Dear Editor:
Donald Trump has been President for 154 days. He made many “DAY ONE” promises, of particular interest in foreign policy. He claimed that NOT ONLY would he end the wars/hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians and between Russia and Ukraine on DAY ONE, but that had he been president, those wars would have “never happened.”
Many of Trump’s voters and supporters were in favor of his isolationist positions and his “no more wars” pledge. He led those voters to believe that with him in office, he would prevent wars in the world through his “deal making” abilities.
Now war has broken out between Israel and Iran. So much for Trump’s ability to PREVENT wars … but what about his ability to CAUSE wars?
Israel’s reason for attacking Iran is that Israel reckoned that Iran was getting close to having a deliverable nuclear weapon. President Obama negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark international accord reached in July 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). In 2018, The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors spent an aggregate of 3,000 calendar days in Iran, installing seals and collecting surveillance camera photos, measurement data, and documents for further analysis. In March 2018, IAEA Director Yukiya Amano said that the organization had verified that Iran was implementing its nuclear-related commitments.
On May 8, 2018, Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA. He pledged to negotiate a “better” deal. He never did. The U.S. withdrawal freed Iran to continue its development of nuclear capabilities. Trump replaced a multi-nation agreement monitoring Iran’s nuclear programs with … NOTHING. Now, a new predictable war has flared up.
When the Trump administration sided entirely with Israel and left Palestinians out of the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol and then moving the U.S. embassy there, this destroyed a fragile peace kept alive by the prospect of a “Two State Solution.” The prospect of the world’s lone superpower, America, being open to recognizing that Palestinians deserved a homeland gave powerful hope to Palestinian communities. Trump’s actions ripped that hope away. As a result, on October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israel.
Trump’s highly publicized bromance with Vladimir Putin left no doubt as to where Trump stood on the Russian/Ukraine war. Trump’s famous vindictiveness also led him to resent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who refused to go along with Trump’s request that Ukraine make up stories about Biden being under investigation for corruption. Because Trump withheld Ukrainian funds appropriated by Congress as leverage to try to force Zelenskyy to comply with Trump’s scheme, and that “quid pro quo” was proven by a recorded telephone call, Trump was impeached for the first time. Oh, and Trump’s plan to “end the war”? Simply put, Trump’s “solution” was, and IS, that Ukraine give Russia everything Putin wants. That is, surrender to the invader.
So, far from being the ENDER of wars, Trump’s actions seemed designed to START wars. For those who voted for Trump hoping for his promise of “PEACE,” the world is on fire, and Trump lit all the matches.
Jeff Harrison
Buffalo, TX
