Garbage take.

ME Sunnis & Israelis were alarmed because under Obama's admin, there were some very big strides to bring Iran into the fold and be friends with them. Even though their interests were categorically opposed to our main allies in the region, even though they funded Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq, even though the funded the Hoothis, even though they have ties to Hezbollah. Did he talk about that on the podcast or?

Trumps position can be characterized as anti-Iran which all of our allies in the region lobbied for. He repeatedly threatened and placed the snap back sanctions on them which led to the implosion of the deal. He sanctioned other countries that does business with them and so on.

Bush's position could be characterized as anti-Iraq, im sure that gave their neighbors a lot of solace.

neither Obama's soft hands or Trump's hard words have brought Iran to heel.

the UAE-Israeli peace negotiations predate Trump because of Obama's handlings, and continued because Iran continues to grow more radical despite Trump's handling.


funny enough whether its NK, China, or Iran, all of Trump's plans are 50 year plus choke holds and he has 4 years or less more to hold them. they're willing to kill of however many they need to to maintain power.

Just you wait.

you could compile 200 pages of maps, absolutely bizarre and unrealistic scenarios and "solutions" for israeli settlements, never even consult the palestinian side, call it a "peace plan". the american right would push to nominate you immediately...

2nd time this same nutter has nominated him. He's going to be 0/2

You seem to be arguing both sides here. You say Trump has shown a willingness to withdraw from the Middle East, from conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Conflicts where US withdrawal is beneficial to Iran. Non-interventionists were happy when Trump pulled back from striking Iran after they shot down our drone. What preceded that were other provocative moves from Iran, which weren't responded to.

Yet, you also want to portray Trump as a reliable partner with the Arab states and Israel against Iran.

You can't have it both ways. Sure, Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal that was working, that our European allies still uphold. That move made the hawks in Arab states and Israel happy. But the policy that replaced it is economic sanctions with a side of inconsistency and weakness on the military front. Our allies in the Middle East don't look at policy from the United States as a binary choice, like you seem to do with Trump. Just because they think he's better than Obama doesn't mean they are totally on board with whatever he does.

This post was edited by IceMage on Sep 10 2020 11:39am

Also worth pointing out that this theme is consistent with Trump supporters who pretend to be strong on certain foreign policy issues.

You aren't tough on China if you want to pull out of the region and not pursue trade deals with their neighbors. If you support pulling troops out of Japan and South Korea, and opposed TPP, the idea that you understand the Chinese threat and are willing to counter it is laughable.

He absolutely won't win but I'm not opposed to him being nominated. The administration has done some GOOD things and this is one of them. Trump just happens to have a ratio of at least 10:1 of bad to good.



America can't go at it alone, that's the reality. We never have been able to go at it alone. Their heart is in the right place, but it's a grossly misinformed opinion.

Yes you can. His administrations shift on Iran is night and day from what Obama was. I really don't understand why you keep linking things and thinking if one happens then others have to also. You can be anti-Iran, supporting Israel, supporting the Saudis and withdraw troops from places that have no general utility. Large standing armies in Germany of Afghanistan do very little to counter Iran. You know what counters Iran? Supporting the Saudis in their war with the Hoothis. You know what else? Having aircraft carriers with tomahawks ready to be deployed in the strait of Hormuz. You know what else? Sanctioning their oil exports. You know what else? Targeting Iranian military leaders.

What inconsistency and weakness are you talking about specifically? I'm giving you tangible responses while you keep repeating words without any explanation. Or in a one dimensional world pulling troops out of needless areas= weakness?

This post was edited by ofthevoid on Sep 10 2020 12:55pm

Must be doing something right.