Think about it. For days we’ve been hearing about Trump’s ‘Deal” with Iran, in actually a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) but Team Trump fought like hell to keep it under wraps. Until Friday which I contend not at all coincidently happens to be the day the Obama Presidential Center will formally open. Yep, out petulant orange hued manbaby with the tissue paper thin ego just can’t stand the idea that another President might get a meaningful amount of attention.
It’s not like this is Trumpty’s first trotting out his “LOOK AT MEEEEE” schtick. In fact, when it comes to Obama and Trump’s feelings of inadequacy on about everything when comparisons are made Trump taking a dump on the opening of Obama’s Presidential Center (Library) was entirely predictable. In any case word has been that the MOU with Iran is pretty much Iran winning and Trump LOSING. Not one of the objectives he laid out when he started the whole mess has been attained. Given the leaks that have been springing in Trump’s White House today a copy of the ‘deal’ was finally read.
Not distributed mind you, but read. Am I crazy to suggest Trump literally doesn’t get how easy it is to create a transcript? And that news outlets would publish it? Because as you can see here exactly that was done within an hour or so. I was out of commission much of the day but after getting back from the VA checked out some of the coverage. Sure enough Trump is getting ripped even harder than he was before the big reveal of what’s in the MOU.
There’s an awful lot to take him to task for and of course he’s got Netanyahu/Israel freaking out. None of us should be surprised that since part of the MOU involves the U.S. slapping Israel down in Lebanon ole Bibi will launch the biggest and most appalling attacks the IDF can put together by tomorrow. Not that Trump would actually care all that much. It’s not like he’s not taking criticism, if not ridicule for not even achieving what the Obama administration (and key allies) did with the agreement Trump tore up. And some of the farce has already been pointed out because there are points that were literally part of what Trump claimed in his first term made it a bad deal!
However I want to return to the point. As the final work on the Obama Presidential Center wrapped up and plans for a grand opening were made Trump has obsessed on stealing the spotlight for himself. Add in that in recent weeks he’s had to admit to himself he needed a way OUT of his stupid Iran war. As many a politician and pundit has said a way to ‘Declare Victory and move on.’ Coming up with his bigly ‘deal’ that’s really a cease fire and a set of points ‘to be negotiated’ is the best he could hope for. He could have done it weeks ago. I believe he realized he had no choice, but held off until this week specifically to turn attention away from the opening/dedication of the Obama Presidential Center!
Some like the main ‘Presidential Library’ building and some don’t. What’s undeniable is this is way more than a mere Presidential Library with perhaps some special landscaping and a grand, perhaps garish exhibit like the 747 at Reagan’s.  The more I’m learning about what’s there the more impressed I am. Here’s a link to the official website for the place.
There is of course the actual main library in which all the records are fully digitized. Some have criticized that the actual physical copies will be stored/maintained elsewhere but I think it’s incredible to have everything digitized. So will academics/researchers and scholars not to mention anyone (including regular folks like you and me) who want to initiate a FOIA request. However, that won’t be the only library on the campus (which was incorporated into historic Jackson Park) as there will be a second, regular library. A branch of the Chicago Public Library. There will be a building for forums and classes. There will be a recreation center. There will be a restaurant and it seems one that’s affordable for those not at leader at the upper middle class income level. The open spaces will have a children’s play area. A garden. Another area for families that will include a sledding hill – this is Chicago after all! A water feature. Other open space where people can gather.
The point is that it will be a place that offers a lot to a lot of people and groups beyond researchers and scholars. The whole concept is to have a vibrant, multi use space, one that regular people can enjoy. The kind of people Trump wouldn’t give the time of day to even if he had a crate full of alarm clocks. Or cheap-ass RUMP (yep, the manufacturer sent a batch out that said Rump instead of Trump!) watches. Barack and Michelle Obama wanted something that would be about more than them and their time in the WH. That type of thinking OFFENDS Trump so he found an excuse to keep it out of the spotlight.
However the Obama Center will be there long after Trump is gone and when not forgotten cursed. Even by conservatives. Even though I’m agnostic I enjoy the thought of Satan popping in on Trump not just to savor the agony but adding some. Like “Hey Donnie. Check out these videos and selfies I took during my visit to Earth yesterday. That Obama Center is quite the place with all those people enjoying themselves. Oh, here’s a t-shirt I got for you at one of the shops.” The sound of Satan’s laughter at Trump’s whining and tears would be lovely to hear…
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Not just any other president, but Obama, after all. I think Obama is an ever-present thorn in his side. Mainly because he chooses that, since he can’t let anything go.
The Iran deal not only accomplished far less than the prior agreement, but now Iran is busy controlling the Strait of Hormuz. It looks like they don’t intend to stop regulating ship traffic or charging fees anytime soon. A sort of bonus.
Trump’s new agreement doesn’t even achieve what Obama’s agreement did – and Obama’s was achieved economically, by diplomacy, without the expenditure of a trillion dollars and the collapse of the world oil, helium, fertilizer, and natural gas markets at the cost of a further trillion to the whole world. And he’s shown Iran they have control of one of the world’s busiest, most important shipping lanes, that they can levy duties on at will. Oh, and get funded vastly higher ‘reparations’ than the amount Obama agreed to, which he, Trump, said ‘was the worst agreement ever’.
His memorandum stinks.
The fart of the deal.
Conservatives scream about Obama giving Iran billions of American taxpayer dollars – ‘pallets of cash.’ We didn’t (back then) give them one bit of American’s money.
When Iran stormed our embassy in 1979 and took hostages Carter moved quickly to freeze Iranian assets (mostly in banks) in the United States. He convinced other western governments to do the same. THIS was the leverage that would eventually lead to the release of the hostages. With so much of the world no longer willing to allow Iran access to money invested abroad and do international banking they had no choice but to give in. The deal to release the hostages freed up some of Iran’s ability to operate in western financial markets/banks but a lot of their money remained frozen, particularly in U.S. banks.
Although details of the agreement to release the hostages had been agreed to in principle by both sides well before the 1980 election Reagan borrowed a page from Nixon’s playbook and engaged in behind the scenes ‘diplomacy’ which was really f*ckery. Nixon made overtures to Vietnam (and they were stupid enough to buy his bullshit) to delay a peace deal, or at least formal open negotiations for one. Reagan got the Iranians to hold off first completing a hostage release agreement and then ever after Reagan had won the election actually freeing the hostages. It wasn’t like Iran thought Reagan as President would be better for them. On the contrary. However their fury with Carter was out of control. First for allowing the hated Shah into the U.S. for medical treatment, and then out-maneuvering them by freezing their assets AND getting other countries to do so. Reagan played on that, and quietly told him how damaging it would be to Carter’s legacy to not be able to welcome the hostages home while still President.
Basically, Reagan got Iran to delay agreeing to the hostage release by (correctly) telling them it would hurt Carter’s chance of getting a second term. THEN they could rub his nose in losing by not even allowing him a moment to give the hostages a proper welcome home during the lame duck period. The hostages literally sat for hours on a plane on the tarmac until AFTER Reagan was sworn in. I remember wanting to throw things at my TV watching the traditional post ceremony luncheon and Reagan getting all ‘misty eyed’ announcing the hostages were on a plane that had cleared Iranian airspace and were free. He made it seem like HE was the one who’d engineered their release – took credit for everything Carter had worked so hard and effectively to do. Just as he’d to with other things actually done by Carter. Driving down inflation? It was CARTER who put Paul Volker in charge of the Federal Reserve knowing Volker would hammer it down and the temporary pain of the interest rates was necessary. But Reagan would wind up taking ALL the credit for ‘picking Volker’ even though it was Carter who got him in as fed chair before Reagan was even elected. Same with the rebuilding/expansion of our Navy. The plan to upgrade the Navy both in ships and quality, as well as much of the buildup that took place under Reagan was actually conceived and starting to be implemented under Carter! But as with the hostage release Reagan took ALL the credit and the press and history let him get away with it.
But getting back to those ‘pallets of cash’ what was sent to Iran was their own money that had been seized back during the hostage crisis. Part of that WAS unfrozen by Obama, and by law as it sat in our banks accumulated interest. A LOT of interest. Still, numerous sanctions remained against Iran’s normal participation in much of international banking including and especially here in the U.S. By law the banks holding the assets couldn’t simply transfer funds. There were two choices. Either ship it in gold or in cash and with the dollar being the prime international currency that’s the option Iran went for. Those dollars could be used instantly.
The point is that it wasn’t U.S. taxpayer money. It was Iran’s own money being returned to them with interest accumulated over DECADES.
That’s quite different than what it appears Trump has agreed to.