For those of you wanting to Make America Great Again

[Dill]

(06-27-2024, 12:42 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: 6 billion prisoner swap. It wasn't used for humanitarian aid.

So far as I know, it's still sitting in Qatar and has not been dispersed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/us-qatar-agree-not-release-iran-6-billion-prisoner-swap-rcna120135

And it wasn't "our" money, it was Iran's, generated by the oil waiver Trump gave to certain nations.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-donald-trumps-oil-waiver-gave-iran-6-billion/ar-AA1i382m

(06-27-2024, 12:42 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: .Now we are stuck supplying an aggressor nation as it drops 2,000 lib bombs on civilians and blocks aid to starving children.

Civillians in which the enemy hides within crowd, under the hospitals, in neighborhoods, etc, but also civilians which voted Hamas into power. They are not all innocent. And, it's sucks you will accuse Isriel of blocking aid, but not mention Hamas stealing the same aid from the Men, Women and Children it was intended.

Israeli forces dressed as civilian women and medics kill 3 militants in a West Bank hospital
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-30-2024-b1ba33c7c0c5c62f85932a20c2a0bc92
The notion Hamas is somehow alone in violating international laws against the use of civilians as shields or "hiding among civilians" is probably the biggest coup of IDF propaganda, at least in the US. 

What makes Israel the aggressor nation in this case is that it was founded by hundreds of thousands of Jews who came from Europe and then took Palestinian land by violence. It's not like the Jews were there and it's the Palestinians who came from Europe, right?  Gaza refugees are a reminder and a reminder of that dispossession. Since 1967 it has been controlled by Israel, like an open air prison--and ILLEGALLY according to international law.  

Most of those alive in Gaza now, and the bulk of those killed by Israeli bombs, are too young to have voted for Hamas. As for those who did and are not fighters, they are still civilians under international law. And the bombs killing those thousands of women and children are ours.

So far as I know, the reason for starvation is that mass amounts of food--TRUCKLOADS-- are blocked by the hundreds from getting in Gaza. That's why the US built a pier, to get around Israel. We expect the IDF to accuse Hamas of stealing food, but so far as I know, that has not been confirmed by any outside agency. But there is no organized state and police in Gaza; armed gangs can take food. Desperately starving people will fight over it. Sometimes Israelis open fire on crowds as well. The starvation is because of the blockade, not because some actors inside Gaza can steal a bit of what gets through.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-03-30/man-made-famine-gaza-aid-explainer

(06-27-2024, 12:42 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Same when the US pulls together a massive international agreement, bringing Russia, China, Iran, Britain, Germany, France and the EU all to the same table in an agreement which worked as intended when adopted, to the advantage of all parties. The Iran Deal was one of the most amazing feats of diplomacy in US history, and then Trump just breaks it. What message doe that send?
It was a dumb deal. You keep forgetting Iran is a terrorist hot bed, and the country themselves seek the destruction of Jews.
 It's not just a green light to Teheran's nuclear program and thumb in the eye of our allies.  
I need a little more info on the bolded because I don't see it.

Most of the world, including Israel's Mossad, thought it was a good deal. If Iran is a "terrorist hot bed" then you don't want them getting a nuke. 

Also, the deal empowered moderates in Iran; and it was assumed that integrating them back into the international sysem would strengthen them even 
further. The big objection from the US right was that Iran would get billions of its own money back and use that for "terrorist" support.

The deal extended breakout time from 6-8 weeks to a year, and allowed for invasive inspections.  Our allies had begun opening factories in Iran 
otherwise reaping benefits. E.g., France was building a car factory there, investing billions. It looked like peace was paying off to the Iranians.

Then Trump broke the deal: the Iranian moderates are disgraced and the hardliners in firmer control; our allies lost their investments and a future market--Thanks MAGA!--Iran's breakout time is now ZERO; and it gets to keep all those billions released back to it that the US hard right was complaining about.  

Now the Gulf is completely re-configured, with Iran supplying Russia with arms, and working together with China to rebuild its treaty/diplomatic architecture. It is now much more difficult, if not impossible, for the US to exert leadership in the region and bring everyone to the table. Russia, China, and Iran are way out of reach. If you were a French car company or British oil, you'd have to think twice before following the US into that sort of regional deal again, not knowing if the next president would view US credibility as a plus.