A pen and a phone: How Trump will erase Obama’s foreign policy

New York Post ^ | 10 Nov, 2016 | Benny Avni

[MtnClimber]

‘I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone” was President Obama’s favored path to a foreign-policy legacy. Oops. President-elect Donald Trump may now use his own pen and phone to erase it.

But it won’t be that easy.

At first glance, the Paris agreement on climate change, the Cuba détente and the Iran nuclear deal seem easy to undo. Like many of Obama’s stabs at history-making, they were done unilaterally, without congressional advise and consent.

But Obama’s pen didn’t quite write his ticket to immortality in disappearing ink.

Take Iran. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that because the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action wasn’t a “treaty,” there was no need for Senate approval. After months of grueling negotiations, it was sealed with a few phones calls and the stroke of a pen.

The deal, however, does carry legal weight. In July 2015, the UN Security Council passed a resolution endorsing it and calling on all UN members to implement it. As far as our allies are concerned, a deal’s a deal.

Yet, Trump isn’t merely stuck with this raw deal, either. He has options.

For starters, he can simply insist on its compliance. Just this week the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran is storing more heavy water than the deal allows. Until now, Obama called such violations “marginal.” We even bought Iran’s excess heavy water to help it comply with the deal.

[Degaston]

Not quite .... he should eliminate the unlawful actions of President Obama. Those that are lawful are public laws so they should stand until they either get repealed or superceded by other laws. For example, a law or court order may require the executive branch to spend some money. But the Debt Ceiling may limit moneys available which force the President to make some tough choices until Congress takes action & gets a new law passed to clear things up.

Donald Trump may become President on January 20th; but his real power starts March 16th, unless by some miracle the National Debt gets and stays paid down from that day forward :)

[Eleutheria5]

He had a policy? There was coherence beneath the mess of gooey molasses and blood?

[itsahoot]

We need that right now, just like you said.

Yep.

[Gamecock]

Other people erased from history:
(Of course in Obammy's case it is self inflicted)