Iran has explicitly announced its intention to expand regional violence. On November 8, 2014, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei penned a  tweet calling for the "annihilation" of Israel:

"This barbaric, wolflike & infanticidal regime of #Israel which spares no crime has no cure but to be annihilated."

And earlier this week, Basij militia chief Mohammad Reza Naqdi declared that "erasing Israel off the map" is "nonnegotiable." Yeah, I know: We should just ignore Khamenei and Naqdi. So what if they sound a bit like Hitler? It's all just hyperbole coming from people who stone to death women accused of adultery, hang homosexuals, and execute a poet accused of being an "enemy of God."

But more to the point, does everyone who draws parallels between Obama and Neville Chamberlain seek war with Iran? I don't think so. You see, it's not even necessary. Given the current price of oil, implementation by the US of strict banking sanctions coupled with restrictions upon the purchase of Iranian oil by China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan  and Turkey, will destroy the Iranian economy overnight without firing a single bullet. True, the Green Movement might again raise its head and seek regime change, and the blood of innocents could again spill over the streets of Tehran. But maybe, just maybe, Obama will have the courage this time to acknowledge the calls of those seeking to free themselves from the maniacal mullahs.