{"id":119233,"date":"2025-02-16T17:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T15:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=119233"},"modified":"2025-02-16T09:02:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T07:02:52","slug":"16-05-105","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=119233","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s First Big Disastrous Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/images\/gatestone-logo-1000.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"35%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/21384\/trump-iran-disastrous-mistake\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trump&#8217;s First Big Disastrous Mistake<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Majid Rafizadeh<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li><strong>The problem, of course, is that after seeing what happened when Libya&#8217;s General Muammar Ghaddafi gave up nuclear weapons in 2003 and Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in 1994, no one with an IQ above single digits would ever agree to give up nuclear weapons again \u2013 especially after so many decades of immense investment and just &#8220;weeks&#8221; from the project&#8217;s successful completion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Regrettably, like Russia, Iran has a long track record of deceit, obstructing investigations, and stalling to buy time. Iran&#8217;s regime also has the potential to wait four years until Trump&#8217;s term in office is over, then pick up where it left off.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The mullahs seek to lull the United States into a false sense of security. They undoubtedly hope that diplomatic engagement will allow them time to race to nuclear weapons breakout, or, at worst, another weak agreement that will enable them to rebuild their military. Whenever Iran gains financial or political leverage, it uses it against America and its allies. Since October 2023, Iran and its proxies have attacked US troops in the region more than 200 times<u>.<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities must be taken out, sanctions must be intensified, and the Iranian people&#8217;s fight for freedom must be supported. Trump must not waste this opportunity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/5203.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities must be taken out, sanctions must be intensified, and the Iranian people&#8217;s fight for freedom must be supported. Trump must not waste this opportunity. Pictured: A Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile is displayed during the annual military parade in Tehran, on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">&#8220;I want Iran to be a great and successful country but one that cannot have nuclear weapons,&#8221; US President Donald J, Trump\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-ca\/news\/world\/trump-i-would-like-a-deal-done-with-iran-rather-than-bombing-the-hell-out-of-it\/ar-AA1yG7GJ?ocid=BingNewsSerp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted<\/a>\u00a0on Truth Social last week. &#8220;I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement which will successfully let Iran grow and prosper.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">These sentiments, while commendable, especially considering a distasteful alternative for Iran, are unfortunately delusional. The problem, of course, is that after seeing what happened when Libya&#8217;s General Muammar Ghaddafi gave up nuclear weapons in 2003 and Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in 1994, no one with an IQ above single digits would ever agree to give up nuclear weapons again \u2013 especially after so many decades of immense investment and just &#8220;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2024\/07\/19\/politics\/blinken-nuclear-weapon-breakout-time\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weeks<\/a>&#8221; from the project&#8217;s successful completion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Both Ghaddafi and Ukraine acted in good faith &#8212; as opposed to Russia. In 1994, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom signed the Budapest Memorandum, in which they promised to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against those countries or their political independence, in exchange for the three former Soviet republics transferring their nuclear weapons stockpiles to Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Of course, in February 2022, after seeing US President Joe Biden\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/international\/568348-biden-surrenders-afghanistan-to-terrorists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">surrender<\/a>\u00a0Afghanistan to the Taliban and imply that a &#8220;<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/theweek.com\/ukraine\/1009204\/president-of-ukraine-disputes-bidens-minor-incursions-comment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">minor incursion<\/a>&#8221; into Ukraine would be acceptable, Russian President Vladimir Putin commenced a years-long, scorched-earth invasion of Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Regrettably, like Russia, Iran has a long track record of deceit, obstructing investigations, and stalling to buy time. Iran&#8217;s regime also has the potential to wait four years until Trump&#8217;s term in office is over, then pick up where it left off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Iranian regime has recently\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/iranian-praise-trump-strategy-usaid-iran-tehran-us-2026395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">praise<\/a>d U.S. President Donald Trump &#8212; a gesture unheard of since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. This sudden shift is not a change of heart. It is a calculated strategy aimed at outmaneuvering Trump to ensure the regime&#8217;s survival. For decades, Iran&#8217;s Islamist clerics have built their rule on a foundation of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. The mullahs&#8217; newfound diplomatic overtures are nothing more than a deceptive ploy to buy time, ease sanctions, and protect their nuclear weapons program. The United States and its allies must not fall into this trap.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Since its inception, Iran&#8217;s Islamist regime has defined itself by its hostility toward the United States and Israel. The chants of &#8220;Death to America&#8221; and &#8220;Death to Israel&#8221; have been a\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/killing-americans-allies-irans-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">staple<\/a>\u00a0of Iran&#8217;s political discourse for more than four decades. Tehran&#8217;s ideological opposition to the West is not mere rhetoric; it has fueled real-world actions,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/killing-americans-allies-irans-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">including<\/a>\u00a0attacks on U.S. forces, hostage-taking, and funding and arming terrorist proxies across the Middle East and beyond. Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, using Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis as their instruments of terror, have\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/killing-americans-allies-irans-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">orchestrated<\/a>\u00a0deadly attacks on American civilians, allies, and troops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran finds itself in its\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/iran-weakest-since-revolution-ripe-for-regime-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weakest<\/a>\u00a0position in decades. First, its strongest ally in the region, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was overthrown and fled to Russia, leading to the collapse of one of Iran&#8217;s key strongholds. At the same time, Tehran&#8217;s most important regional proxies &#8212; Hamas and Hezbollah &#8212; have\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/iran-weakest-since-revolution-ripe-for-regime-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">suffered<\/a>\u00a0significant setbacks at the hands of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Domestically, the Iranian regime faces perhaps its greater threat: its own people. The Iranian population, exhausted by decades of economic hardship, repression and corruption, is overwhelmingly\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/institute.global\/insights\/geopolitics-and-security\/the-people-of-iran-are-shouting-for-regime-change-but-is-the-west-listening\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opposed<\/a>\u00a0to the ruling clerics. Nationwide protests have erupted recently, with demonstrators\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/institute.global\/insights\/geopolitics-and-security\/the-people-of-iran-are-shouting-for-regime-change-but-is-the-west-listening\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">calling<\/a>\u00a0for the end of the Islamic Republic. Men, women, students, workers and members of the middle class, risking their lives, have risen against the government. The regime responds with brutal crackdowns, but has been unable to silence the discontent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Given these pressures, the mullahs running the regime have changed nothing but their rhetoric.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Iranian regime has a long history of deception. In 2015, during the Obama administration, Iran accepted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the &#8220;nuclear deal,&#8221; which anyhow allowed it as many nuclear weapons as it could build, from\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.perplexity.ai\/search\/jcpoa-sunset-clauses-expire-oc-bIxnuWPnSZm6uUYJ2whUCw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 2025<\/a>. Even so, as soon as sanctions relief was granted in 2015, Iran\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninstitute.org\/policy-analysis\/major-beneficiaries-iran-deal-irgc-and-hezbollah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">funneled<\/a>\u00a0money into its terrorist proxies and\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-50382219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">continued<\/a>\u00a0developing its nuclear weapons in secret &#8212; not investing in its people or improving their living conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran&#8217;s recent moves are part of the same playbook. The mullahs seek to lull the United States into a false sense of security. They undoubtedly hope that diplomatic engagement will allow them time to race to nuclear weapons breakout, or, at worst, another weak agreement that will enable them to rebuild their military. Whenever Iran gains financial or political leverage, it uses it against America and its allies. Since October 2023, Iran and its proxies have attacked US troops in the region\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.perplexity.ai\/search\/how-many-times-since-october-2-.reG.oCeQrCnW3ytoE_2mA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than 200 times<\/a><u>.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Just as the world failed to contain Adolf Hitler&#8217;s Germany before it overwhelmed Europe, dawdling through negotiations instead of failing to stop Iran<i>\u00a0now,<\/i>\u00a0before its nuclear breakout, could have catastrophic consequences. The West must support Israel in its efforts to dismantle Iranian military assets and work toward imposing the most severe sanctions possible, crippling the regime&#8217;s ability to finance its aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran&#8217;s recent shift in tone is nothing more than a survival tactic. The ruling mullahs remain dedicated to the destruction of America and Israel. Allowing them any time and relief now only empowers them. Iran&#8217;s nuclear facilities must be taken out, sanctions must be intensified, and the Iranian people&#8217;s fight for freedom must be supported. Trump must not waste this opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><i><strong>Dr. Majid Rafizadeh<\/strong>, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has<\/i>\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=majid+rafizadeh&amp;sprefix=majid+raf%2Caps%2C757&amp;crid=22WY06JIYF98T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>authored<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0several books on the US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at<\/i>\u00a0<a style=\"color: #808080;\" href=\"mailto:dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu<\/i><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump&#8217;s First Big Disastrous Mistake Majid Rafizadeh The problem, of course, is that after seeing what happened when Libya&#8217;s General Muammar Ghaddafi gave up nuclear weapons in 2003 and Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in 1994, no one with an IQ above single digits would ever agree to give up nuclear weapons again \u2013 especially [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119233"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119302,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119233\/revisions\/119302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}