Donald Trumps Self-Painted Corner on Iran by Jacob G. Hornberger!
(2019-09-23 at 13:29:21 )

Donald Trumps Self-Painted Corner on Iran by Jacob G. Hornberger

President Trump may not realize it yet, but it will almost certainly dawn on him at some point that he has painted himself into a corner with his bullying tactics against Iran.

President Trumps plan was the following: He first would withdraw from the nuclear accord that the United States entered into with Iran, claiming that the deal that the Obama administration had struck was a bad deal for the United States.

He would then enter into a new agreement with Iran, which he would then trumpet as being far superior to the previous agreement and which would demonstrate his toughness and his skills in the "art of the deal."

What if Iran refused to enter into a new agreement?

Thatis where President Trumps economic sanctions would come into play.

He would order his diplomatic and military forces to impose and enforce economic sanctions that would inexorably bring impoverishment and even death to the Iranian citizenry.

Rather than let that happen, President Trump believed, Iranian officials would return to the negotiating table and give Donald Trump the new agreement that he wanted.

In a worst-case scenario, President Trump would threaten military action against Iran.

Knowing that there is no likelihood that a Third World nation like Iran could prevail in a war against the United States, especially given the economic devastation of the sanctions, President Trump felt confident that Iranian officials would capitulate and return to the negotiating table where he could display his much-vaunted "art of the deal" negotiating skills.

What President Trump never counted on, however, was that Iran would remain steadfast by continuing to insist that President Trump restore the original agreement that had already been entered into between the two nations, notwithstanding any amount of death and destruction wreaked on the Iranian people by Donald Trumps sanctions and notwithstanding the threat of war with the United States.

President Trumps self-painted corner

That leaves President Trump backed into a corner, one of his own making.

He obviously does not want to initiate another United States war in the Middle East, especially on the eve of the 2020 presidential election.

After all, that would not look too good for a president who promised to bring an end to the Bush-Obama forever wars - wars that President Trump himself has continued.

Such being the case, however, President Trump comes across to the Iranian dictators as a weak ruler.

Consider, for example, the recent attack on Saudi oil facilities. President Trump and others in his administration have said that Iran orchestrated that attack.

Yet, what does President Trump do in response?

He "tightens" the sanctions that already were about as tight as they could possibly be and he sends a few United States troops to Saudi Arabia.

How is that supposed to deter Iran from supposedly orchestrating new attacks on Saudi oil facilities?

And what if they do initiate new attacks on Saudi oil facilities?

What will President Trump do then?

Tighten the sanctions even more and send a few more troops to Saudi Arabia?

The Iranians, meanwhile, have obviously concluded that President Trump is nothing more than a weak, blustery blowhard, one who they are now taunting.

They are warning President Trump to not even think against initiating even a limited "surgical strike" on Iran because they will consider it to be a general war, which, they say, they will use to destroy the President Trumps attacking army.

What can President Trump do in response to such taunts?

He can start a war with Iran to show how tough he is, but he knows that that will only harm his reelection, which is his top priority.

Or he can tighten his sanctions again and maybe send a few more troops to Saudi Arabia.

Either way might not get him what he wants before the presidential election - an Iranian regime that is ready to negotiate with him and give him what he wants.

The best thing President Trump could ever do at this point is immediately bring all the troops home and leave the Middle East, including Iran, alone.

Yes, that might make him look weak in the face of his adversaries, opponents, enemies, and competitors, but who cares about that?

He painted himself into his own corner.

Why should others have to pay the price for his folly?

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!