Trump Should Have Ended The Iran Nuclear Deal The Day He Took Office

At last, President Trump has withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Frankly, he should have done the day he took office nearly a year and a half ago. Trump could have withdrawn at any time just as he did with the Paris Climate Accord.

Of course, Trump didn't withdraw because of the likes of John Kelly, James Mattis and Rex Tillerson who supported the Iran Nuclear Deal. One might ask why Trump would appoint people who supported the Iran Nuclear Deal, but this is Trump we are talking about. But Tillerson is gone and Pompeo has replaced him at the State Department. Throw him and John Bolton into the equation and the deal's days were numbered. So better late than never.

As much as I loathe Trump's character, I am in full agreement when he stated, “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should never have been made. It did not bring calm, never brought peace and it never will.”

Here is what then Senator Barack Obama told Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes after announcing his presidential candidacy in February 2007 with regard to talking with Iran:

I think that the notion that this administration has -- that not talking to our enemies is effective punishment -- is wrong. It flies in the face of our experiences during the Cold War. Ronald Reagan understood that it may be an evil empire, but it's worthwhile for us to periodically meet to see are there areas of common interest. And most importantly, those conversations allow the possibility that our ideas and our values gain greater exposure in these countries. The fact of the matter is that Iran currently is governed by an oppressive regime, one that I think is a threat to the region and to our allies, but there are a lot of people in Iran who potentially would like to be part of this broader community of nations.

Except that Ronald Reagan had his Mikhail Gorbachev. Who is Iran's Gorbachev? Certainly not President Rouhani never mind Khamenei. Is there a Persian perestroika? Not on your life. The people in Iran who might want to be part of the broader community of nations reside in Evin Prison. 

Needless to say, Obama is irate at Trump's decision. Of course he is. Frankly, Obama's statement might as well have been written by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. It was the centerpiece of his foreign policy. Trump's decision is the international equivalent of ending Obamacare. Obama is angry because what little of his legacy is now in ruin. 

Obama claims that without the deal "it could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America's own security; and trigger an arms race in the world's most dangerous region." Well, nothing in the Iran nuclear deal was going to change its fundamental nature much less make it a peaceful regime. If the Iranian regime were of a peaceful disposition then why is Israel on high alert in the Golan Heights?

So as much as I don't like Trump, he did the right thing here.