Hard to see what we gain from scuttling Iran nuke deal
So The Great Negotiator has pulled the U. S. out of the 10- year Iran nuclear freeze agreement signed by five other nations. We will now throw our weight around by reapplying the sanctions lifted by the agreement, plus we unilaterally forbid other nations, presumably including our allies, to continue whatever trading they resumed when the sanctions were lifted.
Now what? Will our allies comply, or leave us adrift, on our own, as odd man out? How might this affect our standing among nations, when friend and foe alike no longer can trust the U. S. to keep its word? What shall be the long- term consequences of Trump’s self- imposed isolation, already begun by withdrawing from the Far East Trade Agreement arranged during Obama’s tenure, thus abdicating U. S. economic influence there indefinitely? How badly might this undermine the pending talks to disarm North Korea?
Recently on a trip to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s arch- enemy, we saw Trump on TV dancing a celebratory sword dance with gleeful Saudis. Was this week’s Iran move decided then and there? In return for what, that makes the Iran disruption a net gain? For the U. S. or for Trump personally? His finances remain secret. What second shoe is yet to drop in that scenario?
In today’s narrative bashing Iran, all the background factors that may have contributed to the current impasse and Iran’s actions since are disregarded. Those include our CIA’s meddling in Iran’s political affairs, including the overthrow of President Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, paving the way for the ayatollahs ruling there today and disrupting Middle East politics from Lebanon to the Saudi border, including anarchy in Iraq in the wake of our invasion.
Our Founding Fathers had no way to anticipate the political impact of oil or nuclear warfare when they warned against “foreign entanglements,” yet their wariness was prescient. Add Trump, all hubris and scant wisdom, and all bets are really off. It is difficult to see a gain from his impetuosity. Worse, we seem in for 2 ½ more years of it. If nothing else, it promises to clarify the limits of U. S. power. Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park SEND LETTERS TO: letters@ suntimes. com. Please include your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes.