Story about John Kerry lost among headlines

All too often, really important news stories get lost in the headlines of even more important stories.

While the focus understandably is on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this week, little notice is being given to the unseemly actions of former Secretary of State John Kerry.

According to reports -- including from Kerry himself -- the former Obama administration official has been advising European leaders on ways to undermine the Trump administration's sanctions against the Iranian regime.

You'll recall that Kerry was the architect of the highly flawed Iranian nuclear deal that forked over billions of dollars to the Iranians in exchange for their "word" they would abandon their nuclear program.

Since the Iranian nuclear deal was the signature foreign policy "success" of the Obama administration, Kerry is hellbent on unraveling the Trump policy.

Part of the sanctions, which go into effect in November, would force European banks to conduct their international banking business with either Iran or the United States, but not both.

Most officials agree that current and proposed sanctions against the Iranians may well force the regime back to negotiations that would favor the United States and effectively end their nuclear program.

But Kerry has met with both Iranians and Europeans devising plans to ignore U.S. policy and kill the success of the revised Trump policy.

Some experts firmly believe Kerry is violating the law with his undermining efforts and there is hushed conversation about sedition or treason.

Kerry harbors Presidential ambitions, to be sure. And apparently he believes this highly questionable lobbying against American interests will somehow improve his chances.

There is no question our nation is divided along cultural and political lines. Headlines scream daily of this growing divide.

Conservatives point to the massive division created during the Obama years as the genesis for this divide while progressives put the blame on President Trump.

But political division is far different from deliberate sabotage of American policy, especially on a subject as critical as nuclear weapons in the hands of our enemies.

John Kerry has no shame, so there's no reason to believe he will cease his activities. And let there be no doubt -- his former boss is supportive of any and all efforts to salvage his signature foreign policy regardless of the absurdity of the plan.

You'll read in the coming weeks more about Kavanaugh, Paul Manafort and others. You probably won't read much about Kerry's efforts, and that's a shame.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.