The Iran nuclear deal can help build relations with Iran and allow progress for peace but Trumpelstiltzkin and his ilk use the tiresome excuse that Iran will 'wipe Israel off the map' to stop any progress from being made.
Someone should remind them that the US has the blood of Iraqis, Libyans, Syrians, etc, on their hands. Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq weren't destabilised by the Iranians...
And let's not forget what the US did to Iran in the past.
When even a General nicknamed 'Mad Dog' is stating that Iran are adhering to the agreement and should be left alone, while the only one claiming the opposite is the most notorious liar of our time - perhaps it's wise to give Iran the benefit of the doubt?
But since the the Israeli lobby seems to own both houses of Congress (effectively ending free speech (!!!) with their push for anti-BDS legislation), I fully expect Congress to cave in to Israeli pressure.
8
Too bad we cannot decertify Mr. Trump.
5
Here we go again, Benjamin Netanyahu and the paid minions of AIPAC in Congress alongside a Trump Administration which is more Likud than the Knesset is one again controlling American foreign policy in the Middle East against the wishes of most Americans from the elites to the public. This will only end when the American people themselves revolt at paying more blood and treasure in wars of aggression against the vast Muslim world at the behest of a militant foreign state, and hold their own officials accountable for this treachery.
7
The Constitution says that an officer of the federal government can be impeached if they are suspected of acts which cause “substantial harm to society.”
Based on that one criterion, the following people should be impeached by the House:
Donald J. Trump
Michael Pence
Jeffrey Sessions
Rex Tillerson
Steve Mnuchin
James Mattis
Ryan Zikne
Sonny Perdue
Ben Carson
EWlaine Chao
Rick Perry
Betsy DeVos
For starters.
Get to work!! Let your congressional delegation know that you want impeachment and why.
5
It is a shame that we longer look out for America first, and it appears that the President who claims to be an America Firster is doing Israel's bidding against Iran. The US Congress is already in AIPAC's pocket, now the President is moving in with the Congress too.
I do see a scenario where we would be forced by Israel (a foreign country in the Middle East) to fight a war against Iran. It is not going to be a cakewalk either. Saddam was weak and his country was divided,
This position by Trump is contrary to the recommendations of Mad Dog Mattis, Kelly, and Tillerson. The only one supporting this position is Bibi, Jared, and US ambassador to Israel an Israeli lobbyist David Friedman, whose daughter already immigrated to Israel. I wonder about the loyalty of these individuals.
We use to have a President whose claim to fame was a 'Decider' now we have one who is a 'punter' as he keeps sending mix messages and blame others for his indecisiveness and is quick to take credit even when one is not there.
It is a grave error by Trump to go against the P5+1 and put all his eggs in Israel’s basket. Which is not very stable.
If we move away from this JCPOA, we are opening the door for Iran to continue the research and perfect the delivery systems. It also tells Kim Jong-un that he cannot trust the Americans and that their words are meaningless.
5
Sure Pres. Trump, go ahead and kick this hot potato over to Congress. Trump knows Congress is "occupied territory" and the Iran Agreement will likely not succeed. So it seems the Iran deal will fall apart but Trump may feel he won't be to blame when it does. Seems like a win win for him.
Then the mother of all wars in the Middle East?
3
The U.S.'s decertification of the Iran nuclear accord, and any sanctions applied by the U.S., will have little effect on Iran, or the other signers of the accord. Trade between the two nations is very limited and the U.S. has no diplomatic presence in Iran.
Fortunately, it's a multi-national agreement, and, as with the Climate Accord, the U.S.'s departure means nothing to the rest of the world. The U.S. might miss the oil supply coming from Iran, but that's about it.
Dropping out of the game...not participating in something as vital to the world as nuclear arms control is unacceptable. Not participating in globally held values of a clean environment, not being against nuclear war, not helping your territories at times of crisis, insulting Western allies only serves to keep the U.S. apart from the world of global economy and change.
Europe has continued to do business with Iran, to their and Europe's trade benefit. Establishing and keeping these kinds of bonds is important to keeping the nuclear accord in place long-term.
Trump separates the U.S. further and further from traditional Western, first world nations' goals and ideals. He risks putting the U.S. in danger, makes us weaker on the world stage and seems to be leading us to Second world status.
He can fiddle, the U.S. can burn...and the rest of the world will carry on without us.
10
The Great Avenger : Vladimir Putin. A smooth operator is Vlad Putin. He knows how to get done what he wants done. In this case, the isolation and crippling of America . God Save America.
1
There are many reasons why Trump seeks to hobble the nuclear deal with Iran. He seems enjoy demolishing what Obama had accomplished, than doing something relevant and constructive. He is also at the bidding of the Saudi King Salman and Netanyahu.
Tom Cotton received 2 millions from Iran hawks for his 2014 election campaign, and he was paid nearly $1 million by the Emergency Committee for Israel, a rightwing political advocacy organisation to oppose the Iran deal. In March 2015 he wrote an open-letter to Iran, signed by 47 Republicans, stating that a GOP White House would not honour the nuclear agreement.
That House Republicans "voted against the deal" in 2015 came as no surprise. Every single one of them knows that Sheldon Adelson conditions his checks on their Iran vote.
But these men are so short-sighted that they ignore the long-term gains. If the deal collapses, Iran will be able to produce uranium and resume its nuclear programme immediately. Bringing Iran in from the cold helps build trust and improve relations. When the deal expires in 13 years, Tehran might have no appetite for nuclear weapons, given the country's young population, that doesn't want to live in a pariah state.
8
With the invasion of Iraq, we have already gone once to war on behalf of Israel. We know how that turned out.
Ready for another go in Iran?
I think not.
9
What would expect from the town crier! This is not a reality TV show this is real life. I am sure trump will attack baseball if the Yankees are not in the world series. Why, because it make no sense and he can.
3
Most of Trump's decisions are based on his obsessive hatred and insane jealousy of President Obama. So far he has not managed to damage that fine upright man's legacy and he never will. History will stand behind Obama while scorn will follow our present president to his grave.
5
Nothing new here. Throughout Trumps business career he as ignored and/or walked away from contracts and obligations. What's different now is the draconian ramifications associated with his impulsive actions.
3
It seems that the 350 billion dollars that the USA is about to receive from the House of Saud for weaponry, when Trump visited Saudi Arabia, will be the price of the next war in the Middle East. This will be the second time the House of Saud drags the USA into a chaotic war (the first time is the 2003 Iraq invasion). It is true that Iran is playing a destabilizing role in the Middle East, but war is not the answer. The Arabs + Israel + USA can NOT win the war against Iran.
Canceling the nuclear agreement will be a complete disaster for the USA. First, it will prove that the USA is not a trustworthy negotiating partner. This will cause countries like North Korea to say why to negotiate with Americans if they can’t keep their word. Second, it is highly likely that Iran knows already how to make the bomb as they most likely bought the secrets and the designs from the Pakistanis (Dr. Khan). Canceling the agreement will make Iran a nuclear state in a few months. This will not be in the interest of the Arabs or Israel. Third, the allies and friends of the USA will have serious doubt about the US commitment to all treaties which will make the USA more isolated. The USA can NOT afford withdrawing out of international treaties with no consequences. The world needs the USA as much as the USA needs the world.
Let’s not forget that the Iran deal has been engineered by some of the best American diplomats led by a very respected MIT physicist.
3
The irony, of course, is that Trump is actually demonstrating how Not to make a good deal. By backing away, he puts the ball squarely in Iran's court. We'll have to beg them back to the bargaining table. It's the same with his approach to NAFTA and TPP. These were all decent, fair, albeit complex treaties, and any party that fails to uphold its end of the deal is effectively ceding its bargaining power.
1
Donald Trump failed to "de-certify" President Obama by way of his fake claims that Obama wasn't born here. So, now that he's in charge, he's decided to decertify all of Obama's policies like the ACA and the Iran deal, abortion, transgenders in the military, and anything else he can get his hands on. I honestly doubt that this simpleminded man has convictions or knowledge about anything he does other than it being emotional, reactionary and retaliatory. I personally still can't wrap my mind around the fact that this unfit amoral person is the White House occupant and not because the majority of of us (who saw through him and knew better) voted for him but because of our outdated electoral system.
2
The Iran accord has an incredibly (to this reader) wide gap through which Iran can cheat and continue developments otherwise barred. Iran can unilaterally, without providing evidence thereof, declare a site to be a military installation, and bar the inspectors from entering it. Rather, Iran is to collect soil and other samples from it that the inspectors request. The selection of those samples is "supervised" by the inspectors through video facilities Iran is to install that show their locations -- but the inspectors cannot demand the video facilities be placed wherever they like, nor verify that the locations actually used conform to their request, since their entry is barred. Indeed, Iran can even forbid locations that they, unilaterally, declare would expose militarily sensitive components of the site -- and the inspectors have no power, under the agreement, to force compliance with their requests.
In short: Iran can do whatever it likes, wherever it likes, and still be "in compliance." And, yes, to critics: I have read the publically available parts of the document, find nothing to refute my claims.
2
The only thing "embarrassing to the United States" is the fact that we have a president hostage to a foreign country and his son-in-law.
6
First, Donald has to convince us he understands the terms of that six-party negotiation. Then he has to convince Congress that what will follow withdrawal is a better deal than what we have now.
But ultimately, we give them back billions of dollars for signing on, and now we back out of the agreement? That makes it a very bad deal.
1
I'll give Trump this: He is making our world far more dangerous.
2
Excuse my comment which is somewhat (maybe not) off topic:
Is anyone else as appalled by Donald Trump's comment yesterday:
"This may be the calm before the storm"
What does that mean? "You'll find out" is an insult to anyone with an IQ above freezing. It's insulting and terrifying.
I thought we had hit rock bottom with this moron. I was wrong.
NOT my president
12
Trump is a flaming moron, that's a given and has been certified by his Secretary of State. Armed with that knowledge we know Trump has no idea what is in any piece of legislation he gives a thumbs up or down to. All Trump knows is that if President Obama is for it, he's against it. Trump's only purpose is to destroy President Obama's legacy. Why? Trump showed his true "colors" long ago. He is a sympathizer of White Supremacists, he was king of the Birthers, he hates the fact that President Obama is so much smarter than he and respected around the world where Trump is the world's laughingstock and not respected by anyone who knows him. And this was verified by Trump's poodle, Rex the Wonder Pooch, who called it as he saw it.
DD
Manhattan
7
Trump is interested one thing only (Besides himself) and that is to destroy anything that the uppity black man did as president. It is all about revenge for being embarrassed by President Obama at the Washington press corp dinner a couple of years ago. He is compelled by ego to destroy everything Obama did, no matter how bad his judgement is. And let's not forget that Trump is a racist. He always was and he always will be. Tillerson was right when he said that Trump is a moron.
6
Everyone knows he's a moron, even the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chief of Staff. They have always thought so, but are willing to kiss you-know-what, in the interest of the country? How does this make them any better than tRump?
4
Since he has no ideas and even his Secretary of State calls him a moron, so those of us who did not vote for him are not alone in our disgust with this President, all he is able to do is tear apart what has worked. Which he has tried to do repeatedly. Incapable and frustrated is my comment. The worst President America has ever had to suffer through, but then those who love guns love this President...that says it all.
2
Iran Deal (again!) (?) -- In the Iran Deal, the United States proved itself to still be a leader among nations on critical issues facing international security. Only an idiot (moron?) would seek to undermine it. So, we'll see. Are we going to take a gigantic step backward and re-ignite a "war footing" scenario with Iran, or keep our eye on the ball = ensuring non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran?
PS: It's becoming pretty clear why Tillerson and probably also Kelly and Mattis have that "pact" to always have one of them close to Trump, whom I would also bet that all three view as indeed a moron (not to mention a nightmare for the country).
5
Dulcet et decorum est pro patria mori. It is sweet and fitting to die for one' s country.
President Trump (moron-U.S.): I really shot my mouth off during the campaign about the Iran deal, the crowds loved it, but I really had no idea about what I was talking about so I'm throwing this into the lap of Congress.
And they'd better not make me angry or I'll launch a tweetstorm on all of them.
3
Perfectly Trump! Tillerson was right: a feckless moron. Act for the headlines, and let someone else take responsibility.
3
All these rational arguments and discussions... let's be honest. Trump will sign anything and do anything as long as it's something that will get him in the news. I'm not sure moron is the right word, but "dangerous" sure fits.
1
Once again this ignoramus with his hate of Obama's Legacy does everything to destroy life, humanity, decency;the dossier represents the despicable depths of this cretin and the destruction he creates;and where is the GOP Congress with their supposed Checks&Balances? Silent to the bone,because they want him to undo Democracy which they have been doing for past 20 years for those who have eyes to see;the GOP Congress Barked&Howled at every move Obama made&every plan he had because he worked for the public good AND the GOP Congress works for corporations&1% AND GOP Congress too gutless,cowardly to object to anything their mighty dog donald does;when Impeachment comes,it shall come for the corrupt GOP Congress too;No one stands up to trump, not his children, not his staff AND he wants immediate access to all military options;the person insane, should not have a gun, and cannot have any nuclear access;a madman in charge thanks to evangelicals who want no rights for anyone, for the fox brainwashed too lazy to read facts, and the internally violent & outwardly fearful who need a rebel yell to charge whatever it is they are told to charge, may they all go down the RiverStyxx together.
2
This is what it has come down to in America, we have a dumbed down culture with a really Dumbed Down President that is in many ways a product of the trash culture and media, sad.
5
For the narcissist in the WH the important thing isn`t whether Iran is in compliance or the treaty benefits the US and the World. For this utterly immoral character the deal must be scratched because it was done by Obama - and must be replaced with something that has the psychopath`s name on it.
This is one more piece of evidence that democracy in the hands of the ignorant is self-destructive. The angry racist white rabble who voted for this con-man have no idea how much harm they have already inflicted on their own country. And there is a lot more to come, much more.
Trump, Trump everywhere and not a shred of decency.
7
This knucklehead willl open the way for Iran to resume production of nuclear weapons.
Whether this is his goal or not, he must be removed from office immediately to prevent him from exposing America to further dangerously stupid acts driven by his juvenile ego.
2
Apparently we are now another irrational country who can not be trusted to live up to our word. Isolated, angry and with a childish, crazy leader who has an agenda which isn't good for the people of the country. Welcome to North Korea!
6
Trump is a fraud, coward and a paper lion. There is no substance to any of his actions other than to create hype, hysteria and self aggrandizement. Iran is a further demonstration of that thesis. Albeit that he believes that the deal was bad, he offers no alternative solution(s). The US would be left out on the ledge alone, isolated from its global allies. Further, walking away from the deal would only reinforce North Korea to never enter into a deal with us-because obviously deals are worthless.
In The Art of the Deal, Trump posits that he never has a plan-he only reacts to the events of the day. That might work in the Real Estate world. It might also work in his self branding business. It does not work in Geopolitics. In his previous life, he created messes ( often on purpose) and then sent in subordinates or lawyers to clean it up, often by inaction or delay tactics, often in the courts. That does not work here.
He is shallow, uninformed, uncaring and indeed a moron. Rex T had it right.
7
Good idea Pres.Trump. Let the Iranians develop a nuclear bomb and then with luck you'll have another target for your overwhelming force. Always good to have another option in addition to your 'rocket man' buddy in N. Korea.
1
No doubt, Netanyahu and the Israeli religious right wing will be overjoyed. Trump is their perfect stooge to put the U.S. on a path to war with Iran based on trumped up evidence of non-compliance with the nuclear treaty, just as George W. Bush was for drawing the U.S. into war with Iraq based on false intelligence.
In exchange, Israel has entered into a Faustian bargain to stay silent as Trump defends Nazi marchers as victims of anti-Nazi protestors.
12
Has Trump ever once, in all his efforts to "rip up" Obama's legacy, explained to the American people his own specific ideas of what would constitute improvements? Health care? NAFTA? Iran? Climate Accord? South Korea trade agreement? NATO?
No replacements offered. No details mastered and communicated to the public. Nothing but tearing down. He seems utterly consumed by a seething jealousy of his predecessor.
7
It seems to me that all this will do is create a lot of incentive for Iran to go Full Speed Ahead in developing nuclear, and even thermonuclear, weapons.
6
This is serious stupidity and a national security disaster. Mattie and Tillerson should resign in protest.
4
How much do you wanna bet that this allows Congress to redo the previous Sanctions bill and remove Russia from it? This would allow Exxon's Russia ½ a trillion dollar oil deal (so Tillerson can collect, then leave), Trump Moscow / St. Petersburg hotels and other things to go forward.
1
Most Americans don't understand Trump's 10/15 action. The "certification process" derives from H.R.1191 - Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 which was forced on President Obama by an overwhelming vote in Congress.
The Act is an entirely internal US action, requiring the President to certify that the JCPOA ("Iran Deal") is in the United States' "national interest." This certification has nothing to do with the JCPOA itself. The Act allows the President to cite issues that are irrelevant to the JCPOA--conventional missiles, human rights, etc., and all the things Iran detractors want to pile up. Congress would then decide whether to reimpose sanctions.
One of Trump's "concerns" has to do with the inspection of military facilities. The JCPOA is based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which the United States, Iran and approximately every other nation in the world are signatories (but not Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea and South Sudan).
Under the NPT the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is charged with inspecting Iran's (and every other nation's) NUCLEAR facilities, or facilities that will contain fissile material within 180 days. Under the JCPOA the IAEA can only inspect non-nuclear facilities if they are suspected of harboring nuclear activities.
Nikki Haley met with the IAEA, but failed to identify a single military site for IAEA inspection. Iran has allowed inspection of every identified site. The charge that they have not is false.
8
Mr. Trump, may I suggest that you get your best deal with North Korea first to see what you can do at negotiating. After that, if you think you can do better, look into making a parallel deal with Iran to Iran's present deal, to tackle the other issues you may have with them. Please solve one problem at a time.
Please solve one problem before you tackle one that is presently working.
Stupid campaign slogans, under Trump, become the basis for legislation. Just like the wall. This is insanity.
2
President Trump acts as if he has nothing to lose. Many of his supporters, I suspect, feel they have nothing to lose. The consequences of behavior based on this belief will result in a change, radical change, unpredictable change. No wonder I feel like Chicken Little these days. The sky is falling.
4
So he will once again unilateral decide what is best for all Americans. Our word across the world is held suspect under Trump. He has returned America to its past. A past where our treaties signed with native people and approved by Congress were not worth the paper they were written on.
As many have speculated it Trump were asked to explain the general terms of that deal he would be dumbstruck. I the simple minder worldview of Trump.
Obama's treaty Bad.
Trump is feeding the mob of his wing nut base at the expense of the American people and our reputation as a nation. Putin must be smiling in the Kremlin.
1
Don't scrap the deal. Amend it.
Start with insisting that inspections include military facilities which are now off-limits. You mean to tell me that nuclear testing and development cannot take place at nuclear facilities at military facilities out of the sight of nuclear inspectors? Realistically, that would be the first place you'd wanted to inspect.
This trickery all fits in with the Iranians practice of "takia" which is lying, stealth and deception endorsed by the Koran.
Trump likes to sound off.
Let's see him regularly take to Twitter, the internet, radio and TV to address the Iranian people directly to implore them to overthrow their illegal, unelected, religious-fanatic, Twelver dictators who run around in their little costumes and 6th century headgear and replace the illegitimate so-called "islamic republic" with a duly constituted form of government which more closely fulfills the aspirations of the majority of the Iranian people.
1
Sorry but you are wrong. The Iranian military sites are being tested for nuclear material.
1
Oh, the Lover of Chaos strikes again! He's already got one nuclear crisis on the table, so let's pile it on and go for two.
Imagine if Obama had done this ... the Republicans would be yelling "impeach" to the high heavens. Now their morally-and-ethically-challenged leader decides to do the same ... and they'll be fine with it. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Of course Trump will throw this to Congress, just like he did with healthcare.
It's his MO to say he "tried" but that Congress stymied him.
What a coward.
2
I have no problem with President Trump decertifying the so-called Iran nuclear deal. Put the responsibility back on Congress, where it belongs. Part of the Obama legacy that needs to go away.
1
Southern Boy. That agreement with Iran is a good solid one and we need it. You dont seem to know what it is about and what it means to America. Obama was the best president we have had in years. Too bad you are burdened by prejudice.
1
@CD-R
"...burdened by prejudice." Aren't we all to some degree?
"...Mr. Trump would essentially kick it to Congress to decide whether to reimpose punitive economic sanctions."
Once again the man with the tiny brain and tiny hands refuses to accept responsibility for ANYTHING!
I haven't heard a peep about Iran lately. But why not create another situation just to keep the situation alive for arguments sake. Why solve old problems when it's easier to make new ones?
President Trump does not actually care about the international consequences of his decision to decertify the Iran deal. He is simply playing to his gullible base as usual -- giving the impression that he has junked the Iran deal, while in actuality, all he has done has been to delegate the decision-making power on sanctions to Congress. This suits Trump, since he has no real understanding of the Iran deal and its complexities, and no inclination to buckle down and learn. Congress has already taken control of many aspects of our Russia policy. Now it's Iran's turn. For those who are familiar with the President's unerring instinct to do the wrong thing on foreign policy, this development, while alarming, might not be as bad as it first appears. Perhaps Trump should consider abdicating to Congress on North Korea as well.
1
Anything with Obama's name attached that can be undone is being undone. It doesn't matter that Obama's actions were in the interest of the American people and not in service of his ego. The depths of Trump's racism and his desire to exact revenge for the White House correspondents dinner are perpetually at our expense. The media needs to be much more vocal and critical about the egregiousness of his actions. He's dangerous for America and for the world.
3
We’ve all heard from Trump how bad the Iran accord was for the United States, because he only knows how to criticize. Rarely does he say why the deal was bad (Iran’s support for terrorists in his view) but never offer real alternatives. Now, he’s passing the issue on to a reluctant Congress while his advisers, the “best,” the “greatest,” the “smartest,” have told him not to back out.
Criticizing a deal that much of the world heralded was just part of his campaign shtick to sell himself as a great dealmaker. Trump is a fraud and a menace who would allow Iran to restart its nuclear program just to stroke his own ego.
1
Another crazy idea from a man who has no respect for contracts, as was seen in his failing to pay vendors at his various building projects.
That was bad enough; many went out of business.
But this, without intervention from Congress, affects the entire world. What will it say about the word of the United States if a single man can "tear up" an agreement, when the other side is complying?
I can't wait for Trump to be out of office. Now would be great.
2
The trouble with nationalism or being "political" is that when looking at things from only one viewpoint it limits one from seeing the whole picture. What I mean by that is why not get back to asking the big question, why are we here. As children, we were always asking why. Lincoln said the very same thing, that he was amazed at how many people stop asking questions way too soon in their lives. Profound questions that can be answered.
If one is looking for spiritual enlightenment, the practice of Falun Dafa Falun Gong is a heart and mind cultivation practice, totally free, with approx. one hundred million practitioners worldwide. It consists basically of two books and five gentle exercises.
This a big victory for the clown fringe of the neo con community.
3
Trump ran on ripping up the Iran deal. He said it over and over. The American people voted for him. He's doing what he said he would do, and by extension what the American people want him to do. Why blame him for that, even if you disagree?
1
It is true that some Americans voted for him, though not many. Sometimes, though, people learn more about the issues once ascended to the presidency and reconsider ill-conceived campaign talking points. For example, Mr. Trump now claims that his anti-Muslim rhetoric during the campaign was mere rhetoric and does not inform his travel ban.
1
Well, speaking just for myself, because I find that following up ignorant demogoguery with narcissistic, greedy and downright dangerous words and actions is not only offensive, but positively frightening.
Apologies. I've got this whole caring about what happens to the United States problem going.
2
Because it's stupid to do stupid things.
2
I pray to God that Iran becomes a nuclear power, for then it will not be threatened threatened, practically on a daily basis, with annihilation, or threatened with financial choking (a la anaconda squeezing the life out of its victims); For smaller independent minded countries America has become a GIANT ANACONDA, which through sanctions and boycotts squeezes the life out of its victims.
North VietNam might have progressed beyond Nuclear threats by defying America and its European lackeys(and european-minded foot solders e.g. Japan, South Korea, etc).
2
What a coward? Delegate to the legislature and then blame them. WHEN will they throw him to the wolves? That would solve so many of our problems.
5
A stupid decision that will have lasting consequences for our national security.
Compounding Donald Trump's ignorance is the growing distance between himself and America's fellow-signatories to the Iran nuclear agreement. His ineffective conduct of the presidency and his lack of coherency on many global issues, e.g. climate and trade, have forced other countries to go their own way, probably relieved to not have such an irascible, unpredictable wild card in their midst.
It's more than doubtful that Great Britain, Germany, Russia, and China will re-visit the time-consuming, unnecessary hassle of re-negotiating this pact, won through difficult and stressful marathon sessions. The only beneficiary here, besides Iran, is Israel.
This president is blinded by all things Barack Obama and he's hurtling us down a dark and winding path to nameless perils.
3
Seems we got our orders.....
“Change it, or cancel it. Fix it, or nix it,” Netanyahu said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly annual gathering of world leaders. "
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-assembly-israel/fix-it-or-nix-it-n...
5
has not the historic arc of Trump and his minions been written already. leave it to the donald hisself to authorize a revised Pirates of Penzance. yes history do repeat. so do old plot lines. with lyrics
1
Dancing the 'Potomac Two-Step'...where appearances account for everything and substance means nothing at all..."Mr. Trump could tell his supporters that he broke with President Barack Obama on the deal, without actually..." Cha, cha, cha...
2
Some of these comments make the point that Trump's supporters are a pack of ignoramuses who don't know the simplest things about nuclear materials, bomb production, the inspections regime, the way sanctions work, or much of anything else.
Illiteracy and conspiracy theory and belligerence do not a smart foreign policy make, folks.
1
A deal is a deal, Mr Trump. If America can not honor its agreements , then we stand for nothing.
8
Trump isn't a leader but a reactor. He envisions himself a great negotiator but lacks original ideas and the academic curiosity to get anything done. His desire to undo much of Obama's policies, including the Iran deal, is all about ego. Trump simply thinks he can negotiate a better deal than his predecessor. Let's see how that goes.
1
This guy is working for the Russians and clearly doesn't care who knows it. If he stays in office any longer, we might as well have Putin move into the WH.
2
Maybe Mr. Trump can get back the pallets of untraceable millions in cash that Mr. Obama sent to Iran.
1
You are either misinformed, or are you at outright lying. The pallets of cash we're not sent to Iran, they went to Iraq during the Bush Administration.. this is a matter of public record.
3
Isn't it interesting that Trump's attempts to make good on his campaign promises to roll back many of President Obama's accomplishments--the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris Climate Accord, DACA, the Affordable Care Act--have proved problematic and ill advised, to say the least. Its a testament to Obama's legacy that many Republicans, who disavowed so much of what Obama did, have either effectively admitted that his accomplishments proved worthy (like Tillerson, for example, who doesn't want to pull out of the Iran deal or Ryan, who now champions DACA, or at least the policy behind it) or have been humiliated in discovering how difficult the accomplishments are to supplant (health care, and the embarrassment of pulling out of the Paris climate accord in light of this brutal hurricane season).
28
And now come to read in today's paper that judges are ruling that Trump's attempts at rolling back Obama era EPA regulations are unlawful!
1
Barack Obama, who genuinely had the American peoples' health, happiness, equal rights polities, and life satisfaction as his mission and duty, and has an overflowing reservoir of honesty and integrity, Trump has utter jealously in his mind and heart of the Obama. Trump is the worst exemplification of a leader to ever hold that office in the United States and those who have aligned themselves with this unmitigated degenerate of a human will inherit the results of his base, vicious, and self-serving efforts.
This appears to be no different from his approach to DACA. He promised his base one thing, so he "delivers" on that by passing the responsibility to Congress (which he's denigrated repeatedly for accomplishing nothing). It allows him to create a political win for himself while setting up a convenient scapegoat if the whole thing doesn't work out. Such is "leadership" in 2017.
2
For decades congress would pass or threaten to pass resolutions on foreign affairs based on emotional, parochial or petty political motivations. Under normal conditions the "adults" in the Executive branch would intervine before real harm came to American foreign policy.
Trump administration plans to turn this model on its head and force congress to become the adult and mitigate the harm that will befall our county and its reputation should we unilaterally abandon the Iran nuclear deal.
I for one have no illusions that congress is up to the task.
2
If the US were to re-impose sanctions, we would do so on our own. I don't think anyone in Europe or Asia is likely to cooperate. We would thus only hurt ourselves--given the amount of trade we do with Iran (zero), we won't be hurting them.
We might, however, do damage to some US corporations. Exxon maybe, or maybe just Exxon's competitors.
1
At some point Mr. Trump has to become a president and decide issues. He is like a little boy who is craving the love of his parents in this case his base. The Iran deal is not the best but it is the best we could have worked out short of war. Even his top advisors are telling him to recertify which he should. If he proceeds down this route we will be walking alone.
Fault lies with the voters and the non-voters, not him. What were both of them expecting? Once one has benefited from six big bankruptcies, one prefers to look at the agreements in particular and the world in general quite differently. Remember his recent comments about wiping out PR's debt. No use crying over spilled milk now.
Wow! Trump is the best President ever. It takes real courage to face down an enemy when half of your own country would rather give aid and comfort to our collective enemy than support their own President. This is what makes Trump great. He will not be deterred from doing what is best for America!
1
Thus creating a nuclear armed Iran in the Middle East, and zero chance to reach any agreements with North Korean. This man's ignorance knows no bounds -- including his ignorant inclination to ignore his own educated advisers.
3
You just cannot trust the US to keep its word.
4
I would have thought that Bibi would welcome stopping Iran's nuclear development for 10 years rather than having them finish that work in 2-3 years. By rejecting the deal Trumpikins is putting his pal Bibi in existential danger. Even Sheldon Adelson should be able to see that.
Do you think Bibi wants the US to fight his war again?
4
After DACA, travel bans and health care, we have another spectacular example of stellar presidential leadership. Stage a temper tantrum followed by kicking the issue to Congress which he can then blame for poor leadership when another impulse unravels.
When the president makes the US Congress look good by comparison to himself, the nation should quake in terror.
8
Equivalent of Trump folding his arms, making a mad face, stamping his feet,
saying "wah wah" while cursing Obama, to pander to his base,
while changing nothing. Smoke and mirrors.
He's more of a threat to the world than the Iran nuclear deal.
Would that we could "decertify" him, and NOT leave him in place.
3
The diplomatic catastrophe cannot be exaggerated. We will be at least a half century recovering from this. Long after Trump is gone, no prudent foreign nation, friend or foe, will trust deals with the U.S. for fear American voters, in their infinite ignorant petulance, will elect another demagogic man-child president.
9
This behavior just further reflects Trump's general unfitness for office... adds to the litany of disturbed and dangerous utterances that serve to lengthen his 25th amendment resume. I for one am relieved the new book' The Dangerous Case for Donald Trump' authored by 47 mental health professionals, who are living their ethics by a 'duty to warn' the public of a dangerous President and acknowledge the damage his behavior is doing to the public commons.
1
Veryy like trump.He must show that he is indeed doing all the crazy things he promised. However, he is setting it up so he can only win. If the Congress keeps the iran deal then Trump can blame them . If they pass it he can claim he mde it happen.
1
The Iran deal is bad? You are the best dealmaker in history ever? North Korea is doing what Iran has stopped?
Please then Mr. President, you should have no trouble getting the most beautiful deal in history ever with North Korea. They will surrender all their weapons, erase all their nuclear knowledge and ask for forgiveness. What are you waiting for?
2
Even before he read a word of climate change agreement and Iran nuclear deal, he had vowed to trash them. That vow warmed the hearts of his core supporters who, like him, were determined to trash everything good President Obama had done. And it was that vow, coupled with his xenophobic pronouncements, that got him elected. The fact that what Obama had done was in the best of this country and the rest of the world was the least of his concerns.
North Korea is already a nuclear power and the insults he heaped upon the North Korean dictator have only strengthened the latter's resolve to expand his nuclear weapons program. By decertifying Iran’s compliance with the deal, Mr. Trump is going to free Iran to revive its nuclear weapons program, which was shelved thanks to the deal. That is, there will soon be one more nuclear power in the world hostile to America.
If the megalomaniacal Trump is allowed to continue on the path he has chosen, the world is going to be a very dangerous place by the time he completes his four-year term. The U.S. Congress owes it to the country, and to the world, to stop him before it is too late.
3
If X number of parties signed the deal, technically any one of X backing out voids the deal, no matter what the others do. Thus, instead of an international thumb on Iran's nuclear arms prospects for 14 years, we would get an Iran immediately freed to attempt to become the next North Korea - just when we still haven't figured out how to deal with the actual NK.
Certify the deal. That gives everyone breathing room to come to the table and discuss the other issues we might have with Iran - possibly including a grander strategic treaty that includes and supercedes the current nuclear arms agreement.
And, either Trump (and whoever is advising him to decertify) is one of the stupidest business people I've ever seen, or he's just bluffing and puffing in order to try to bully Iran into...I don't know, but I hope it's good. However, seeing how poorly some of Trump's other maneuvers are turning out so far, that hope might be forlorn.
1
Trump smashes American prestige to pieces.
Putin is certainly getting his money's worth.
3
Trumps arrogant stance about the Nuclear deal with Iran is the result of his utter ignorance about its value (in continuing to monitor things). Is he trying to save face now that reality is sinking in (nitwits always take longer to grasp the facts, if ever).
I have no idea whether the Iran deal was in its concept good or bad for us. What I do know, with absolute certainty, is Trump's lack of skill in negotiating with other nations. We need only look to his skills with regard to North Korea to catch a glimmer of what his involvement in the Iran agreement portends. If I were a gambler, I would bet against him.
What would Hillary do? Would she put the world at risk? Create another nuclear gamble to join with North Korea in confronting us? Would she respect the treaty, honor the other foreign nations that signed on, and take the advice of her most serious advisers and keep this part of the peace?
Who cares? What would Mitt Romney do? Al Gore? It's irrelevant. Decisions are made by the winners not the losers. Hillary is out of the picture, and thankfully so.
1
So are all the rational adults out of the picture, it would seem.
Thus far President Trump unfortunately has not demonstrated that he posses the intellectual capacity to think about the global as well as long term ramifications of his decisions. He has also not demonstrated that he is following or developing a clear and comprehensive geo-political strategy. On the other hand, he has demonstrated an obstinate resistance to sound advice.
So however he will end up deciding on this more than delicate and complex issue, there are no assurances whatsoever that it has received the deliberations it deserves.
Which is what makes this truly frightening.
26
In regard to intellectual inclinations, a differently challenged and/or talented Trump, with all frivolity, will revel in passing the buck to saner group in congress, as to the furtherance or otherwise of Iran deal. This deal has received poignant criticisms, right from get go, and it was not intended to make Iran behave like an adult, which it has not done, hitherto. Cases in point. Its gunboats seemingly, as a show of shenanigans, pestering the US navy, at its own peril. Fortunately, no shots were fired, despite the unprovoked mischief of the Iranian revolutionary guards.
Whether Iran will abide by this nuclear restraints or not, remains to be seen, but the GOP and a few Dems. were neither enamored nor enthralled by this treaty, one single bit. Democratic senator from NJ, Robert Menendez opposed it, among others, while many others paid accolades to the deal, which has continued to remain the bone of contention.
Now it is Trump's turn to bell the cat. He has his own myrmidons, who seem to cajole him to keep the deal, but it seems less likely he will listen to them. Also, many GOP congresspersons seem to harbor a farrago of views, and it seems that the deal might face the gallows of near certain death penalty. Or so, one seems to opine.
1
The IAEA has certified that Iran is living up to the JCPOA. Mattis as well as some Republican senators who originally opposed the deal have publically stated that it is folly to abrogate it. The US is the country that can't be trusted to live up to it-- not Iran.
3
It is not that Iran is mischievous, or involved in shenanigans, it is America that is involved in hegemonic provocations. What business has America in the Persian Gulf? What are American gunboats and solders doing in Persian defense parameter lands?
America should not be involved is becoming a shield for recalcitrant Arabs princes and pirates.
2
But the way they treated the US seamen seemed quite subhuman and these Iranians lacked basic decency. Moreover, the ships were in international waters, and Iranians ain't no saints neither. Their notorious treatments of captives have left much to be desired in the past. Remember human rights?
Trump and conservative Republicans have no grasp of the necessity and the art of compromise. So far on healthcare they got nothing at all by demanding everything that they want and refusing to give an inch to Democrats. They have strong demands but what if your opponents don't agree to everything you want? These folks are apparently willing to go to war because they don't have an agreement that is perfect by their standards. There is apparently no grasp of the consequences of no deal at all or the consequences of war with Iran or war with North Korea.
Perhaps the fact that the devastation of war takes place in someone else's backyard is comfort enough.
The "Art of the Deal" great negotiator isn't anything but a book about how to make money in real estate if you start out with a lot, lie to people a lot, and have enough to take major losses on your mistakes. Trump needs to go back to his businesses and quit trying to play Mr. Big International Negotiator.
6
Bullying is the DNA of American BIG BUSINESS. American mind-set does not accept the EQUALITY of the other; everything is handled on the basis of RELATIVE STRENGTH, and the ability to PREVAIL. The basis ethos of America has become: "my way, or the highway".
America is NOT A MORAL STATE, but a LEGAL STATE. And who makes the laws in America? Most American Law makers are either rich, or win elections through financial support of the supper-rich. They do not make deals, but buy or sell souls.
1
I have an uneasy suspicion that Mr. Trump's position on the Iran nuclear deal is nothing more than the fulfillment of a pledge to some of his campaign donors. Possibly Sheldon Adelson in particular. Mr. Adelson is doing Israel's bidding.
13
As I have said before: "America is NOT A MORAL STATE, but a LEGAL STATE. And who makes the laws in America? Most American Law makers are either rich, or win elections through financial support of the supper-rich. They do not make deals, but buy or sell souls".
Tillerson's five-letter description of Trump continues to be apt, over and over again.
21
It was a two word description.
3
@JT: "Tillerson's five-letter description of Trump continues to be apt, over and over again."
... and that's been toned down from Tillerson's even more apt 12-letter description.
1
There are issues'-that forces the deal off the table.
It is not just an,one cut two pieces matter,of Compliance.
At stake is an host of matter,that is inimical to the goodwill the deal should have evoked.It didn't.
The hastily drawn deal was an subtle appeasement & it has not worked.It has only delayed the inevitable.Appeasement seldom works.
There is a frenetic undercurrent of work being undertaken at an low key level to accomplish the unfinished task of making the coveted ....
The deal was a mere subterfuge.A time delay apparatus.
The Vitriolic Rhetoric also don't add up to making the deal a viable proposition.
It's like giving your house to an hostile rentee,who will pay the monthly rent but may end up damaging the home at the time of the expiry of the rental agreement.
The President is merely reaffirming what he sees on his table,Which you don't have the luxury of seeing,except in hindsight.
That the deal is a "NO DEAL".
Sorry, but our allies agreed to this deal as well. Whom we need. And yes, it may just be a "time delay" measure, but at least we have eyes and boots on the ground in Iran via the IAEA. Otherwise, Iran can have nukes now. I'll take the ten years of not allowing them to build a bomb. And your hypothetical example of a renter can go both ways as you have stated in using the words, "may end up damaging". Yes, Iran "may end up" restarting its nuke bomb program or it may not. If you prefer the inevitable conclusion that you have already made, then yes, scrap the deal and let's have the threat of another nuclear war on the table!
1
A deal means an agreement. America is used to breaking agreements. America makes agreement from position of STRENGTH (physical or economic). Over time, if America loses the upper hand, it renounces the treaty, agreement, deal. Could the American tribes, whose lands have been usurped by America, abrogate treaties and claim sovereignty over their domains. Do they have right to "hindsight".
So the Great and Powerful Putin Ambassador to Russia finds yet another way to play his CEO GET EVEN games? My particular favorite was his Oscar award winning performance yesterday with all those military families when he "played" "NEED to KNOW" and said, "This is the calm before the storm."
Then, Mr. Need to Know CEO was asked what that meant and that worn out old "We'll" See" was supposed to make sure he got even with all Americans who won't obey little good little puppies, especially Tillerson and the Republicans.
Why say, "WE'LL" see, when what he really means is "I'LL" see?"
So, because he knows that Mueller, the Trump WW3 Ace Fighter already met with Christopher Steele, the MI6 agent, even as that Republican liar, Senator Richard Burr, tried to superglue shut down the Senate investigation by saying, they "hit a brick wall" trying to meet with Steele, we see now just how far the Trump and Republican guilt and cover up is guiding what remains of any conscience.
Trump is like the petulant little Mommy Mary Ann brat he has always been when he didn't get his way. He never failed to makes sure his siblings felt his Mommy power then and he thinks he won't fail now with his Putin power.
The reality is that his trying to back out of the Iran deal isn't just about Iran. It's about the world never again trusting the word of any US representative.
Great work Trump! Show the world what you are: The same crook who doesn't pay what he owes and then looks to blame others.
8
Trump knows a few things, Bankruptcy, false truths, minorities with bad intent, women and disrespect, dividing Americans, more lies, likes Russia. One thing he absolutely knows nothing about is Foreign policy. He rather play the leader than lead. In reality, a buffoon of major proportions. Tillerson is correct.
12
Knowledge of "foreign policy" was not a requirements (never mind essential requirement) for the PotUS job. Why are you noe after the fact escalating the demands?
"...in part because that would free Iran to begin producing uranium and reprocessing plutonium immediately, not after 13 years, as is stipulated in the agreement."
As if they ever stopped producing uranium and reprocessing plutonium. Trump is a realist. Can't pull the wool over his eyes.
Curtis,
Do your homework and research in what our allies and the IAEA are doing on the ground in Iran. They are NOT enriching uranium under the agreement and have in fact turned over the majority of their uranium stockpile to Trump's friends, the Russians. What's the alternative to scrapping the agreement -- threat of another nuclear war. What do you think would happen if NO ONE was able to watch what Iran is doing with nuclear material as you suggest? Too easy to hand over plutonium to terrorists. Is that what you want?
1
Plutonium is produced; uranium is reprocessed. By the way, there've been inspections. They're not currently doing either.
Just so's you know, you get uranium by reprocessing ores. Plutonium's actively produced in reactors.
It matters because they gave up their reprocessing centrifuges and breeder reactor. Yeah, we know for sure.
Can't pull the wool over his eyes, eh?
It's interesting that the same day Trump is considering backing out of the deal that allows Iran's nuclear program to progress, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to a NGO promoting the disuse and/or dismantling of nuclear weapons.
2
There's a problem here. This story is being covered as politics, when it is, in fact, a denial of reality. Iran is in compliance. Trump refuses to say it is. It's granting Trump too much to say he is doing so simply for political reasons when this is apiece with so much evidence we already have of his pervasive detachment from reality.
14
Welcome to the land of ignorance, stupidity, misunderstanding - I mean the new America.
Trump may want to first talk to Rick Perry, his Energy Secretary. On the department's own website, you can find this video:
https://energy.gov/videos/iran-deal-working
It shows that four pathways to Iranian nuclear production are blocked, and notes that "The deal is working".
If the Department of Energy believes this to be the case, where is Trump's evidence that the deal is not in the US interest?
And if this is an old video, which is possible, why hasn't it been removed? Is this administration so slow and so disorganized that it can't clean up a website nine months after inauguration?
So which is it, Mr. Trump? Is the deal working, or are your hand-picked appointees not doing their jobs?
6
If it weren't so sad I would be laughing. Does Trump really think that the other countries will just follow suit? All he is doing is transferring power to Angela Merkel, which is not a bad thing as she seems to be the adult in the room. Unfortunately for the US his antics not only make us to the laughing stock of the world, but they make it clear that US leaders do not have any credibility, and they dangerously isolate us.
1
Which is worse, Trump or the Iran Deal? I'm not a fan of either of them. Both are essentially meaningless expressions of emptiness.
The diff is that the Iran Accords actually do something worth doing.
A useless act. He’s a showman not a leader. 2018 and 2020 can’t come fast enough.
2
2018 or 2010 ? Trump is trying to do his best that they never come!
How anyone still supports Trump is beyond comprehension. He was a nightmare before he was elected and now he has the entire country to destroy.
2
Trump’s reach for a better deal with Iran will be less successful than his repeal and replace of Obamacare. Tom Cotton is wishing for the perfect deal, where Iran will abandon any plan for a weapon and any delivery system. It is foolish to think they would accept such an agreement where they would give up so much for so little in return. All this will do is to create another North Korea.
The deal Obama made was to buy time, that in fourteen years there might be a thaw in relations and the desire for nuclear weapons would ease. Trump’s plan would leap over those fourteen years. Iran will have its weapon by the time Trump leaves office and the U.S. will be further isolated. All the deal-maker president is achieving is to deal America out as a trusted leader among world governments. Under Trump, the U.S. is viewed as a foolish and unreliable partner. Instead of negotiating with foreign powers the president should stick to playing golf.
48
It's easier to be reckless and bombastic on foreign policy matters but very difficult to manage the resulting aftermath which is forced on the nation to confront with. By declining to certify the UN authorised international nuclear deal with Iran, and instead pushing the ball to the Congress court Trump could keep his conservative base in good humour but bound to invite blame for the US as being a totally unreliable nation when it comes to upholding the international agreements, let alone ensuring global peace and order.
4
Please read the history of America and its predecessor regimes from 1700 onwards. US never honoured any treaty; in the years 1945 - 1970 there were less shenanigans, but now America is back to its old game. Only nations STRONGER (or those that can cause good bit of damage) are safe.
1
Trump said he knows more than the generals -- yet he also claims to revere them. And four of them -- head of the national security council, chief of staff, secretary of defense and chairman of the joint chiefs -- have told him no way, Jose, the Iran nuclear agreement is very much in the national security interests of the U.S. Do not decertify it. Do not kick it over to that money pit called Congress. So to defy their wise council, what would you call it other than "moronic."
4
Right. The Congress can’t get anything done, so give them one more item on their plate. Right.
5
From the article: "Mr. Trump could tell his supporters that he broke with President Barack Obama on the deal, without actually violating its terms."
And if he does this, his simple minded supporters will probably be happy. He will soothe his base once again and that will put a shine on his next rally. What an amazingly shallow man we have as president. He will sell out the ultimate safety of the entire country so that he can maintain a few points in his approval ratings. He is a narcissist above all things.
11
Trumps only purpose and his only intention in this presidency to undo everything Obama put in Place. Because Obama made a fool of Trump , I guess you could say his reason for wanting the job is spite.
5
The deal was bad from the get-go, they will not let our inspectors in, per the original deal so what's the point of moving forward with it?
Typical for the New York Times readers and Iran apologists to take offense
1
Making trouble where it doesn't exist to show his faithful followers he's fulfilling his idiotic campaign promise that it was a "bad deal". This man is the most dangerous threat to our country... seriously. I pray Robert Mueller's investigation will bring about Trump's impeachment as soon as possible.
3
he needs to be "decertified"... now
5
Any country with a treaty or business with the US will start considering alternative partners. America first may work at home with Trump's "base" but it means America last everywhere else.
Trump is not merely normalizing duplicity but sanctioning it. He is incapable of seeing that it creates an unstable world and puts lives at risk; he only sees that it keeps him in the headlines.
3
Typical Mr. Trump.
Throw a monkey wrench into a deal that took years to negotiate just because it was done by President Obama. Trump only thinks about himself first and then his supporters NOT what is in the best interest of the entire nation or the world.
Mr. Trump is demonstrating to the world that the US does not honor it's agreements. How does he expect to get North Korea to back down on their nuclear program when Mr. Trump will not even honor a nuclear deal the US has already negotiated with Iran?
If Iran immediately starts up their nuclear program, Mr. Trump will once again deny any responsibility and this time blame Congress. WIth Trump, he never takes responsible for his actions. Like a spoiled petulant child, Trump blames everyone else for problems he created.
So how does this "Make America Great Again"?
3
This has become a classic Trump strategy: Cater to his base while hoping someone else, here Congress, will bail him it by doing the RIGHT thing. He did the same with DACA. I can just hear him tell his three amigos that, while they may be right that the paramount consideration is no nukes for Iran (after all, he says he wants to actually take them away from Kim), he just can't go back on all his rhetoric on the Iran deal.
He continues to find ways to divert Congress from getting anything real done. For many of us, with this Congress, that's a good thing.
3
You might be right, but then what is wrong with the strategy. He has been very successful in bankruptcy courts. Bankruptcy courts saved him from his follies. Using his old strategy, he now hopes that Congress will now save him from his stupidities. It is a real deal!!!!!
"But the administration has yet to articulate that broader strategy." Of course, DT never has a strategy. Just reacts to his gut and moves on. This is too serious for this kind of approach. When will the public demand more?
1
Sad, but true, Mr. Tillerson hit the nail on the head in his assessment mental abilities of DJT.
3
There seems to be a pattern developing
A few "will he - won't he" cliffhanger statements. Then the "decision" that satisfies the base - always one that overturns the current policy without any real reasoning - other than "it's terrible, the worst ever." But no real action. Kick the problem over to Congress or some department. Nothing happens. Then comments on how "we really care about those who could be hurt by this ruling" Will he or Wont he - again. Then Angry rambling Tweets about who is to blame - not him of course. Undercut your key managers. Threaten to fire people - but don't.
Yes - this is how things run in "Business"
1
The fact is that we have an incompetent President. He is more concerned with pleasing his supporters than what is good for the country. How much longer will Republicans support this incompetence?
5
at least until they get that tax cut they've been promising their wealthy donors.
2
Trump continues his destruction of the United States. The Republican majority Congress must take action to stop him! Completely!
4
Are you watching, Kim Jong-Un? Don't even think about making any nuclear deals with the US, because even if you follow all the restrictions, the US Government can't be trusted to honor any agreement.
5
Trump may be playing domestic political games in his head, but he's really playing cards for fundamentalist Israelis and Republicans who see war with Iran as some kind of inevitable mission from God.
5
Every day is one nightmare after another from this man
Can we just get him out of office already
He is destroying our world
Does he want to start a nuclear war - it would seem so
1
I am so sick and tired of the recklessness of Donald Trump. He is so blinded by his racist hatred of President Obama that his only interest is to wreck everything he can in an attempt to besmirch the legacy of his predecessor.
This administration is nothing but a nihilistic wrecking crew, a cadre of extremists who have done nothing to improve the lives of the American people, or the functioning of our institutions, and have lowered our standing in the world. I am tired of seeing photographs of lunatic cabinet members with their faces lit up in glee at the damage they are now free to inflict upon their respective administrations and the American people.
This administration is pathological to an extreme we have never seen in this country, and it is all due to the instability of Donald Trump. I sincerely hope we can find a way to remove him from office very soon. The damage he has already done to our nation and our standing in the world will take years to repair.
4
Bellicosity in foreign policy and preventive war seem to always cause more problems than they solve. Teddy Rosevelt, FDR and Cap Weinberger seemed to have it right. A strong military backed by quiet resolution and strategic messaging. It's hard for me to see the merits of aggressive Tweets, or blindly reversing course on carefully negotiated international agreements. Creating another crisis with Iran in the middle of a North Korean crisis seems strategically foolish from a Clauswitzian or Sun Tzu perspective. Meanwhile, Russia quietly gains strength and makes subtle diplomatic statements that are calculated to sound reasonable against American incoherence.
14
Call it an "agreement" or call it a "deal", but don't call it a "treaty".
The Obama administration explicitly avoided the term "treaty" and specifically said that it was "non-binding". This enabled the White House to circumvent the Senate, which would have certainly lacked the two-thirds majority needed to approve the ratification of "treaties".
This game of semantics is a dirty little workaround that began under FDR, has been used by both presidents of both parties, and is yet another example of executive branch overreach. As such, Trump is now taking the appropriate and very welcomed step of getting Congressional approval.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/12/politics/iran-nuclear-deal-treaty-obama-ad...
1
Talk about a "game of semantics." Trump is not "getting Congressional approval." He's dodging responsibility and counting on Congressional inaction, in as weaselly an act of simultaneous pandering and cowardice as any "politician" he claims not to be. Don't strain yourself so, trying to twist this into Trump taking an "appropriate and very welcomed step."
2
Nonsense. Worse nonsense because it assumes that Trump has anything resembling an intelligent plan.
Worst of all, your President just told the world, yet again, that we don't stand behind our promises.
Robert:
I believe that you've missed the point.
The Iran "deal" was a promise that Obama never had the legitimate authority to make in the first place. The only promises the U.S. should make are the ones ratified by the Senate.
In many ways, the executive branch, under Republican and Democratic presidents alike, has exceeded its constitutionally appropriate role. This move by President Trump, though small, restores a semblance of the correct balance.
1
Once again Mr. "I can get things done" abdicates the work of being President to Congress, although for most of us the only thing worse than Trump not doing his job as President would be for him to actually do it. It also underscores the basic deception and dishonesty of the Trump campaign. He actually had no idea what the agreements he claimed to oppose actually said or why they had been negotiated, but he knew he could hold an audience by claiming that everyone in Washington was stupid and incompetent. When people who could actually be bothered to read them got involved, like his national security team, the actual reason they were negotiated and signed becomes part of the discussion. This is the limited good news here -- there are some people in his administration who actually believe in doing their jobs and bring some degree of competence and judgment to it. With luck, Congress will do the right thing and Trump's action will be meaningless.
10
Let's just remember that the Iran agreement was not an embarrassment to the United States. While obviously not perfect, the alternatives were worse. In trump's sick, petty mind, an embarrassment is any action performed by his predecessor, who was not only a minority, but dared to tell a few jokes about him. Foreign policy is now being conducted to cater to a bunch of know nothing supporters of an incompetent president.
16
I wonder how the Kurdish secession vote might affect Iran's response to a "failure to certify" from the U.S. I would think Iran would be interested in working with the Kurds to further destabilize Iraq and perhaps to acquire the oil fields in the Kurdish area. Would adding those oil fields allow Iran to simply ignore any U.S. sanctions, particularly if Europe does not join in reinstating sanctions? This is a question too complicated for Trump and his solution is simplistic and unrealistic. All we will end up with is another name-calling exchange, this time with Iran, not North Korea. How many wars can we handle at one time?
4
Looking GOOD, Donald. Keep doing it your way. PLEASE.
1
Trump right now is probably the most dangerous man on the planet. We cannot wait to for him to exit stage right, to do something. Peace loving people from around the world are depending on us to do something. Come on Congress, wake up.
11
Trump's Presidency can be summed up in one word: Disaster. 3.5 more years of of this Moving Disaster.....Exciting!
2
How about debacle.
One man, the biggest GOP political donor, billionaire Sheldon Adelson, is directing Donald Trump to decertify the Iran nuclear deal. This has to be most the corrupt thing a president of the United States has ever done. This is shameful and a threat to peace. America first? Hardly. Adelson puts Israel first. And Trump is shameful complying.
16
Hopefully, Congress will not reimpose sanctions which might propel Iran to leave the deal and press forward with nuclear armaments. The NYT asks in a headline for an accompanying article 'Why does Trump hate this deal?'
The answer is obvious and petty. Trump hates the deal only because it was an accomplishment of President Obama. Yes, he is that infantile and no, he does not understand the nuances of the deal. Also, Netanyahu hates the deal and Trump is doing his bidding. Lord knows how many back room financial deals Jared has made with Israel since assuming the White House, but Jared, Trump and Netanyahu have an alliance that is nowhere near transparent.
So if Trump wants to save face with his base and kick it to Congress fine. At least there are some reasonable and historically educated people who can take over.
8
It's time to suspend the use of military installations in Europe by the US for as long as Mr Trump behaves like little rocket man.
5
Regarding this phrase in the third paragraph: "a deal with which Iran is viewed as complying," why the weasel words "viewed as"? Or is this just another editorial decision to make a clear-cut fact into a "he said-she said" argument? Is there any government in the world besides Israel and the U.S. that does not agree that Iran is in full compliance? What about the inspectors under the UN's aegis? And the UN Security Council? Have they not to this date always certified Iran's compliance? Just asking.
7
Trump forgets there are partners on this deal who have everything to lose by agreeing with Trump. My guess is that Iran will still stick by what it agreed to and will continue to trade with our partners leaving the US out of the picture as the rogue state intent on destabilization. It is just a matter of time before US isolation seriously impacts our economy.
3
This entire country is being held hostage by an irrational set of policies predicated only on the desire to undercut any accomplishments made by the Obama Administration. As a consequence we are at an accelerated pace to lose the confidence of the rest of the world in the United State of America and undermine alliances that have taken decades to create. I'm sure that this will give North Korea confidence to trust the United States and alter it's nuclear development. Why should they? Trump is driving this country off of a cliff.
9
Am I the only one to notice that all of Trumpster's substantive public policy choices involve reversing those policies implemented by President Obama save one. That would be his big, beautiful wall along the 2,000 border with Mexico that Mexico would pay for?
A partial list of Trumpster's substantive public policies include: a) withdraw from the Paris Accord; b) withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership; blow up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action a/k/a the Iran Nuclear Deal; d) repeal the Affordable Care Act; e) reverse the Clean Power Plan; e) repeal Dodd-Frank regulation of Wall Street finance; f) repeal all regulation of coal power plants; g) repeal regulation of anti-air pollution to permit lead, mercury, benzine, dioxin and pesticides; and. etc.
7
Take credit for nothing and punt the problem to Congress. We're witnessing truly inspiring leadership. The obvious thing to do is delegate the Iranian negotiation to the Senate's most junior member and gay conversion enthusiast, Tom Cotton. Why didn't I think of it?
2
So Trump just boots every problem -- that is, whatever he perceives as a problem -- to Congress which he knows couldn't agree on ham or bacon and that ends it, if not actually solving it. Same with healthcare, the Dreamers and now Iran.
2
You flatter trump, he has no idea what this "problem", healthcare or the Dreamers are about and could not find the words to describe any of them in any way, shape, or form. His only policy is to undo anything that has "Obama" on it.
You do remember his remark about Healthcare...Who knew? Not him for sure.
Congress has already acted on the Iranian deal, so why does this man have to put his fingerprints on it?
If I did not know any better (or do I?), I would think that Trump is someone else's plant whose aim is to destroy this country. He ushered this country, to the accompaniment of feckless Senate and Congressional Republicans, into dark ages of US politics, and, as The Washington Post's motto correctly states, "Democracy dies in darkness."
6
When a clown like donald trump chooses to overrule his national security advisers on an issue threatening the nuclear destruction of an entire region, we should pause to ponder.
If "his generals" and his "general of industry" apparently oppose this evil, conflicted, hypocritical move, we might ask ourselves, as responsible constituents, "Why this idiopathic disaster of a policy?"
Could it be "his children" have been given the podium in this mindless debate? Does the equation read:
"Space Cowboy" + "RE Magnate, Jr." + "Donald McDonald" = IQ <= zero ?
The mechanics of this administration are truly terrifying. The resulting strategic decisions, even more so.
Regards,
JV
2
President Obama and other countries negotiated the Iranian nuclear arms control treaty. It has been a huge success. Iran hasn’t developed a nuclear bomb.
Why is Trump seeking to undermine it? Simple. He has uncontrollable jealously and seething hates of his Black predecessor and openly seeks to undermine all of President Obama’s accomplishments, regardless of merit. His “base” of deplorables eagerly follow him on this deeply destabilizing path, oblivious to the harm.
9
A Clear and Present Danger to the Security of the United States of America, and to the entire World. When will they remove this Disgrace from Office.
15
What Trump never speaks about is what happens after he decertifies? Does he really expect Iran to come back to the bargaining table? What is it he wants to include?
This deal was only made for nukes. It was not made to handle the many other issues with Iran. Decertifying is not just moronic, it's destabilizing and incredibly dangerous.
104
The best case scenario is that the U.S. becomes increasingly irrelevant, albeit dangerously so. Which is what follows if Europe and Iran stick with the deal and proceed with the economic reintegration of Iran into the world community, ignoring this as just one more instance of reality-denying posturing out of Washington. Trump is turning America into a rogue state.
1
He does not have a plan going forward. If he does decertifie every US allie will lose faith in US agreements. Britain, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and Canada included. Who wins? Russia and China.very strange strategy.
On the Iran Deal, DCS from NYC is totally correct. I would go one step further, given the gravity of Trump's reckless behavior, and respectfully yet forcefully repeat my oft-urged call for an "intervention" to remove Trump from office. The intervention could be led by the generals in his cabinet plus the chief of staff, maybe backed by Melania and Ivanka plus the family psychologist, plus the leaders of the Senate in both parties. Trump is borderline demented, in way over his head and close to "out of his head." And the last ones to know they have such dementia or those who have it, thus the need for an intervention.
I would also urge Russia to deliver now its goods on Trump, including the "golden" dossier plus whatever else they have on him. Trump is a clear and present danger for Russia as well. And of course the major European countries, Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, etc. should make their similar wishes known.
With each new pronouncement from the Trump administration, my stress level ratchets up a notch. It has moved past anxiety to outright fear. The amount of destruction DJT has wrought, not only on the US but on the world,, is unparalleled. It has not even been nine months.
14
President Chaos passing the buck again. The lack of leadership from the WH is the main reason nothing has been accomplished yet in Congress.
4
Summary: Trump throws Congress under bus -- again. People worry that Congress will call Trump's bluff.
3
This is what happens when people choose a bumper slogan candidate over an experienced diplomat. Mr. Trump doesn't have a clue regarding foreign affairs but is sensitive to the mob that cheers for him, so it is no surprise that he takes the mobs position over that of our European allies, and his own Secretaries of State and Defense. We are now willing to put the world into further jeopardy to satisfy the ignorant cravings of campaign politics. It also weakens our nation as the world sees us as untrustworthy.
5
On schedule, Trump's weekly dose of chaos for the GOP and Congress. We've elected the guy who shows up for a picnic, throws a rock at a hornet's nest over the food table, and leaves. He thinks he's delegating, but offers no solutions, no detailed input. Every week we get some sort of divisive issue, seemingly designed to detract from the pending subpoenas on election fraud and money laundering.
When will the GOP wake up and realize their leader is destroying the party by creating tasks designed to make them look weak and inefficient?
10
"Still, Mr. Trump’s expected move would allow him to tell supporters that he had disavowed the accord, while bowing to the reality that the United States would isolate itself from its allies if it sabotaged a deal with which Iran is viewed as complying."
This is completely self serving. Mr. Trump is putting himself first, not America.
9
If you noticed that Israel increased attacks against Syrian targets lately it is because they fear losing the oil in the Golan Heights. They also said they would go full force against Hezbollah should war break out. Hezbollah has thousands of missiles stockpiled in preparation. But Iran really is Israel's main enemy and should Trump go to war with North Korea that would leave them in a perilous position. Any early conflict Israel could entice Trump into with Iran before a North Korean one is to their advantage.
6
The top priority for our next president will be to establish the world's trust that the US will honor its agreements. As we are aware, trust is easier to lose than to regain. Trump's behavior in the highest office in the land is a dark stain on what we believe our country should stand for.
6
The Iranian nuclear agreement is not "embarrassing to the United States." Trump's weak leadership and ignorance of foreign policy, as described by Tillerson, and weak leadership are the embarrassment,
11
Given the obvious, that not re-certifying will lead Iran to being another North Korea (and we can't handle NK), I don't understand Trump's recalcitrance in signing the agreement, other than to make good on a bad campaign promise.
3
The strategy here is to moan and groan about how bad the deal is so that more advantageous terms can be negotiated. Sort of like they do in the real estate industry.
Are we aware that, while the agreement requires Iran submit to inspections, military installations are exempt from being inspected. You mean to tell me that nuclear activity cannot possibly be taking place at Iranian military bases?
Now this is an example of a term that needs some additional negotiating.
1
The other signatories are not going to negotiate anything, especially Iran. Hopefully, they will honor the agreement in the absence of the petulant US.
2
Mike,
"Nuclear activity" at an Iran military base?
At the moment, Iran has no nuclear weapon.
No one PRODUCES nuclear weapons at "military bases"
So, it makes sense to monitor and control the production and research facilities in the country that ARE capable of producing the various components of a nuclear weapon.
Maybe, if more people would sit down and take the time to read and assimilate the details of the JCPA for themselves, we would not be at this precipice.
But then again, why should we listen to all those those nuclear scientists and regulators at the IAEA, or the combined negotiators of the US, China, France, German, Russia, and the United Kingdom, when we can be led in foreign policy by an individual who would seem to think he is dispensing 'knowledge' to the masses by proclaiming that Puerto Rico is ".. an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water". I suspect the other signatories will not be so myopic and obtuse in their approach to the treaty.
The presidential pattern remains consistent - vocal criticism of his predecessor, vague promises of better solutions, and no follow through.
All hat, no cattle.
4
He doesn't pay taxes, he doesn't pay his suppliers or laborers. He doesn't live up to agreements. Every deal that requires him to live up to his end of it is the worst deal he has ever seen.
Apparently the "Art" of the deal is never agreeing to live up to it.
9
It is notable that the President from the party of "individual responsibility" has chosen to pass the buck every time he finds himself facing a challenging policy position or piece of legislation. The explanation is obvious: Trump doesn't stand for anything whatsoever, at least so far as having an underlying moral or intellectual compass is concerned. Or, if he stands for anything, it is that popularity and public approval matter most to the exclusion of quite literally every other concern a world leader might be expected to have. Trump is an anti-leader in every sense of the word. He divides instead of unifies. He shirks responsibility instead of facing it. He drags us down instead of lifting us up. We're living through what will without a doubt be remembered as a particularly low point in US history.
2
One wonders how much longer Mattis, Kelly et al will put up with this ongoing tide of insanity from Trump. Trump thinks he’s being tough but he’s only being tough to work for.
4
This eventual decision by Trump is in line with his objective of getting rid of everything that President Obama managed to do during his eight years at the White House (despite the Republican's refusal to sign off on anything he proposed). It's a policy of cutting of the nose to spite the face. Iran's youth is arguably the most "western" of the Middle East Muslim countries and repeatedly refusing to play to them is a strategy that will lose the region altogether.
1
Good for Trump that he is immune to regret, because he has done more things in his life that he should regret than anyone else I have ever seen.
1
I am confused. How can Trump decline to certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement, when there is absolutely no basis for such decertification. This article provides no evidence of non-compliance, nor has the Administration supplied any such evidence. The article suggests that the Administration is searching for evidence that Iran is violating "the spirit" of the agreement, but does not even have that much. The only apparent basis for Trump's action is a campaign promise, which has no legal effect. What is wrong with these people???
4
We are losing our allies real fast. Every signatory to the Iran Deal saw the benefits. Stalling Iran's nuclear program is one of the most laudable achievements to benefit Europe and even nuclear Israel. The Iranians have been in compliance and on what grounds are they going to be decertified and reapplying sanctions? The Iranians are right when they refuse to come back to renegotiate. The Iran Deal was a Deal with the U.S, Britain, France and Germany i.e a Deal between countries. Leadership changes are not privy to changes in the Deal unless one party is not in compliance. How much more will our credibility sink before Trump makes us a ' pariah '?
2
Netanyahu has Trump's ear. Kushner, Netanyahu's voice, has Trump's ear. Even if Trump cannot understand all the ramifications of the Iran deal, as a businessman he should be able to understand that renewed sanctions on Iran is bad for U.S. business interests. Europe, Russia, and China will take up the slack provided by the exit of the U.S. Abrogating the deal might spur a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. What steps then will the U.S. be compelled to take to ensure Israel is the sole nuclear power in the region? Trump is a cult figure with a rallying cry for listeners of Fox News and talk radio, so whatever he does his supporters will applaud.
2
Why would any country ever trust the U.S. again during the difficult and time consuming process it takes to put together a deal like this?
5
what an incompetent political move.
Congress will not decide anything, so the deal is in limbo. Iran may, it may not, agree to continue it's part of the bargain.
other countries will not want to renegotiate, they are glad that they finally can get their hands in Iran oil and market (Total and Renault).
why not try the positive route. Iran, for so we known, has held up it's part of the deal. invite them to the table for a new deal around Syria. move them into the fold with the world and see the Iran problem go away over time.
Iran is no worse than Saudi Arabia, and it night be good to have a relationship to both countries.
1
“It’s all about the base”. He cannot leave well enough alone.
As each day goes by his unhinged decisions become scarier and scarier.
3
Typical of President Trump doing the mess and letting the other ones doing the clean-up.
1
I think Rex Tillerson said it best..
9
May we please "decertify" the most recent presidential election and not leave it in place? Asking for a friend.
2
Why does Trump want Iran to have nuclear weapons? Follow the dots,,, that is what he is doing.
Ahhh,,, they would not give him a sweetheart deal to build a hotel. Iran did not offer a large enough bribe.
1
In doing so Trump would continue to destroy what is left of the credibility and World leadership of the USA. Who would trust the USA after that?
1
This is a bad idea!
Inaction by Congress (the only sane course of action) after a Trumpian non-certification will indicate to Iran that the United States lacks the resolve to contain Iran!
We need a radical reappraisal of mid-east policy. It wasn’t the Iranians behind 9/11 (it was the Saudis); it is not the Iranians who oppress women (it’s the Saudis), and it’s not the Iranians who export a vicious brand of Islam from London to Jakarta, it is Saudi who do this with their warped version of Islam known as Wahhabism. Instead it’s the Iranians that, next to Israel, hold the most democratic elections in the region (not Saudi which is a vicious theocratic state).
Yes, America has has a difficult relationship with Iran. Jimmy Carter and the hostages in 1979/80. But it’s time to move on. Time to look clearly at our interests. Those interest dictate a rapprochement with Tehran, and encouragement of nascent democracy there, the observance of the nuclear deal, and proper economic relations.
We’re on the wrong side of this argument. It’s time to change.
2
As disastrous, disgusting, and completely unfit as he is to be President, the real problem with Trump is not the little man himself - it's the people who support him, enable him, don't stand up to him.
The people who opposed the abolition of slavery - and their like-minded heirs - have been holding America back for over 150 years. How long will we let those who support Trump hold America back?
1
Because Trump is such a small man inside, he must undo anything Obama has done, without thought abut the consequences. Even his own advisors say its working. Yes, there are plenty of problems of Iran supporting terrorism, but hey, look at Saudi Arabia, and yet we aren't stopping business with them. I believe strong support for the Iran deal and continue to find ways to stop Iran from supporting Hezboallah and Syria. I hope, but don't count on this dysfunctional GOP congress to do anything to support the US and our allies, by remaining in the Iran deal. That way, "small man" can have his "cake" (ie, his dwindling base) and eat it too.
The great negotiator? Trump couldn't negotiate the purchase of a 10 cent lollipop for a quarter.
3
The Dotard is living up to his nickname. All his "decertification" together with withdrawing form the Paris accord achieves is to prove the US is too volatile to stick to agreements from one administration to another and hardens the positions of those negotiating with the US. The Iran deal stays in place while shredding the US reputation as a reliable signatory to any deal. The monumental stupidity cannot be underestimated.
4
Trump-Pence placate their base by 'decertifying' the treaty while driving the wedge further between the USA and its allies. So much for their oath to the American people. SAD.
10
Hmm....the article fails to mention that Russia and China are also signatories to the deal.....P5+1......
2
The only consistent "strategy" Trump has is to blow things up, bigly, then smug (yes, I know smug is not a verb, but it should be) about it and let someone else deal with the aftermath. He has zero concept of what the ultimate result of his actionns will be, just delight in all the flash, bang and calamity he has unleashed.
There will be no reasoned reckoning out of this Congress, the House in particular, that straightens out the mess. Filled with paper tiger patriots and near-sighted chicken hawks, the most likely result will be an Iran that takes this as the opportunity to resume its quest for full-bore nuclear capability.
Meanwhile, Trump's spitting match with Kim jong-Il continues unabated.
Flash! Bang! Boom!
10
Sure, so when the ick hits the fan, of course it won't be HIS fault.
Talk about passing the buck that's supposed to stop it's him!
3
Trump has called the Iran deal "the worst deal ever." He convinced his base that it has to go, and they expect action. But, the truth is that it isn't "the worst deal ever," so, just like DACA, he's punting it over to Congress so they can be the fall guys. That's it, plain and simple.
The head of the DOE before Rick Perry was Dr. Ernest Moniz. Dr. Moniz spent forty years on the nuclear physics faculty at MIT. He says the deal is a good deal based on sound science, and I’m with him.
I know we live in a country that denigrates science and scientists for sport. That seems to be our new national pastime, but can we please, just this once, take the word of a scientist? Can we suspend partisan politics for just five minutes?
Trump is capable of understanding very little about this deal. He just wants it gone because destroying every single accomplishment of the Obama administration is what his base wants. Sometimes, reason and rational thought must rule, not partisanship and pandering. This is one of those times.
9
Why are we better off outside of that process, than inside when we are but one country of many who signed the deal to check Iran. Trump isolates the United States more and more when those who we push away will be needed to support us. Those countries will adjust to our irrational behavior and set us free to find our own way to nowhere. During war ships form armadas for a reason.
57
No one believes the Iranian deal is perfect, even the Iranians are not entirely happy with it. But in International diplomacy, something Trump knows little about, one uses existing treaties, even if flawed, to move forward, not backward. The consequences of going backward is invariably bad and the worst course of action that could be considered. Trump does not seem to be motivated by pursuing objectives in the nation's interest but playing to his fringe base and of course settling old perceived slights from Obama. Whatever the motive, Trump's bias is not in the nation's interest and he is increasing being cornered by his own party and even his own cabinet. Hence, his kicking the decision to Congress to let him off the hook of his own making. It would be a wonderful thing if when Congress looks at the issue, Mattis, Tillerson, McMasters, current and past generals, current and past Secretaries of State and current and past heads of the CIA testify publicly as to the benefits of continuing to certify the treaty. Even shallow bullied Republican congress people would have to certify the treaty and do the right thing.
3
Jettisoning the nuclear deal would, I believe, lead to the destruction of the State of Israel -- and assure a conflagration of peace in the Middle East.
As the Times editorial indicates, the principal objection to decertification is that the Iran nuclear accord is working. Decertification of JCPOA will be a cosmic lie, on the order of the Bush administration's fairy tales about Saddam Hussein's WMD.
It is also likely to set us on the road to war with Iran, as the WMD fairy tale did in Iraq. If Americans starting dying at the hands of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, numbers of them will be sons and daughters of Trump's base, who mostly thought Trump would end useless wars.
To perpetuate the lie will require CIA Director Mike Pompeo to emulate George Tenet and proclaim the decision the equivalent of a slam dunk, based on unimpeachable intel.
Incidentally, Israel's security will be adversely affected by blowing up the Iran nuclear agreement, which Israel's intel and military recognize is working.
4
Iran was a Democrocy before we hack their government.
Where do you think Russia got the idea?
5
He is always one to pass it on to someone else. Can’t handle the blame?
1
Wake up America! Do you really want the security of America to be in the hands of this uninformed, ignorant, incompetent man-child? Trump makes decisions based on his political calculations, not on what is best for the country. If you like political bluster you might like Trump's behavior. But it's only a matter of time before he has us involved in yet another war. Maybe with nuclear weapons the next time. We can't afford Trump's political grandstanding to make the world even less stable than it already is. Now, is the time to consider a President Pence.
5
Its sad that we have a President that is so concerned about his own popularity with his base that he will risk the security of the whole planet. Why will any nation negotiate with the US when we can pull out at a moments notice with no valid reason other than trying to destroy all the accomplishments of his predecessor. I am left with only one hope and that is Muellar finds enough to impeach this reality star and allows us to elect a serious minded individual with a global sense of right and wrong and an eye on the future and not just today's ratings.
5
I wish I could believe Trump knows anything about what's actually in the agreement beyond what he's heard on Fox & Friends.
2
time for congress to decertify the clown
6
Trump loves to get the ball rolling , all eyes and ears on him.
And time and time again he drops it.
Suddenly it's Not HIS problem, not HIS responsibility.
If anything goes wrong, it's out of his hands.
Infuriating.
As if he were passing on a Real Estate deal gone sour.
2
Good to remind the world that the US is the main source of instability on the planet.
9
Turns out that CinC stands for Coward in Chief.
Where, oh where, are his minders?
1
When does ignorance become active evil?
10
When it's willful ignorance.
(That line was crossed a while back)
As usual, Trump chooses the coward's way out. A strong leader would invite their opponent back to the table in good faith, to try to do the hard work, like Obama did, and craft an agreement everyone can live by. Instead, Trump wants to betray the trust and pretend it's the strong move because he thinks he's being bold. But the fallout would be bitter and long lasting. What incentive would opposing governments, or even allies, have to come to the table with us? Even greater a threat, this is another big dent to the ideal of Democratic rule that the US has championed since its birth. If we can cavalierly break treaties and alter agreements at the whim of whoever is sitting in the President's seat today, Democracy looks like a feeble option. Trump weakens our institutions with every craven decision he makes.
4
Sure, this way he still gets a headline, and a way to thwart Obama's good work, but maybe not blow us all up. (Oh wait, there's still the mess he's made in N.K.)
1
This has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. Without the cooperation of Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France; without the sanctions they also imposed on Iran, Iran would never have negotiated anything and they would already have a nuclear bomb. There is absolutely no way that Trump will ever to be able to get the cooperation of those countries again, and especially because they all recognize the very real benefits of the agreement. But the really stupid part is that Iran is presently in compliance with the agreement and if Iran were to continue in compliance, they cannot produce quantities of fissile material for another 14 years. And after 14 years there is nothing in the agreement that prevents countries from reintroducing sanctions as they did before, so basically Trump is doing nothing but throwing away 14 years. Not to mention throwing away future cooperation with Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France. And we will now never be able to negotiate anything with North Korea as he has proved that the U.S. is unreliable in keep agreements. For all his hot air Trump has never explained to the American public why it is a bad deal....because he can't. His behavior is nothing short of reckless incompetence driven by a puffed up ego and some personal Obama vendetta - Trump should be impeached now!
7
Iran is not a small-business contractor that Donald Trump can simply choose not to honor a contract with, as he did with impunity for years running his business. It is a sovereign nation. We had a deal. Iran is holding up its end. You don't get to renegotiate just because you don't like it. If he cared at all about the standing of the United States in the world, as he constantly claims, then he would demonstrate that we stand by our word once given.
149
I agree, William. The credibility of the United States of America is at stake here. If Trump backs out, who will ever negotiate something important with the USA going forward? If you abandon your friends, they will NOT come to your side when you find you need them. And if he backs out of the deal, Iran will have good reason to denounce the USA and do whatever it wants in an *uncontrolled* fashion, rather than under a deal where its actions are tightly monitored and controlled.
Trump is a small-minded, non-thinker...I hope that that smart folks that know better can convince him of his folly.
2
Trump business? How many times in his so called business did he flop, refuse to pay back employee wages and what was owed to his business associates and contractors?
If he learned anything from his McCarthy era slug, Roy Cohn, it was how to be a world class Grifter.
"You don't get to renegotiate just because you don't like it." This includes free trade deals. You don't get to renegotiate the deal to be one sided for your interest only. Who would sign a deal with the US in the future? No one.
If he reneges on this deal, attacks NK or worse invades Iran every two bit country/ dictator will acquire and proliferate cheap and easy made chemical weapons in order to insure they will not be the next Hussein or Gaddafi.
So the Great Negotiator is actually the Great Abdicator. Healthcare, DACA, Iran- the list grows. However it is fitting that in the era of the do-nothing Congress, we have the do-even-less President.
This administration is riding the wave of President Obama’s successes. Eventually they may actually have to get something done.
3
We all know what's 'embarrassing to the United States', and it's not the Iran deal.
6
Decertification seems to be just a gesture. In other words, Trump will only damage America's credibility without doing anything. He neither unwind the deal, nor support it.
I think, he is trying to win Florida again.
1
This man is throwing away a century of American influence overseas for no reason and nowhere does Congress stand up to him. Look at Putin getting what he wants everywhere and China close behind. Rupert Murdoch and Trump will go down as the biggest fools in history.
5
Putin & China talking oil & trade deals because Trump is threatening to put tougher sanctions on China. America is the loser as long as Trump is doing his art of the deal making. Cut us off from the rest of the world & they start working together in spite of Trump.
2
Another step in the diplomatic isolation of the United States that will take years to overcome, if ever. President Trump as a businessman demonstrated his word is not his bond, he is now demonstrating the same as President. There will be a time in his administration that we will have to ask for help from our allies and the help will be met by a very long silence.
6
Any accomplishments that Obama achieved in his two terms are red flags to this POTUS bull in a china shop.
It grates on him, torments him and enrages him.
His deep seated insecurities are very dangerous to America and the world.
4
It’s the kind of outsourcing that we as a country have been starved off by eight years of Obama, and sorely need. Good decision Mr. President! Your supporters are cheering you on! And you just won yourself new admirers, especially a whole bunch in Israel. Best wishes.
2
Treaties are negotiated and ratified based upon trust. After all of the treaties that Trump has exited from, who will ever trust us again?
8
Well, de-certifying international weapon control agreements should certainly help with any North Korea negotiations. Or not.
2
This is a man who takes no responsibility for anything. Everything done by previous Presidents is embarassing &/or bad for America. But he is doing nothing that is good for America & he is certainly embarassing the country. He is spending taxpayer money faster than anyone in the government in his trips every weekend to his country clubs & on his family. When he is away from the White House the taxpayer is still paying for electric, heat/air conditioning, etc. Why is his base so supportive of this man? Their jobs are not coming back like he promised. He really hasn’t accomplished anything because he expects someone else to do it. When will America wake up?
5
He doesn't listen to anyone, he is a lone wolf destabilizing the world..and the biggest question I have is he legitimately our President, did Russia swing the electuon?
He is a madman!!
4
It's grasping at straws to think that Trump's decision is part of a "broader strategy". He doesn't have a strategy. Decisions are made based on his ongoing attempts to appeal to his hard-core base, and to undo whatever Obama did. There's some weird principle here - anything Obama enacted must be torn down, no matter the consequences. He doesn't listen to reason, much less have a strategy. And the driving force behind everything he does and says is how it serves him - what makes him look "powerful" and flatters his enormous, yet fragile, ego.
4
Another piece of twisted genius from the treasonous buffoon. He makes a big splashy announcement that he's going to follow through on one of the short-sighted, ill-concieved, petty, ruinous campaign promises that electrified his base. Then he follows up with quiet, unheralded murmerings that he will actually do nothing - leaving Obama's worthy accomplishments stand after all.
Trump is a disgrace to the office.
5
According to Harvard educated psychologists we are dealing with a dangerous personality disorder in our President. An interview yesterday with Ian Masters goes a long way to understanding this We are not dealing with a completely rational human being here.
9
The entire world community, except for Israel and its wealthy lobby, support the nuclear peace deal with Iran. If Trump cancels the deal, he would have placed the interests of Israel and its warmongering Prime Minister Netanyahu ahead of America's interests. Israel wants to drag the U.S. into a disastrous war in Iran.We should dialogue and trade with Iran, a country that does not threaten U.S. national interests.
12
Has he ever read the agreement?
13
No Donny the agreement with Iran isn't an embarrassment to the United States, you are the embarrassment to the US.
29
He is embarrassing to the United States.
9
Predictably zero accountability. "Here, YOU fix it!"
3
The government tyranny that the Founders feared is finally here and now is the time for good people of all parties to come to the aid of their country. A president with an unquenchable thirst for media attention, flattery, retribution and the chaos of structural arson now holds the levers of power. He exists in a world more of reality TV than reality and has shown little interest, preparation or talent for administering the responsibilities of his current office.
With less than 20% of his term expired, the nation is fracturing and our international position plummeting. International alliances are being splintered as we become an increasingly unreliable and unpredictable partner. Decades of constructive progress are being burned to the ground. Individual rights and common decency are being sacrificed day-by-day to appease a small mob.
This country may not be able to survive four years of Trump. This should be obvious to every member of Congress and the Cabinet. And if the oath of office they took means anything, they must move together to rid us of this threat to America.
38
Will it never stop? Every day brings news of an unnecessary disaster. Is there no procedure other than impeachment to get rid of this cruel immoral and stupid man? And hypocritical republicans who support him?
29
Infuriating that this painstakingly assembled agreement is at the mercy of a buffoon who hasn't read it, who can't understand it, and who no longer has the brain power to understand in terms of strategy and a complex world.
Please get this guy out of here before he does even more damage.
24
It is difficult to describe a decision to decertify the Iran deal as less than stupid. Not ignorant, not wrong, not incorrect; STUPID is the only word to describe it.
Cotton, Cruz and Trump all are dead wrong not to be looking to enhance our relations with Iran whose population overwhelmingly want improved relations with the west which is witnessed by their electing the moderate Rouhani for the second time.
The issue of Hezbollah is not a valid one. Hezbollah is the power that has kept ISIS from taking over Lebanon and is reachable by contact through Iran.
Israel and Bibi Netanyahu do not wish peace or they would create a homeland for the Palestinians they pushed from their homes 70 years ago. They are too busy making billions by building settlements in the Palestinian territory, a practice condemned by the United Nations. Anyone who has been to Israel can see an apartheid condition exists.
This stupid move on the part of Trump and all who support him, even against the wishes of his cabinet, certifies that international treaties by the United States are worthless. What integrity we have left will be destroyed.
Armed conflict with Iran will make Vietnam and Iraq look like cake walks. Iran wants peace, Trump wants a war to prove how tough he is to his base but mainly because of his personal pathological hatred for all things Obama.
41
What is possibly the point of this action except to destabilize relations with both our allies and Iran, further alienate him from key members of his cabinet and make the Iran deal about him. Everything is always, ALWAYS about him. Is there no way to stop the President from this self-centered madness? Does he not have enough challenges to keep him occupied?
6
BK Roanoke, VA writes: 'What is possibly the point of this action...?'
Israel anyone?
1
To Bob Kavanagh--And there it is. When in doubt blame Israel.
Anyone who voted for Trump should be troubled that they have voted someone who is mentally unstable. Just look at all the sanctions stacked against North Korea yet they are still shooting off missile over Japan and building nuclear weapons. At least with Iran there are inspectors on the ground. Trying to isolate Iran with sanctions is only going to give it the green light to go out and amass as much nuclear weapons it feels it is entitled to. A sad day we have someone in the White House who talks about "fire and fury" and just yesterday about "the calm before the storm." Then when pressed to explain what that means to say "you will see." You cult followers of Trump will soon have blood on your hands.
22
Our Grifter in Chief has built his wealth on stiffing others for so long why should
he be any different with international agreements.
12
That Tom Cotton has his fingerprints on this is not good. He wrote a letter to the Iranian leadership that most Republican senators signed telling the Iranians not to go through with the deal. He would outsource US foreign policy to Benjamin Netanyahu.
What does it even mean a failure to comply with the "spirit" of the agreement? Is that what the legislation says? This is a "moronic" move that will leave the United States isolated just as his stated withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement has left the national government looking stupid to the entire world, including Trump's best friend, Vladimir Putin.
We the People ought to give control of Congress to the Democrats in 2018 to put a check on stupid crazy.
We get the government we deserve.
20
But "we" don't deserve this! "We" did not vote for this! The Electoral College was supposed to protect us from this very situation.
Does anyone believe Trump understands the Iran Nuclear Agreement? We all know better. It is just a checkmark on a list of campaign promises to people who do not understand it either. Make America break its promises to the world again seems to be our new slogan.
41
@Edgar: "Does anyone believe Trump understands the Iran Nuclear Agreement?"
Trump couldn't grasp the essentials of a business plan:
John “The stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true” O'Donnell describes having multiple meetings with Trump about planning the 1989 Tour de Trump cycling event, which was expected to lose money in its first year to the tune of $700,000, but be profitable afterwards. Each time, Trump is flabbergasted by these numbers, gets angry, and has to have the plan explained to him anew.
And that gobsmacker barely makes it into the "Top 10 most bananas stories from Trump's time as a casino boss"
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/article/top-10-most-bananas-stories-from-...
It's hard to believe that he was only sworn in a little over 8 months ago. It seems far longer with all the chaos which has been present. I'm already quite exhausted. I believe that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. After this is all over we'll find out what really happened in a typical day in the life of Donald Trump. He did swear an oath to uphold the Constitution but if he's ignorant of what it contains how can we expect him to faithfully discharge his duties?
9
Crazy is as Crazy does.
4
Is this why he went bankrupt 5 times? He doesn't know how to negotiate? He probably doesn't know the fine print of the deal, just like he doesn't know the fine print of the health plan. He wasn't in any discussions about health care. He probably isn't in any conversations about the Iran deal. He is just angry he wasn't the one to come up with the idea in the first place. Someone else smarter did the deal.
42
If it has President Obama's name associated with it, Trump will do everything in his power to dismantle or destroy it. Trump is a petty vindictive person.
44
If Trump decertifies and the Republicans pass new sanctions, the losers will be U.S. companies doing business -- or hoping to do business -- with Iran. Instead China, Russia and the EU will prosper at the expense of the U.S. economy.
The man in the White House campaigned on building export, not cancelling or preventing them. Erratic actions are what a nation gets when it elects a petulant four year old as president.
10
Is the US the biggest destabilising force on the planet? Debate.
20
What's to debate? It is unfortunately true with Trump at the helm.
1
On this, there's no debate.
1
Yes, short debate.
Trump should leave some matters as they are to maintain peace and stability. He should focus more on friendship around the world.Look what Russia's Putin is doing to reach out to those who never liked to do anything with Russia-Saudi's.The game now should be to sell made in USA to all over the world and get our deficit to zero,invest in new ideas and technologies the world has not seen before. He should talk minimum on foreign affairs and let his other people do the talking.America will be great again if he follows some of this said above.
1
Another less than intelligent “trumpian” moment for our fearless leader. There might have been rapprochement between the us and Iran after their fearless leader ayatollah kahameni dies. Which one can only hopes is soon. But our fearless leader has been strengthening the hand of the hard liners. This has more to do with Obama than what is right for our country and our allies. Immaturity and ignorance once again rule the day in the the United States. This man cannot get over being wrong ever. And will hold the grudge for it to end of us all.
21
"...fearless leader?" How about "feckless leader?"
No-one following this saga from the beginning ever thought this deal was anything more than a tendentious compromise targeted at one objective: to stall Iran's nuclear program. The signatories had no illusion about it, and the costs on all sides have been paid. So now that it is time to reap the benefits, Trump wants to shred it. Even a smart businessman wouldn't shred a deal wherein he's paid the costs but not yet fully reaped the benefits, unless he were pretty sure that he could now do better. In this case there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest that he can. But there is good reason to believe he could do a whole lot worse in the not unlikely scenario that he forced the deal to collapse with nothing suitable to replace it (think the whole scenario around the Affordable Care Act). If he hasn't done it already with the Paris Accord and NAFTA, he could destroy any confidence of any government anywhere in the world that dealing with Donald Trump on any subject can be trusted. Such a prospect would shred whatever is left of American power and influence around the world. So one wonders whether Trump is really that stupid, or is he cooking up a couple of major international crises in order to distract the public and the media from the one big domestic issue that threatens the ending of his presidency? Or is this just the acting-out of a dumb ideological proposition that anything Obama did needs to be undone, regardless of the merits?
64
He's doing what his handlers in Russia want him to do.
Agree with your premise, that is the way diplomacy works. It is an iterative process and neither party gets all they want in any single agreement. Unfortunately, you are also right about this being more about Obama rather than any kind of well considered weighing of options, objectives, strategy, or goals. His whole presidency is based on the deconstruction of the previous presidency. This will place him in history as having used one of the most powerful offices in the world in order to exact personal revenge.
1
Interesting thought, Mark. Would Congress impeach a POTUS, assuming he was guilty of obstruction and he had colluded with Russia to interfere with an American presidential election, if the US was in the middle of simultaneous wars with North Korea and Iran?
Wait, haven't I seen that movie before on cable?
1
How about we decertify this incompetent narcissist. He will do anything, no matter how obtuse, to keep his clueless supporters happy. His advisers are obviously far more rational than he is...a cartoon character of an idiot president.
Eclectic Pragmatism — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
70
Why anyone would expect Trump to stick to an agreement (any agreement) beggars belief. He hasn't honoured deals / contracts he's made himself throughout his life so why on earth expect him to honour one made by someone else. Especially when that someone else happens to be Obama.
171
What a coward. Leave it to Congress so if they decide it's not worth it, he can blame it on them. How about establishing better relations with Iran while stepping away from Saudi Arabia, Donald? Last time I checked, one country had the vast majority of terrorists in 9/11.
193
This man’s sole talent seems to be pulling the pin out of the nearest grenade. That’s it. The rest is someone else’s problem.
251
Excellent summation of his technique.
When the historians finish with the story of Trump, it will be sold as a comedy. Trump and his appointees are going after anything with President Obama's prints on it, regardless of the impact to the United States, or the rest of the world.
134
I must disagree. Trump is a tragedy of the worst magnitude. I doubt he (and probably 95% of the American public) even know the U.S. CIA along with British intelligence created this entire mess by overthrowing the democratically elected government in Iran in 1953 to protect petroleum profits.
I agree Trump has a pathological hatred toward anything Obama and this is another example of his defying even his most trusted advisors in order to satisfy his narcissism.
8
Let us hope the historians will see this President Trump as a grand comic farce. I fear they will see this period as a great world tragedy. That's if there are any historians, or anybody, left after Trump is done.
4
To steal from one of the late-night hosts, I wonder when they'll get around to bringing Bin Laden back from the dead.
4
It is too typical of Trump to stubbornly cling to his irresponsibly ill-informed campaign rhetoric, instead of listening to people who know better. This glorification of ignorance, as well as his poor impulse control, etc etc make him a risk to world peace. We depend on adults like Mattis and McMaster to avert catastrophes.
186
He's listening to Netanyahu.
2
While it appears accurate, civilians relying upon military to keep their democratic republic on an 'even keel' risk military rule. Examine the history in Greece, Turkey. . .not exactly examples of liberal republics.