Those whom the gods will destroy they first make mad. Critics of Barack Obama’s Iran deal have been giving a good impression of having lost the plot. An Israeli cabinet minister described it as “one of the darkest days in world history”. Republicans liken Mr Obama to Neville Chamberlain. All agree that a deal that removes about two-thirds of Iran’s nuclear capability and freezes the rest will somehow hasten the day it has the bomb. In the next two months, before Capitol Hill votes on it, we will hear a lot more such bombast. It comes down to whether Congress believes Iran is capable of acting rationally or whether it is a uniquely malevolent country that has outfoxed America and its partners in the negotiating chamber.
上帝欲使其灭亡，必先使其疯狂。美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)与伊朗核协议的批评者给人一种丧失理智的强烈感觉。以色列一位内阁部长称其为“世界历史上最黑暗的日子之一”。共和党人则将奥巴马比作内维尔•张伯伦（Neville Chamberlain，二战前对纳粹德国实行绥靖政策的英国首相——译者注）。所有人都认为，一个消除伊朗大约三分之二的核能力、冻结其他核设施的协议，将以某种方式加快伊朗拥有核武器的那一天来临。在美国国会就该协议投票之前的未来两个月里，我们还会听到大量此类的夸大言辞。这归根到底要看国会是否相信伊朗能够理智行事，抑或伊朗是一个与众不同的邪恶国家，在谈判室里智胜了美国及其伙伴。