Monday, May 7, 2018

Deal or No Deal?

Although he has until Saturday to decide whether or not to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, Donald Trump has announced that he will reveal his decision tomorrow.  I think we already know what it is.  He's only withdrawn from more international agreements than the French have withdrawn from battlefields, so why would this be any different?   
Okay, Trump has understandable reasons - really - for opposing the deal.  It has a sunset clause on its nuclear program, it can still test ballistic missiles, and Iran can still intervene in the affairs of other countries (just like we do!).  And we let them have all that money back, yada yada yada.  Israel, not a signatory to the deal, opposes it, which is understandable only to people who understand Israel.  But the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians and the  Chinese, the other signatories to this deal, all believe that while it is a flawed deal, a flawed deal to keep Iran's nuclear program at bay is better than no deal at all.  So they say . . . and so I agree.  
So why are so many Americans like Trump opposed to it despite the numerous arguments in favor of it?  Why do Americans have a grudge match against Iran that the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians and the Chinese don't?
You don't suppose it's because Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China never had 52 citizens kidnapped in their own embassies in Tehran and held for over fourteen months, do you?  
I'm not taking Trump's side here, remember, I'm just offering a theory to explain his madness . . . 

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