Nuke Trump’s ideas

Just because a lot of rich, snobbish, superior, politically correct people hate President Trump is no reason why you should like him. Trump is such a strange and clumsy politician it is difficult to judge his actions objectively, but that is what we should do. His recent announcement denouncing the nuclear deal with Iran is a good example.

Here, Trump is simply wrong. Never mind his bombast, never mind his tweets and hair style, the facts show he is wrong to condemn the nuclear deal with Iran. It was a good deal, imposing tough conditions on Iran’s nuclear programme, making it as difficult as possible for Iran to cheat.

Trump’s hypocrisy on the Middle East is breathtaking, but is no more than a continuation of previous US hypocrisy.

The US invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya were disastrous, leading to a massive expansion of Islamic terror in the region. The US condemns certain states, such as Iran and Syria, for fomenting terrorism, but never the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism, Saudi Arabia.

Trump does the same. He knows that the terrorists who blew up the Twin Towers in New York almost certainly came from Saudi, but he grovels before them while he loudly denounces other “reckless regimes” – including Iran.

The politics of the Middle East are immensely complicated but dominated by the conflict within Islam between Sunni and Shia. It is rather like European politics in the 16th and 17th centuries, which was dominated by the Christian conflict between Protestant and Catholic. Iran is Shia, Saudi is Sunni. This is at the heart of the conflict. Israel is a mere detail in the background. For various immoral historical reasons, the US supports the Sunni side, despite having been viciously attacked by it in the past.

Nuclear power is our best source of electricity, safe, clean, reliable, sustainable and affordable. All countries, including Iran, are entitled to develop peaceful nuclear power. The differences between nuclear power and nuclear weapons are well understood. It is easy for inspectors to spot anything naughty in a nuclear power programme. The Iran nuclear deal allowed them to do so. It was the best possible way to prevent Iran getting the bomb, while allowing her to get the electricity.

Trump is wrong – even if the New York Times says he is wrong.