well, if it turns out to be true, it will be welcome news and (as much as I hate to admit it) a feather in trumps little red hat.
Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. The funny thing is, I’d consider this hopeful news if it was any other president in American history. With Trump, it falls under “interesting if true.” Because he’s an inveterate bullshitter in the Henry Frankfurt sense.
You should scroll up and go through my list of all the horrible things the US has done *to Iran*. A list that does not include invading two of its neighbors and setting up a network of military bases on both its eastern and western borders. Iran has compelling reasons to hate the United States. Saturday night's attacks were yet another example of US treachery. More broadly, this isn't a simple case of "agree[ing] with all actions of the US govt." For example, the Iraq war was more than merely a mistake: it was a crime against humanity that left a million dead and the perpetrators got off scot-free.
???? I wonder if @Quakes05 is defining the problem as Israel bombing Iran, in which case Trump didn’t cause it, or he’s defining it as Iran developing nukes, in which case yeah, Trump’s stupidity in his first term is a lot of the reason why we’re here.
Did trump cause the problem though? And, is dismantling Iran's nuclear ambitions and ability to threaten Israel and the US (we're still awaiting a full damage assessment but between the bunker busters and Israeli sortees I imagine Iranian capabilities have been significantly neutralized) a half ass solution? I don't think so.
Yes, we agree on the Iraq war. If you're calling the US strike on Iran's nuke sites "treachery"...we're simply going to disagree, which is fine.
The current issue? yes. When Trump tore up the Iran nuclear deal, this led directly to where we are now. Under the Iran nuclear deal, a framework of IAEA monitoring the destruction of Iran's nuclear weapons program in exchange for a loosening of sanctions, or a ratcheting up of sanctions if they failed had been created. If Trump hadn't tore up the nuclear deal, Iran's nuclear weapons program would have been in a very different spot and Israel would not have been able to use it as an excuse to bomb Iran.
I would agree with that, to some degree, although I'm not convinced the Iranians were taking that agreement seriously and not playing games (i.e. continuing enrichment and denying access in some cases), but mostly I'm taking the long view and Iranian enrichment activities have been a problem going back decades.
Seeing that Jared is too busy buying yachts or evicting families, it's high time to call in the special dictator envoy to settle this shit:
The Iran nuclear deal accounted for Iran not taking the agreement seriously. The nuclear deal required Iran to give the IAEA access to all of their nuclear program sites, including any sites reported to it by other countries. If Iran blocked access to those locations, or if the IAEA reported that they were not complying with the timetable, it included punishments for Iran. There are no degrees by which Trump walking away from the nuclear deal isn't why we are where we are right now.
where we are right now is *presto chango* Iran in no longer a nuclear threat. and I was referring to before Trump walked away...reports were that IAEA was having trouble verifying Iran's compliance with said agreement, fully.
Bombing while negotiations were on-going, after the US withdrew from a deal that was extremely favorable to the US and reimposed sanctions. In what universe is that not treachery.
There were no serious negotiations going on. Look, you think Iran was treated unfairly...I'm thrilled with this news. My views on Iran go back 45 years when I was a sailor on a destroyer floating around in the Persian Gulf...so, we're going to have a different take.
You would be wrong. IAEA was still in the process of establishing the control necessary to monitor Iran when Trump walked away in October 2018 and, at that time, the IAEA was reporting that Iran was complying with its nuclear related commitments. Even after Trump walked away, IAEA announced that Iran was still complying. It wasn't until July 2019 that Iran started to officially violate the conditions of the deal..
I dont know if treachery is the right word. I have always taken that as being an act that you commit against a person that is a friend/family member. But engaging in diplomacy with a state for the purpose of setting up a ruse, in order lull that nation into a trap and state of non-readiness, for your ally to do a surprise attack? I dont know if I would describe it as a treachery. But at an act of perfidy. I think such acts are deeply damaging to US in terms of diplomatic and soft power.
I wouldn't defend Trumps decision to withdraw from JCPOA, I thought it was foolhardy, but that decision didn't force Iran to increase its enrichment activities. In any case, Iran pressed on and the May IAEA report indicated they had reached 60% enrichment and were well on their way, and they knew the risks, and that report appears to have provided the pretext for Bibi's attack.
This is a very fluid situation with dramatic developments unfolding by the minute, so far it's been devastating for Iran, and it feels like we're witnessing a monumental shift in the regional balance of power...we'll see.
Interesting, Iran still getting pummeled until ceasefire goes into effect (in about 5 hours), no word yet from Bibi or Khamenei on cease fire...