So much for peacemaking

While you’re at it, kiss diplomacy goodbye. The Art of the Deal was a fabrication. There was no deal with Russia in Ukraine. There was no deal in Israel with Gaza. And it remains to be seen whether there’s a deal with Iran. Trump broke the nuclear deal with Iran in the early part of his first term. Now the art of the deal is that there is no deal at all. It’s large bombs in the middle of the night. Who even knows if this will be deterrence or provocation?

Throwing power around using blustery words does not make friends in the world. Now our president has joined the ranks of the strongmen who want authoritarian rule. So much pain in so little time. It’s mind-boggling.

Trump had told us as he campaigned, “no new wars.” He promised he could make a deal in Ukraine in the first few days of his presidency. Putin trumped Trump. The same could be said for Netanyahu. They are not truth tellers. They are war mongers.

The Iran nuclear deal was finalized in Austria on July 14, 2015. The EU, China, France, the UK, Russia and the US signed the agreement. They all agreed Iran did not need to have nuclear arms. Charts reveal that production of enriched uranium for making bombs in Iran declined, until Trump withdrew the US from the agreement on May 8, 2018.

Data revealed that uranium enrichment in Iran grew afterward.

At the time of his withdrawal, Trump said, “We will reinstate harsh sanctions and work with our allies to secure that Iran never has nuclear capability.” Mike Pompeo left to visit North Korea right after the announcement. 

Kristi Noem became US Secretary of Homeland Security in 2025. Since that time, homeland security staff has been cut and the counterterrorism force has been slashed. Recently, she named Thomas Fugate to oversee the government terrorism program. Should we find comfort in the fact that he just graduated from college last year and this is probably his first big job?

Who was advising Trump to make this strike? Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, whose record reads like a rap sheet, testified before a Senate Committee this spring that Iran was not even close to producing nuclear warheads. Now she has changed her mind. On June 12^th,Gabbard is reported as saying, “Iran could produce nuclear weapons within weeks,” apparently deciding to align with Trump’s position.

Voices of differing opinions come from every side. Bret Stephens and David Frum, both conservative opinion writers in major publications, have joined the chorus praising Trump’s decision. Adam Kinzinger, Republican member of the January 6 Committee, has sided with the president on this topic. Liz Cheney is a bit of a fence sitter. Most Democrats disagree with the decision.

The divide between hawks and peacemakers becomes clear in times like this. People who spoke loudly against Trump and his policies are now supporting this action of war.

Everybody knows the danger of Iran in the world. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years old. Many are wondering if he is still in charge. Historically, Iran is excellent in nurturing terrorist cells. Hezbollah and Hamas are some of the Middle Eastern terrorist groups familiar to us.

Retaliation at this point has been an attack on a US Base in Qatar. We don’t really know what else will come. There may be an ugly battle going forward. I think Isreal would love to see Iran completely neutered, like Gaza is now.

 Trump, with very little advice from his advisers, as incompetent as they are, made this decision to bomb Iran all by himself. The transactional leader will follow his gut, with little consideration of what his talk had been before. Yesterday’s promises belong to yesterday. Today, he has a different idea. It’s schizophrenic and hard on the people of America, but it’s what we’ve got.

It would have been so much cleaner and simpler to keep the nuclear deal that was in place. So much for wishful thinking.

We don’t know where this story might go. Iran may come groveling to the president. Or they might send small groups of terrorists into all parts of the US to wreak havoc. It’s possible Iran’s proxies will step in with power and grudge to continue the fight on US soil. It’s possible enriched uranium from the underground bunkers may have been transported to other locations. There are many unknowns in this situation.

Watch your back and say your prayers because the uncertainty of the world has just gotten a little more uncertain.

Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com