John Kerry: President Donald Trump Has Ruined The Iran Deal
Former secretary of state slams president for 'reckless' behavior
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Former Secretary of State John Kerry blasted President Donald Trump for ruining everything he and former President Barack Obama achieved with the Iran deal.
In a forlorn 1,000 word op-ed for the New York Times, Kerry wrote:
“He put his disdain for anything done by the last administration ahead of his duty to keep the country safe."
Kerry argued that the Iran nuclear deal was 'working' before Trump threw it all away.
The former secretary of state also argued that Iran’s Quds Force Commander Qasem Suleimani was empowered due to the Iran deal being done away with
“There were no missile attacks on United States facilities. No ships were being detained or sabotaged in the Persian Gulf,” he wrote.
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“There were no protesters breaching our embassy in Baghdad. Iraq welcomed our presence, fighting ISIS.”
Kerry added that even though Suleimani was a “sworn” enemy of the United States, his efforts to fight ISIS benefited America.
“Occasionally, when American and Iranian interests aligned, as they did in fighting ISIS, we were the serendipitous beneficiaries of his relationships and levers, as were the Iraqis,” he said, referring to Suleimani.
“But this was a rare exception.”
Kerry went as far as to praise Iran's response after they detained 12 American sailors in 2016, thanks to the “foundation of diplomacy” laid by the Obama administration.
“In 2016, we defused deep disagreements with Iran over prisoners and averted conflict when American sailors inadvertently entered Iranian waters and were detained by Iranian forces,” he wrote.
Joe Lieberman Rips Dems: ‘Marching as a herd’ against Trump will weaken US against Iran, POTUS deserves more bipartisan support
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) January 6, 2020
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The failed presidential candidate then accused Trump of acting “recklessly” without a strategy, by alienating American allies in the Middle East.
“We have been left with an incoherent Iran and Iraq policy that has made the region more dangerous and put Americans at greater risk,” he wrote.
Kerry then praised Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis for arguing in favor of the agreement and criticized current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for supporting Trump.
The former secretary of state warned Trump could repeat thee Iraq war or Vietnam.
“Our diplomacy should not be defined by bluster, threats, and brinkmanship, tweets or temper tantrums, but by a vision for peace and security addressing multiple interests of the region,” he wrote.
Last year, Trump tweeted that Kerry could have violated the Logan Act by advising Iran before the deal being withdrawn.
“Iran is being given VERY BAD advice by John Kerry and people who helped him lead the U.S. into the very bad Iran Nuclear Deal. Big violation of Logan Act?” Trump wrote.
