President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participate in remarks and signing ceremony for Sl.1790, the National Defense Authorization (NDAA) Act for Fiscal Year 2020, in Hanger 6 at Andrews Air Force Base Friday, December 20, 2019, in Maryland, before leaving for Mar-a-Lago for the holidays. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
In his response to the Iranian missile attacks, President Trump on Wednesday used strong but conciliatory remarks:
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned,”
Trump also announced unspecified “additional punishing economic sanctions” while the U.S. considers other responses to Iran’s attacking U.S. bases in Iraq.
Trump’s goal, suggests the WSJ, was to “reinforce deterrence while also offering a path for Iran to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal and become a normal country.”
Trump spoke directly “to the people and leaders of Iran”:
“The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”
The Dubious Obama/Kerry Appeasement Strategy
This indicates more hope of progress than did “the appeasement strategy that Barack Obama and John Kerry carried out with their 2015 nuclear deal,” continues the WSJ:
Soleimani used that financial windfall to spread revolution. Mr. Trump was right when he said Wednesday that “the missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last Administration.”
All of this was more productive than Mr. Trump’s threats and Twitter bluster earlier in the week. He looked deliberate and in control, albeit still forceful, defying the image of a reckless, impulsive Commander in Chief eager for war that his opponents are hoping to campaign against.
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