On Friday, President Trump gave a speech decrying Iran’s dastardly deeds and stating his intention to decertify the Iran nuclear deal. It was a tour de force of propaganda, deception and naked aggression. If you listened to Trump, you would think Iran dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, caused the Holocaust, and told a million babies that the tooth fairy didn’t exist. It was that vitriolic, and, well, false. Yup, false. Nearly everything Trumps said about Iran was either false, or else hypocritical because America engages in the same acts and more.
By way of background, Iran is an ancient civilization, originally known as Persia, that is thought to have existed since at least 550 BC.. Its culture is extremely sophisticated, and it has made major contributions to world knowledge in areas such as science, medical development and mathematics. It’s also a nation of 80 million people, making it the 18th largest country in the world.
Two more points, and then I’ll launch into a breakdown of Trump’s absurd speech. First, for all the fear of Iran attaining nuclear weapons and menacing the world, it should be noted that America currently spends over $600 billion per year on defense, and Iran, in 2016, (check), spent a grand total of $12.3 billion, ranking it 19th in the world. Yep, that’s right, $12 billion, or about 2% of US military expenditures. So, are they really the threat to global peace and security that Trump would make them out to be. I don’t think they are, and the numbers certainly back that up.
Second, and just as importantly, on October 3, at a Congressional hearing, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford both stated that it is “in the national security interest” of the United States to remain a partner in the Iran nuclear deal. And General Dunford went further, stating that Iran is “in compliance” with the nuclear deal. So, on the crucial question of whether Iran is adhering to the terms of the deal, the two top US defense officials gave full throated endorsements to Iran for its compliance.
So there’s that.
And if that’s not enough, Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, issued a statement on Friday, after Trump’s speech, that directly rebutted the President. “So far, the I.A.E.A. has had access to all locations it needed to visit,” he said. “At present, Iran is subject to the world’s most robust nuclear verification regime.”
So there’s that too.
And now to Trump’s speech.
Trump said: In Iraq and Afghanistan, groups supported by Iran have killed hundreds of American military personnel.
I say: In Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has killed over 100,000 people, many of them civilians.
Trump said: The United States is far from the only target of the Iranian dictatorship’s long campaign of bloodshed. The regime violently suppresses its own citizens; it shot unarmed student protestors in the street during the Green Revolution.
I say: American police shoot unarmed black men every freaking day we all know this come on.
Trump said: This regime has fueled sectarian violence in Iraq, and vicious civil wars in Yemen and Syria. In Syria, the Iranian regime has supported the atrocities of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and condoned Assad’s use of chemical weapons against helpless civilians, including many, many children.
I say: We blew up Iraq, occupied it, and caused the deadly cycle of violence that began in 2003, and we’re supporting Saudi Arabia, which is bombing Yemen into the Stone Age in a vicious air campaign that relies in part on internationally outlawed cluster bombs. And where do those cluster bombs come from? Right here in the good ‘ol USA. The US is also deeply involved in the Syrian Civil War, conducting an air campaign and carrying out drone strikes and airstrikes.
Trump said: Given the regime’s murderous past and present, we should not take lightly its sinister vision for the future. The regime’s two favorite chants are “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
I say: Trump said we will “totally destroy North Korea.” What’s the difference there?
Trump said: There are also many people who believe that Iran is dealing with North Korea. I am going to instruct our intelligence agencies to do a thorough analysis and report back their findings beyond what they have already reviewed.
I say: The U.S. is freaking dealing with North Korea everyday. It’s already come out that we’re working with them. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently told the media we have a direct channel to North Korea, so how is this any different? It’s hypocrisy all over again!
Trump said: By its own terms, the Iran Deal was supposed to contribute to “regional and international peace and security.” And yet, while the United States adheres to our commitment under the deal, the Iranian regime continues to fuel conflict, terror, and turmoil throughout the Middle East and beyond. Importantly, Iran is not living up to the spirit of the deal.
I say. The US continues to fuel conflict, terror and turmoil throughout the Middle East too. We’re involved in at least four conflicts (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen), our drones are in numerous countries, we dropped over 26,000 bombs in seven countries in 2016, and we have over 800 military bases in over 70 countries around the world.
Trump said: The execution of our strategy begins with the long-overdue step of imposing tough sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Revolutionary Guard is the Iranian Supreme Leader’s corrupt personal terror force and militia. It has hijacked large portions of Iran’s economy and seized massive religious endowments to fund war and terror abroad. This includes arming the Syrian dictator, supplying proxies and partners with missiles and weapons to attack civilians in the region, and even plotting to bomb a popular restaurant right here in Washington, D.C.
I say: The US military and the defense department have hijacked large portions of America’s economy too, and they’ve acted like a personal militia for many presidents from George W Bush up to Trump. I mean George W invaded and occupied Iraq simply because he had a personal grudge against Saddam and wanted to make up for his daddy’s failure to go all the way to Baghdad during the first gulf war. Does it get any more personal, terror-filled or corrupt than that?
Trump said: As we have seen in North Korea, the longer we ignore a threat, the worse that threat becomes. It is why we are determined that the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism will never obtain nuclear weapons.
I say: Are they really the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism? How do you define terrorism, how do you measure it, and how do you separate it from state terror? Is it lots of people killed, is it political violence, is it non-political violence? Because the US has killed a lot of freaking people too, so tell me what you mean Donald. I don’t buy it.
Trump said: In this effort, we stand in total solidarity with the Iranian regime’s longest-suffering victims: its own people. The citizens of Iran have paid a heavy price for the violence and extremism of their leaders. The Iranian people long to — and they just are longing, to reclaim their country’s proud history, its culture, its civilization, its cooperation with its neighbors.
I say: The citizens of America have paid a heavy price for the violence and extremism of their leaders too. Look at all the soldiers who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan missing limbs. Look at all the Americans who have died. What about all the people who can’t get health care and don’t have enough income to live? These people aren’t getting the support they need from government because so much money goes to defense. So Americans want to reclaim their history too, their civilization, and especially cooperation with their neighbors, which has been completely lost since The Donald took office.
So, by way of conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that President Trump got just about nothing right about Iran, and pretty much everything wrong. And, as we saw earlier, Iran is faithfully adhering to the terms of the internationally negotiated nuclear deal. So really, Donald, just what are you doing? Because it seems to me that you’re trying to find an international bogeyman where there isn’t one, perhaps to distract from how unpopular you are at home? Whatever it is, I don’t like it, and I’m not buying it. And hopefully more people will read this and decide not to buy it too. Because without truth, we have nothing. And you, sir, wouldn’t know truth or facts if they hit you in the head.
Alright, I’m done. Enjoy your evening.
