Violator in Chief

In the aftermath of Li'l Donnie Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, an unexpectedly frank and critical assessment could be found on of all places Fox News. That it was Shepard Smith who made that frank and critical assessment was not a complete surprise; Smith is the lone voice at Fox who will honestly tell you the emperor has no clothes. 


During an interview with Gordon Chang, an author and foreign affairs journalist who regularly contributes to Fox News, Chang asserted that Trump had “gotten out of the Iran deal.”


Smith took issue with that: "You can’t really get out of the Iran deal, though. There’s no provision from that. You can make a decision to now violate the terms of the deal that you were a party to, but ‘pulling out’ is a bit of a misnomer.”




The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) established that Iran agreed to curb its nuclear development program in exchange for the lifting of strict economic sanctions. Iran makes no nukes, we don't impose sanctions. If Iran makes nukes, that violates the deal and shit gets real. 


To date, inspectors have confirmed that Iran is NOT building a nuclear weapon. JCPO is working, keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran. Iran is apparently holding up its end of the deal.


Trump's announcement that he would impose “the highest level of economic sanctions” without proof that Iran is making a nuclear weapon means the United States has violated the agreement first.  With the terms of the deal violated by the United States, Iran has less incentive to stay with the deal. 


Germany, France and Great Britain have urged Iran to stay with the deal and ignore that strange orange bully hiding underneath that comb-over.  


During his ill-informed, deceptive speech yesterday, Trump cited the information presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran’s secret agenda to build a nuclear bomb. 


For more on that, see my post dated May 3, 2018. 


As we noted then, Netanyahu's info was about 15 years out of date. Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of the Iran nuclear deal was reaching out to an audience of one, Li'l Donnie Trump. And Netanyahu's message was received as the Trump administration issued a statement that “Iran has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program that it has tried and failed to hide from the world and from its own people.” 


Not "had" but "has". 


When called on this, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was all, "Whoops! Typo! Fixed it, y'all!" 


Hey, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you lying succubus of Satan, if it was just a typo, why was Trump citing this as proof of Iran's alleged current malfeasance?


It always important to remember who Trump is talking to. In yesterday's announcement, Trump wasn't speaking to the world or even to all Americans. He was speaking only to those people who voted for him. 


Just this morning on Facebook, I saw someone support Trump's decision citing (you guessed it) the speech by Netanyahu, "proof" that Iran is "currently" already violating the agreement.


Other people, God bless 'em, pointed out that Netanyahu was using information 15 years out of date and that current data shows Iran in compliance with the deal.


This supporter was unmoved. They know what they know and no facts to the contrary will change that.