President Obama is celebrating the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran as the historic breakthrough which offers the only possible way to avert war with Iran and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. German’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, supports him with a column in the liberal Huffington Post entitled “A Great Moment for Diplomacy.” The German’s contribution reminds us that the Vienna agreement is not a “John Kerry/Barack Obama Exclusive” but the result of a negotiation involving the P5+1 group (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany) on one hand and the Iranian rulers on the other.

Republicans House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are not convinced that this is a great moment for diplomacy. The Speaker tells us that if the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” is the stinker that the Republicans suspect “We’ll do everything to stop it.”

If the Republicans decide to block the ‘Plan of Action’ they can expect a lot of vehement support. Here are some representative headlines from a variety of conservative publications: “Far Worse than Munich,” “Beyond Appeasement,” “Could the Iran Deal Be the Worst International Accord of All Time?”

We can expect prolonged debates over ratification of this agreement in the next two months. It’s generally a pretty good idea to begin examination of a debate by checking up on the advocates’ side and proceeding from there to examine the opponents’ arguments.

Herr Steinmeier tells us the agreement “offers the only possible way to avert war with Iran and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.” President Obama says “Put simply, no deal means a greater chance of more war in the Middle East” and assures that ”“we give nothing up by testing whether or not this problem can be solved peacefully. If, in a worst-case scenario, Iran violates the deal, the same options that are available to me today will be available to any U.S. president in the future.”

Interviewed by The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman shortly after the agreement was concluded the President admitted that the Plan was not entirely comprehensive. It does not transform Iran, end Iran’s aggressive behavior toward some of its Arab neighbors or lead to détente between Shiites and Sunnis. Obama, however, will allow only two valid questions. Does the deal prevent Iran from breaking out with a nuclear weapon for the next 10 years; and is there a better outcome for America, Israel and our Arab allies from any other proposal on the table?

The private Arms Control Association (ACA) agrees that the Plan “establishes a strong and effective formula for blocking all of the pathways by which Iran could acquire material for nuclear weapons and promptly detecting and deterring possible efforts by Iran to covertly pursue nuclear weapons in the future.” Some critics believe that there are ways and means for the Iranians to cheat, but others, perhaps most, accept that they will be denied nuclear weapons for at least 10 years.

It is not debatable that the durability and effectiveness of the agreement depends on the Shiite fanatics’ intentions to follow it. For some critics it is simply a question of when the violations take place.

Time will decide that question, but the American public must keep in mind that if a scholar ever sets out to write an “Encyclopedia of Treaty Frauds, Violations and Evasions,” he will plan on a multi-volume set. As the ACA says, we have a “formula.” It’s entirely up to the Iranian leadership whether that formula works. I make no predictions, but a reminder seems in order, i.e., a treaty or diplomatic agreement may look like an accomplishment. It may produce exultant crowds cheering for peace, as the Munich agreement did in France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, but that agreement, like so many others, was a fragile piece of paper, not a solid accomplishment. Accomplishment lies in implementation.

The Munich agreement, which “settled” the problem of the German minority within the borders of Czechoslovakia, guaranteed the independence of the Czech republic, and set a limit on further German expansion fell apart in months. Hitler simply lied and there was no means for forcing him to keep his promises.

Professor John Frary of Farmington, Maine is a former US Congress candidate and retired history professor, a Board Member of Maine Taxpayers United and publisher of www.fraryhomecompanion.com and can be reached at: jfrary8070@aol.com