Across the globe you can just about hear a collective sigh of relief as Peace now has a chance. In what were a lengthy and difficult negotiations an agreement between Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany was concluded.

For those who seek PEACE it is a great day. For those who believe that only a WAR can guarantee PEACE it was a bad day. For the extremists in Iran it was a bad day and it was a bad day for the hawks in the United States and in Israel. Very few people thought at the beginning of this process that there was any hope of success, but for those who matter it behooved all of the parties involved to resolve the very real issue of Iran developing nuclear weapons.

For the Republicans in Congress this agreement is horrible news. It does not matter what President Obama accomplishes Republicans find a way to be against it, it is now an automatic reflexive reaction. If the President announced it was a beautiful day, Republicans would find a way to say that it is a rotten day. So don’t be surprised if the Republican response is to be against peace and against this agreement. The Republican Party with few exceptions have become the war party and their financial benefactors, the military contractors, will be horribly disappointed.

Most of you may have forgotten how we got to this place in history. An unknown worker for the State Department gave his superiors the idea of returning as a gift to the Iranian people a chalice that we had retrieved from a smuggler that had for Iran historic importance. The simple act of a gift opened the door to opening a conversation between our two countries. Today’s agreement might not have been possible if not for one individual’s idea and thoughtfulness.

The continuing proliferation of nuclear weapons is something that the world community wants to stop. If more countries are allowed to develop nuclear weapons the mathematical probability of someone eventually using them goes up. The nuclear clock can now go back farther from High Noon.

With today’s technology it is easier to verify whether a country is abiding by their end of the bargain. It is to Iran’s self interest to become further integrated into the world community of nations, both for the sake of the lives of it’s people but also for the improvement of Iran’s economy and for the prosperity of it’s people.

Today’s agreement is good news for the future. The agreement between Iran and the United States shows that if we give diplomacy a chance to succeed it can work. The lives of our young people who serve our nation thank, President Obama, for reducing the chances of a war between the United States and Iran. Hopefully this agreement will open up the opportunity for relations between our two countries improving. Iran has a lengthy and proud culture. If the United States is to continue to be an honest broker for peace, we must be willing to talk to everyone. Let’s continue to give Peace a chance!!!!