Second, I'm not as convinced Saudi rulers are (completely) retarded; I think they just have different values and priorities than what we would assume them to have. I think you're mostly right in saying much of the Sunni-Shia divide is being played and exacerbated to the advantage of foreign powers (it's the usual tactic), but remember that the main function of the royal family is to serve Western interests - and that's probably the only reason they're still in power. In that context, the Sunni-Shia divide is useful to them, in a way, as it allows them a distraction they can use to play against their own population; and if there weren't any distractions, they wouldn't keep on being the ruling family for long - Western backing or not.
I called them retarded because they are acting against their own long time survival. By encouraging the Shia-Sunni divide and encouraging the ISIS, they are inviting their own downfall.
Sure, I don't disagree with that - I'm just pointing out that I don't believe them to be the "independent actors" they might at times appear to be.
Diplo-babble from lame duck administration. Obama has drawn too many red lines in the sand and is frantic to boost his legacy. Appeasers will be pleased to believe the framework is `Peace in our time`and its the news they are desperate to hear. Realists know that Congress will not approve this Treaty. Meanwhile the Iranian ballistic missiles are being improved constantly with Russian and Chinese technical support and the centrifuges keep on churning.
He gave all and Iran gave a promise.
They had their fingers crossed, but Obama did not see that..
Really? If anything, it seems to me that the deal, as it is now, is harsher to Iran rather than anyone else: they are committing themselves to be under constant, intrusive inspections to all of their nuclear facilities, and more importantly, to the supply chain that supports their nuclear program - this in effect means it will be very hard for material to be diverted without the inspectors knowing about it, easing any concerns about any possible secret nuclear weapons program - and no one realistically believes them to have, or to even plan on having one any time soon. Further, they will be limited to producing very little material, from a few, mostly obsolete centrifuges, on only one enrichment facility, and with no possibility of building additional facilities for 15 years. Also, a good portion of the measures Iran will be taking will be irreversible - or rather, quite costly in both time and money to rebuild.
In exchange for all this, the only thing "Obama" gave (again, as the deal stands now; and obviously not just the US) was indeed just a promise: sanctions will be lifted, when and if the IAEA is satisfied Iran has kept its part of the deal - but that is so vague at the moment, it isn't even clear what sanctions will be lifted and when exactly.
For more details, The Real News Network recently interviewed Robert Kelly on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO2-ls2yEp0 ("Extended Interview with Robert Kelly on Iran framework Deal (2/2)", 22m23s).
