Realistically, the Gulf official said, the outcome will fall between the photo opp he feared, and the paper agreement he hoped for, though what such a compromise would look like, he found it hard to say.
The White House seems keen on allowing Iran to keep the bulk of its illicit nuclear program while relying on "transparency" and inspections to detect violations of a paper agreement.
He left his podium and waved his proposed paper agreement in Clinton's face; many debate viewers thought he had invaded her personal space and as a result Clinton's support among women voters solidified.
A final element was a deal on technology transfer.All of these now need to be turned from paper agreements into practical ones.
As John Danforth, President Bush's special envoy for peace in Sudan, said in a report in April, "The history of Sudan is replete with paper agreements that the parties have quickly ignored".
All these are real impacts, while the paper agreements she helped to broker have foundered and dissipated as a result of special favours and dirty deals of the kind I have listed in this article.
Indeed, foreign human-rights monitoring groups give warning that China's government often points to the existence of such paper agreements as proof of progress, even as it brazenly flouts their terms.
Best set: The vast angular yellow backdrop to the BBC's Grand Debate, resembling a modern design for a Wagner opera production, cynically and skilfully mocked the politicians speaking by suggesting paper agreements or speeches crumpled up before being thrown away.
Paper agreements with North Korea were worthless because the world couldn't verify that the rogue nation was living up to its word.
At issue in yesterday's hearing was whether The Times could be considered to have lost money for three consecutive years, which would put into effect an exit clause in the papers' 1981 agreement.
