Trump proceeded to say that again on Fox News at least three more times. Of course, Obama did not start a war. But Trump does seem to have limited ability to negotiate and, as we have seen in the Ukrainian situation, will do anything to get elected.
There is a movie called “Wag the Dog” made in 1997 staring Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro. It’s about a scheme to start a “small war” in order to detract from a presidential scandal.
Since the thought was once in Trump’s mind…wonder if it had any bearing when he brought us to the brink of war by killing an Iranian government official on foreign soil.
Did he indeed wag the dog?
We will probably never know for sure…but it’s an interesting thought since Soleimani had been around a long time and was immediately replaced.
So what did the deed accomplish in it’s immediacy except to change the narrative from Trump’s recent impeachment?
To be sure, Soleimani was an evil man and we are glad to be rid of him, but his organization remains intact and whatever terrible plans were being made to hurt our embassies, our bases and our fellow citizens can still be undertaken. Until the recent protests due to the passenger plane brought down by an Iranian missile, the killing of Soleimani resulted in the unification of a previously divided Iran.
So it is quite possible the full ramifications of this have not been felt yet. Are we safer?…Doubtful.
But alternatively, instead of wagging the dog, this actually could be just another chaotic implementation of an Iranian foreign policy which seems to have no goal or strategy. The Iranian Nuclear Deal was painstakingly negotiated and put in place by the U.S., U.K., Russia, France, China, Germany, the U.E. and Iran. All parties agreed that the deal was working well and that Iran was adhering to all parts of the deal. These countries’ leaders were shocked when the President withdrew the U.S. from the deal, promising a better deal and tightening sanctions. He did not negotiate a better deal, and Iran’s bad actors retaliated against our crushing sanctions.
Since this incident they have announced that they are ignoring more aspects of the deal. They may end up closer to having nuclear weapons as a result of this.
It is sad to say, but the Trump White House has been poor at implementing their policies and keeping to a coherent message. Because of thousands of documented lies over the past three years, they lack credibility.
We need a president who will unite us instead of attacking those who disagree with him and calling them unpatriotic or worse. One who will make America strong, compassionate, steady and respected again. We will be working for that!
