Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: The Kerry Factor

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The Kerry Factor

Why it’s going to take more than a broken leg to keep the secretary of state – or the Iran deal – from moving forward.

The cemeteries of France, Charles de Gaulle reportedly once said, are filled with indispensable men. De Gaulle certainly would have considered himself indispensable — and he probably would have been right. But most other folks who work in Washington probably aren’t.
I was thinking of de Gaulle’s quip while answering a tsunami of press questions about what kind of impact U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s unfortunate biking accident would have on the course of the Iran negotiations. Kerry has been a driving force in these talks; he believes more deeply in the power of diplomacy and the logic of the deal than anyone probably including the president. And what’s more, he’s established a very close working relationship with Iran’s key negotiator, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Before his accident, Kerry had just emerged from hours of intensive talks with Zarif in Geneva, a long session which foreshadows the likely drama — all-night negotiating sessions, threats of walk-outs, ultimatums — that we will see in the weeks to come.
So, in considering the tricky dynamics at play, how could Kerry’s broken femur and the prospects of a long recovery not have a key impact on the talks, particularly now that we’re approaching the endgame and the June 30 deadline? Isn’t Kerry indispensable?