More Giuliani-- Trump's New Attorney General And Secretary Of State Rolled Into One (Where's Chris Christie?)

OK, last night we saw the sure-to-fail legal strategy. How about some wacky foreign policy from the 73 year old Brooklyn-born ex-mayor? The DWT Twitter followers don't see it quite the same was that Trumpists do. Over the weekend, Señor Trumpanzee's new personal lawyer-- no more Michael Cohen?-- declared that his client is "as committed to regime change as we are." Who's the "we" in that sentence? He told a press gaggle that regime change in Iran is "the only way to peace in the Middle East... more important than an Israeli-Palestinian deal." The French, German and British governments seem to be disconcerted by Trump's poorly thought-out rush to rip up the Iranian nuclear agreement, part of his psychotic obsession to destroy every iota of Obama's legacy.

The full or partial restoration of two sets of unilateral, pre-2015 American banking, financial and other sanctions would significantly undermine the moderate leadership of Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani. Before his landslide re-election victory last year, Rouhani promised voters much-needed economic renewal in exchange for maintaining the nuclear-related curbs. Now his hardline opponents are poised to strike.

The destabilising of Iran, consequent on what would be seen there as an overt act of American aggression, could trigger a broader destabilisation of the Middle East. Predominantly Shia, Persian Iran is engaged in a fierce contest for power and influence with the Sunni Arab world, led by Saudi Arabia. If Trump, allied with Riyadh and Cairo, goes on the offensive, this rivalry may escalate as Iran inevitably reacts-- with unforeseeable ramifications in places such as Yemen and Bahrain.

One concern is that Iran’s clerical establishment, led by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will revive a nuclear weapons research programme that, according to the Bush administration and the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, ceased in 2003. This would produce the very result Trump ostensibly seeks to avoid. This, in turn, could spark a regional nuclear weapons race with the Saudis and others.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has long been lobbying Trump to end US adherence to the deal. Last week, he attempted to show that Iran was lying by unveiling a cache of stolen documents. Independent experts found nothing new in Netanyahu’s presentation. The IAEA, which has broad inspection rights, has verified 10 times, most recently in February, that Iran is in full compliance. But Trump hailed his ally’s PR stunt, with suspicious speed, as “proof” of Iranian cheating.

...[T]here have also been shockingly underhand efforts in the US to discredit key public officials associated with forging the deal. The alleged involvement of Trump aides in a privately run, Israeli-linked “dirty ops campaign” warrants immediate investigation. It recalls claims that Trump associates colluded with Russia to “dig up dirt” on Hillary Clinton before the 2016 presidential election.

...The harm a Trump decision to scupper the Iran deal would do to US relations with its European partners, all of whom are adamant in its defence, is incalculable. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, made a personal appeal to Trump during his recent Washington visit and was crudely rebuffed. The same fate befell Germany’s Angela Merkel. There is scant reason to believe any last-minute British intervention will fare better. A permanent rift is opening.

On Sunday, one of Israel's most influential newspapers, Haaretz, interpreted the Trump Regime's latest moves from an Israel perspective. Remember, Israel succeeded in getting America to eliminate deadly foes for them in Iraq and Syria. Their next target (for us) is Iran. Haaretz reported that "Iran's President Hassan Rouhani warned on Sunday Iran had prepared plans to respond to any to end the nuclear agreement, adding that the U.S. would regret such a decision. 'We have plans to resist any decision by Trump on the nuclear accord,' Rouhani said in a speech carried live by state television. 'If America leaves the nuclear accord, this will entail historic remorse for it.'... Trump must decide by May 12 whether to recertify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal or to reimpose nuclear-related sanctions. He has stated in recent weeks that the deal is a 'disaster' and that it never should have been signed."