https://freebeacon.com/columns/trump-calls-the-ayatollahs-bluff/
Trump Calls the Ayatollah’s Bluff
And scores a victory against terrorism
FTA:
Reciprocity has been the key to understanding Donald Trump. Whether you are a media figure or a mullah, a prime minister or a pope, he will be good to you if you are good to him. Say something mean, though, or work against his interests, and he will respond in force. It won’t be pretty. It won’t be polite. There will be fallout. But you may think twice before crossing him again.
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That has been the case with Iran. President Trump has conditioned his policies on Iranian behavior. When Iran spread its malign influence, Trump acted to check it. When Iran struck, Trump hit back: never disproportionately, never definitively. He left open the possibility of negotiations. He doesn’t want to have the Greater Middle East—whether Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, or Afghanistan—dominate his presidency the way it dominated those of Barack Obama and George W. Bush. America no longer needs Middle Eastern oil. Best keep the region on the back burner. Watch it so it doesn’t boil over. Do not overcommit resources to this underdeveloped, war-torn, sectarian land.
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Deterrence, says Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, is credibly holding at risk something your adversary holds dear. If the reports out of Iraq are true, President Trump has put at risk the entirety of the Iranian imperial enterprise even as his maximum pressure campaign strangles the Iranian economy and fosters domestic unrest. That will get the ayatollah’s attention. And now the United States must prepare for his answer.
The bombs over Baghdad? That was Trump calling Khamenei’s bluff. The game has changed. But it isn’t over.
https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/03/morning-greatness-president-trump-cancels-iran-terror-mastermind/
Morning Greatness: President Trump Cancels Iran Terror Mastermind
FTA:
Buh-bye. The Democrats have executed what I call the “BUT Maneuver” in response to the administration’s killing of Soleimani. The “BUT Maneuver” goes a little like this:
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Richard Haas, President of the Council of Foreign Relations: If US did have intell indicating Suleimani was planning imminent attacks on US personnel, preemptive action would have have been justifiable. But that is not the same as smart. It would have been preferable to try to deter Iran from going ahead given what we are now in for.
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And then there is this cry for help:
Dear #Iran, The USA has disrespected your country, your flag, your people. 52% of us humbly apologize. We want peace with your nation. We are being held hostage by a terrorist regime. We do not know how to escape. Please do not kill us. #Soleimani pic.twitter.com/YE54CqGCdr
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) January 3, 2020