Acting on Kerry’s advice, the Iranians waited for a Democrat to defeat Trump, and now, with their old pal Sherman ready to go to work, they can be forgiven for thinking that the obstacles Trump put in their path to a nuclear weapon will soon be lifted.
"We already knew that President-elect Joe Biden is resolved to re-enter the lousy nuclear deal his former boss, President Barack Obama, struck with Iran. But by choosing someone who has negotiated not one, but two nuclear disasters, Biden is setting up the nation for a rerun of past failures, as well as worsening relations with key Mideast allies.
"Normally, a new administration’s pick for deputy secretary of state doesn’t get much attention. But Biden’s decisions to tap Wendy Sherman for the post and to give her the task of reviving the Iran deal indicate that he lacks a leader’s humility to learn from the achievements of his reviled predecessor.
"If repeating the same action again and again and expecting a different result is a definition of insanity, then Biden’s choice of Sherman is one of the most insane nominations for office in American history.
"Sherman is a living, breathing example of how overrated diplomatic experience can be. A veteran of both the Clinton and Obama State Departments, she can claim credit for two of the worst national-security negotiations ever conducted by a US envoy.
"Under President Bill Clinton, Sherman was the architect of a series of deals with North Korea meant to freeze and dismantle the Hermit Kingdom’s nuclear program, as well as limit its illegal missile production. In exchange, Sherman offered generous concessions to the monstrous totalitarian regime — concessions Pyongyang pocketed without either denuclearizing or disarming.
"But that abject and failed act of appeasement didn’t deter Obama from hiring her to negotiate a nuclear deal with the Tehran regime. Sherman, along with John Kerry, was taken to the cleaners by her Iranian counterparts. The pair gave in on every Western demand in the talks, including reneging on Obama’s promise to end Iran’s nuclear program.