America goes rogue
How the abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal could mark the start of a Saudi-American-Israeli axis.
By Andrew J. Bacevich
May 09, 2018
https://usa.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/america-goes-rogue
Trump’s abrogation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the so-called Iran deal, easily qualifies as the most consequential decision of his administration.
In reaching this decision, Trump ignored the advice – make that, pleas – of traditional U.S. allies such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.....
The creation of this new partnership confirms the fact that NATO no longer constitutes the central pillar of U.S. national security policy. Dating from its creation back in 1949, the purpose of the now essentially defunct Western alliance was to contain the Soviet Union, prevent war, and nurture liberal democratic values.
How will this decision effect the other signatories of the JCPOA? If the Russians and Chinese are smart, they will stick to the terms of the agreement, demonstrating the maturity and consistency that are marks of a mature power. In other words, by doing nothing, they can win big points at Washington’s expense.
How France, Germany, and the United Kingdom will react is the more interesting question. For years now, the United States has verged on going rogue – recall, for example, George W. Bush’s thumbing his nose at the world in deciding to invade Iraq in 2003. Now it has definitively done so. If the European democracies pretend that Trump’s highhandedness is nothing out of the ordinary, they will forfeit whatever last remnants of political credibility they possess.
By and large, I dislike Munich analogies. But in this instance the comparison may have some merit. In 1938, faced with a megalomaniac in charge of a fearsome military machine and surrounded by a coterie of fanatic militarists, the European democracies wilted, paving away for a great disaster. Today another megalomaniac with a fearsome military machine at his command and responding to the counsel of the latter day equivalent of Goering and Goebbels is on a tear. History will not treat European leaders kindly if they repeat the mistakes of Neville Chamberlain and Eduard Daladier. As an American, I believe that Trump needs to be confronted, not indulged.
“When I make promises, I keep them.” So Trump stated while announcing his decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. Well, no, Mr. President you don’t, as your several wives and sundry business associates can attest. Your modus operandi is betrayal.