Although raised a Quaker, Richard Nixon had little to do with that faith as an adult, and tacitly rejected its pacifism by joining the navy after World War II began. Daniel Silliman argues that the 37th president was nevertheless deeply concerned with religious matters. He discusses his recent book on the subject with Kelsey Dallas:

Most people think he was not religious at all—or worse, that he just manipulated religion, adopting it for political purposes through his connections to folks like Billy Graham, Norman Vincent Peale, and even Martin Luther King, Jr.

His essential religious struggle was wrestling with the idea of grace. He thought you had to earn it, that you had to work for God’s love. . . . There are at least a few points in his life where he seems to like going to church. But for the most part he was not devout. He wasn’t pious. In the book, I explore the church services he planned in the White House. He would organize church in the White House instead of going out to churches in Washington, DC, and he actually spent more time doing that than any other president in American history.

His life after the White House is kind of fascinating. A Catholic archbishop shows up and tries to connect with him. A rabbi shows up and tries to connect with him. A Methodist preacher’s son shows up and tries to connect with him. That’s all in a period of a couple years.

In 2003, the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, spooked by the American display of might in Iraq, decided to destroy or surrender his entire nuclear program. Informed observers have suggested that the deal he made with the U.S. should serve as a model for any agreement with Iran. Robert Joseph provides some useful background:

Gaddafi had convinced himself that Libya would be next on the U.S. target list after Iraq. There was no reason or need to threaten Libya with bombing as Gaddafi was quick to tell almost every visitor that he did not want to be Saddam Hussein. The images of Saddam being pulled from his spider hole . . . played on his mind.

President Bush’s goal was to have Libya serve as an alternative model to Iraq. Instead of war, proliferators would give up their nuclear programs in exchange for relief from economic and political sanctions.

Any outcome that permits Iran to enrich uranium at any level will fail the one standard that President Trump has established: Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Limiting enrichment even to low levels will allow Iran to break out of the agreement at any time, no matter what the agreement says.

Iran is not a normal government that observes the rules of international behavior or fair “dealmaking.” This is a regime that relies on regional terror and brutal repression of its citizens to stay in power. It has a long history of using negotiations to expand its nuclear program. Its negotiating tactics are clear: extend the negotiations as long as possible and meet any concession with more demands.