Obama's Secretive Ways Pay Off With Iran Deal

President Obama has a "secretive, cerebral style of governing" that doesn't always pay dividends, writes David Ignatius at the Washington Post. Sometimes, however, it's just the thing—as with the newly struck deal with Iran on its nuclear program. Months ago, Obama sent two top aides to work with Tehran secretly on an agreement. "It was a classic magic trick," writes Ignatius. "While the eye was distracted by the show of the P5+1 talks, the real work was done elsewhere—and presented to the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany in Geneva two weeks ago almost as a fait accompli."

It was a classic compromise, with both sides getting something to crow about. But the bottom line, writes Ignatius, is that the world is now a safer place because of the deal. Sure, it can unravel and Iran could renege. But to Ignatius, this "looks like the beginning of a long turn away from revolutionary isolation to an Iranian nation that is engaged with the West in a security framework for this volatile region." And as for Obama, the deal proves once again that the man "acts most effectively out of sight." Click for Ignatius' full column. (More President Obama stories.)