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Trump Clown Show In Overdrive After Iran Comes Out On Top

JD Vance and Pete Hegseth, the sounds you hear are not applause but the roar of a bus coming to run you over, courtesy of trump who has found somebody to blame for the nation’s worst foreign entanglement in US history.

There will be no tears shed for the copming demise of trump’s two biggest, fawning toadies. Vance has been placed in the lead of the botched cease fire agreement. And it is no surprise that since the cease fire agreement, Hegseth has melted into the background, to the point where he hasn’t even been seen showing off his abs and pumping iron.

Trump had withheld details of the tentative agreement, keeping the world on tenterhooks with a “that’s for me to know and you to find out” attitude. But the agreement has been made public and last Wednesday, trump addressed opponents of the Iran deal.

Vance has been unceremoniously placed in the lead of the negotiations, looking for all the world like a sacrificial lamb who also will soon go to slaughter, all to save trump.

“If it works, I’m going to take the credit…if it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD!” trump said, sounding very much like a perturbed Josef Stalin. Hegseth formerly said that the mission of Operation Epic Fury is “laser-focused.”

“Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons,” said Christian nationalist, war promoting Hegseth whose face is fully covered with eggs.

“Our ambitions are not utopian; they are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies,” Hegseth said. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless… This is the opposite. This operation [has] a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes.”

It sounds like the words of panic from a famously unqualified, former Fox news bigot.

“Laser-focused” turns out more like a pig in the poke.

Here comes the bus. Trump has clearly blamed Hegseth for an air strike earlier in the war that killed more than 100 Iranian schoolgirls.

“It’s such a strange question to be asked at this stage because you’re talking about a long time ago, but nobody did that on purpose,” trump said. “That was Pete’s decision. Pete Hegseth is investigating it.”

The fact that the strike was supposedly unintentional is not the point. The question remains as to how the US bombed the school, intentional or not, despite the “laser focus.” The situation is classic trump who is lightning quick to take the credit for anything positive but he hightails it when the winds shift against him.

Hegseth and Vance will learn shortly that any deal with the devil named trump will not end up very well as trump blames Hegseth for not warning him and further scores Vance for not being stronger in his advice about the dangers of the war, particularly the potential closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

And if that isn’t bad enough, trump’s $14 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool at the Capitol is showing the biggest recording algae bloom recorded in years.

Unconditional Surrender

Back to the poorly conceived war, early on, trump demanded Iran’s “Unconditional Surrender.” It hasn’t worked out that way and of course, trump accepts none of the blame.

Vance, but not trump, was scheduled to attend the June 19 official cease firing ceremony in Geneva. The trump administration said the president need not attend because both sides already signed the memorandum electronically. Trump never passes the opportunity to crow and strut like a peacock at a photo shoot unless he knows something everybody else doesn’t. And besides, trump claims he isn’t needed in Geneva because the cease fire deal was already inked after a sumptuous feast at the Palace of Versailles, in Paris, France.

It was fitting that trump slathered Melania’s “Urban Decay’s Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss in Lovechild” all over the pig when he gave his “‘I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize” speech at the Palace of Versailles last week. After comically declaring at least a dozen times that the war, which he labeled a “minor excursion” was over, trump signed what is called a “Memorandum of Understanding” The memo is a non-binding short term cease fire agreement otherwise known as a photo op and stalling tactic to delay discussion of the most important details, namely how to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

The cease fire spells the tentative end of trump’s “Operation Epic Fury” which he first said would take from a few days to a few weeks for Iran to buckle but continued for five months leaving the US in a much worse position than before. Even now, trump has probably not learned that the winner is not the one with the most bombs but the side with the best strategy. And the master of the deal and the king of subtlety, said that if Iran reneges on its promises, the US will revert back to bombing them to oblivion and we know how that worked out.

The moment will go down in history much like the disastrous Versailles conference which was signed at the same palace where allies ratified the peace treaty on June 28, 1919, ending World War I. The treaty was so badly planned, filled with so much resentment and calls for revenge, that it stripped Germany of any chance of recovery and set the stage for the eventual rise to power of the Nazis and World War II.

Trump may have thought he was going to crowned king at Versailles Palace. But there is no crown and trump is allowing Iran to rebuild its military including its nuclear program. Under a tentative agreement, the US will provide hundreds of billions of dollars to repair the damage from US bombing while unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian money.

The treaty leaves the bloodthirsty Iranian regime in power, it has shown the Iranians that they have the leverage to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and paralyze the world. Iran has promised that it will never build or buy an atom bomb but its credibility is even worse than trump’s. The treaty offers only vague commitments for further talks to curtail Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran also has agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran nailed shut after trump invaded.

The treaty also gave a gigantic early Christmas gift to Iran in requiring that Israel stop bombing Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, based in Lebanon. Not only did Israel did not sign the treaty, the nation was not even provided a draft before it was signed.

The costs for the war to Americans have included more than a dozen dead Americans, billions in damages to equipment and weaponry, and domestic prices skyrocketing for gas and groceries. The war also has left yet another pathetic, indelible stamp on American credibility in the world.

Israeli media and officials have been in melt down over the lopsided ceasefire agreement. It is a disaster from Israel’s point of view because it accomplishes none of Israel’s war aims and leaves the country in worse shape on each of them. A key factor is Iran’s demand that Israel cease attacks on Hezbollah.

The cease fire is in danger of unraveling because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until the threat is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

“It’s a bad agreement in which the Americans are paying with cash, and got, at the maximum, a letter of intent,” said Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s former national security adviser.

David Horovitz, the editor of The Times of Israel, called it “a catastrophic capitulation.”

Vance put on his best Clint Eastwood imitation and warned Israelis against criticizing the peace deal.

“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said at a press conference at the White House.

It is fantastical how trump can continue to live in an alternative universe disconnected from reality and continue to brag that the ceasefire was a master stroke by the master dealer.

Trump is so unhinged and steeped in denial that he can’t see that the US is in far worse situation than before the war. For one thing, Iran has learned it has tremendous leverage in stopping ships from passing the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said he would dislodge the Iranian leadership and not only is the leadership still intact but it is even stronger in its hatred of the US than before the war. Trump also claimed to have destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities but that has been proven to be wildly incorrect.

Trump promised that he would not stop the war until Iran surrendered unconditionally. The ceasefire looks nothing like total capitulation. Trump vowed to destroy Iran’s missile systems and stop Iran from supporting proxies, like Hezbollah. Neither has happened, according to all reputable reports other than the lackeys under trump.

The words “as unbelievable as they may seem” have been inappropriate for a long time when it comes to trump. But “as unbelievable as they may seem” trump has endorsed Iran’s retention of a missile system, because “If other countries have them, it’s a little bit unfair for them not to have some. If Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have some, I would say that in relative proportion, I think it’s okay” for Iran to have ballistic missiles as well.”

Trump offered his rationale for allowing Iran to keep missiles, because “Missiles aren’t the problem…. They hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet (like nuclear weapons do).”

Vance, trying to wiggle into the same parallel universe, defended the deal as a “win-win” for the U.S. because the oil will soon be flowing through the strait, the same oil that was flowing before trump’s war. Vance said the critics should have some “faith” in trump as the idea that he would reach a “bad” deal for the American people is “preposterous.”

“If the Iranians don’t change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is still destroyed,” Vance said, being completely disingenuous.

Vance is referring to a regime that has vowed to destroy the US while its negotiators have shown their superior abilities to misdirect and delay prior negotiations. In short, any belief that Iran will negotiate in good faith is about as farsical as it gets.

And then there was Sen. Roger Marshall, R- Ks., toady par excellence, who agreed that Iran has to be “able to defend themselves.”

“I certainly don’t want them to have long-distance missiles. I don’t want them to have nuclear-armed missiles. I would prefer they didn’t. But I don’t think that’s the key issue here. I think that they have to be able to defend themselves,” said a flummoxed Marshall who has voted in line with trump’s positions 98 percent of the time.

So these people are calling to rearm Iran after the US spent billions to depleted its crucial weapons supplies. Brilliant.

In another “as unbelievable as they may seem” moment, trump praised Russia and China for staying “neutral” during the war in Iran.

“I want to thank China, President Xi — I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it,” trump said. “And I want to thank Vladimir Putin. He was very neutral.”

Of course Putin was neutral; he was too busy bombing Ukraine to smithereens. “So I just want to thank them because they made it a lot better,” trump gushed.

Trump, Vance, Hegseth and the rest of the band of traitors fail to acknowledge that nearly unanimous reporting is that trump gave away the store with little in return. Trump had his own spin on why many oppose the war and trump’s colossal screw up. As is his way, trump left no room for self-reflection. Those who disagree with trump, he said, are “either stupid or they’re bad people”

As expected, Democrats are completely opposed to the terms of the cease fire but even Republican support is quickly peeling away.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “concerned” that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President’s goals.”

“Specifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Wicker said in a statement.

“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. Cassidy said that Iran’s nuclear ambitions “were not curbed” and that the war had taught the Iranians that they had more leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and the world economy than they knew. Cassidy termed the war “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”

Wicker and Cassidy joined Democrats and other GOP senators in criticizing provisions in the deal to immediately lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports and unfreezing billions of dollars worth of Tehran’s assets worldwide.

Wicker was referring to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement approved under President Barack Obama to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. After 20 months of negotiations, the agreement was finalized on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) — China, France, Russia, the U.K., U.S. — plus Germany), together with the European Union.

Iran agreed to constrain its nuclear program by limiting fuel cycle activities that could lead to the production of weapons-grade uranium or plutonium. Iran agreed to accept more intrusive IAEA monitoring measures of its fuel-cycle related activities. In exchange for complying with the restrictions, Iran received relief from nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the EU, and the United States. Sanctions targeting Iran’s missile program, support for militant groups, and human rights record remained in place.

In one of his first stupid actions, trump withdrew from the pact in 2018, leading Iran to respond by stockpiling roughly 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.

During his 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, trump made the renegotiation of the JCPOA one of his main foreign affairs campaign promises. He said that if he won, there would “be a totally different deal.” Trump called the deal a disaster, “the worst deal ever”, so terrible that it could lead to “a nuclear holocaust.”

Now, the US and Iran have two months to agree to a nuclear deal that took scores of world class experts years to craft under Obama. The sure money is on a weaker nuclear deal under trump than the one that was approved under President Barack “Hussein” Obama, as trump crudely refers to the former president.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blasted the deal with Iran as a “catastrophically bad outcome.”

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said that judging by the text of the Memorandum of Understanding “it doesn’t seem like he (trump) achieved a single one” of his initial goals for the war.

“It abandons our allies, weakens our security posture, lifts sanctions and hands over billions to a hardline Iranian regime, all just to return to where we were three months ago with Iran ruled by a hardline, repressive regime, with drones, missiles, proxies, and an underground nuclear program,” Coons said.

Everybody who thinks it’s time for a third impeachment, raise your hands and do it right this time.