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In the final analysis, even if Trump is voted out or otherwise removed from office, getting to a point where a potentially calamitous war is no longer a daily threat will require a significant leap of faith on the part of the Iranians. And before that can even be wished for, there needs to be courageous leadership in the United States prepared to go farther than Obama did in recognizing that Iran is, for all its faults, a rational actor that needs to be brought into both the international community and the local Gulf community in a sincere way.Continue Reading

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Trump has betrayed the world and US national interests. He has shown that the commitments of the United States cannot be trusted. Iran abided by the deal it signed. That deal was not the horribly flawed one Trump claimed. It took away most of Iran’s enriched uranium and its plutonium. It allowed by far the most intrusive inspection regime ever implemented. And even if Iran had tried to get around it, the deal substantially lengthened the time it would take Iran to develop a weapon.Continue Reading

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In: Donald Trump, Iran, North Korea

The aftermath of leaving the JCPOA holds no promise. The short-term future is particularly grim precisely because, to paraphrase Macron, Trump believes he can bully other countries into doing what he wants by employing a stick and offering no carrots. That is a recipe for heightened—even if still simmering—tensions at best and outright warfare seeking the quixotic and self-defeating regime change at worst. Trump’s ignorance of world affairs—combined with his newly minted war cabinet—does not promise many best-case scenarios.Continue Reading

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In both the broader regional conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian one, Trump is determined to strengthen one side to such an extent that the other will be forced to settle on very unfavorable terms. This thinking has been tried before, and it’s always failed, with the people of the Middle East paying the price. With Trump in charge, there seems to be little doubt that this will happen again.Continue Reading