Yesterday the debate on the Iran nuclear deal formally ended. The world, fearful of a possible war in the near future, decided to help Iran acquire nuclear weapons and thereby guaranteed a future war.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution that creates the basis for international economic sanctions against Iran to be lifted, a move that incited a furious reaction in Israel and potentially sets up an angry showdown in Congress.

The 15-to-0 vote for approval of the resolution — 104 pages long including annexes and lists — was written in Vienna by diplomats who negotiated a landmark pact last week that limits Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for ending the sanctions.

This was a stunning victory for Iran. They received access to advanced nuclear technology. They did not have to disclose the limits of the research or nuclear stockpile. The US is banned from participating in inspections. Inspections are subject to Iranian whims. International sanctions are ended.  Two members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China, are effectively Iran’s allies and will prevent the imposition of new sanctions. Iran received about $150 billion with which to foment unrest and violence wherever they decide… though our Secretary of State, John Kerry, claims they can’t legally do this:

Under President Obama’s Iran deal, sanctions will be repealed and $100 billion to $150 billion will promptly flow into Iran’s coffers. We and many others have argued that this infusion of cash will allow the mullahs to 1) expand their support for Hezbollah and other terrorist groups around the world, and 2) cement their domestic control over Iran–control that at times has been shaky because of the economic damage inflicted by sanctions.

On PBS, John Kerry tried to answer this criticism of the deal. His answer showed, definitively, that the administration has no reply. First he said that Iran won’t use the money to support terrorism because it isn’t “allowed” to do so. He then clarified that there is nothing about this in the nuclear deal, but that existing U.N. resolutions prohibit Iran from supporting Hezbollah and other terrorists.

This is ridiculous, because the administration pointedly did not require Iran to forgo terrorism as an instrument of national policy and they are still on the list of state sponsors of terror.

Yes, the Congress still has the opportunity to vote on the terms of the deal but the vote is more meaningless today than it was when [mc_name name=’Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001071′ ] engineered this abdication of Congressional responsibility. There is really nothing left to vote on. With the end of sanctions by the UN and given Obama’s legal ability to unilaterally modify US sanctions, the Congress has no leverage whatsover. Obama knows it. Yesterday, he effectively told the Congress “bite me.”

Q    Mr. President, the Security Council approved the deal.  Will that help you in Congress?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I think it will send a clear message that the overwhelming number of countries who not only participated in the deal, the P5+1, but who have observed what’s happened, recognize that this is by far our strongest approach to ensuring that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.  There is broad international consensus around this issue — not just among the international community, but also among experts in nuclear proliferation.  And my working assumption is that Congress will pay attention to the broad-based consensus.

You didn’t have to be a genius to see this coming. In fact, you had to be a Republican senator (except [mc_name name=’Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001095′ ]) to not see it coming. Congress would have been better served to tell Obama that the agreement had to be submitted as a treaty or he could go it on his own. Now, when Congress ultimately votes for this, it will have endorsed the worst foreign policy decision made by US president in two centuries.