There is ample reason for the U.S. to doubt Iran's sincerity in adhering to a nuclear arms agreement. Iran also has ample reason to doubt our sincerity, given the letter they received from 47 of our senators.

If an agreement is reached, there are mechanisms attached that provide intrusive international inspections to confirm Iranian compliance. If Iran cheats, which is in the realm of possibility, I doubt if the punishment will be renewed sanctions, I believe it will be war. And not an easy war where we will simply bomb their nuclear facilities without retribution. We would be counter-attacked by Iran, using all means possible, and that goes for Israel too.

It appears to be true that a successful agreement would still allow Iran to build a bomb 13 years from now. However, absent an agreement, Iran can produce an atomic bomb by this summer. I prefer 13 years to 3 months. Regarding a commonly held opinion that Obama is a mistake prone neophyte in international affairs, let's assume this perception is true.

But it is not Obama alone who is negotiating this agreement. Russia, China, France, Great Britain and Germany are equal partners in the negotiations. I don't think anyone would classify these other nations as being mistake prone neophytes.

Protecting Israel is important to most Americans. However, Israel is an atomic bomb-possessing country, having a secret nuclear weapons development program for over 30 years. Estimates are that Israel now has between 200 and 400 nuclear weapons and substantial delivery systems, including their five nuclear armed submarines. Simply put, Israel is not defenseless against aggression by Iran.

There is concern that we will sign a presidential agreement with Iran, rather than a Senate-ratified treaty. Presidential agreements have been used thousands of times, from establishing airline landing rights to the presidential agreement ending the Vietnam War. We should allow these six-party negotiations with Iran to continue without premature criticism. We should keep our powder dry and hope to avoid the need to use it.

Roger Brooks

Mancos