Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.
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Iran War: Really getting sick and tired of the endless "Trump threatens attacks, backs down promising that a 'deal' is just a couple days away, Iran resubmits the same proposals which basically amount to the US' total surrender with no concessions by Iran, Trump makes more baseless threats" cycle. I've lost track of how many times this has happened. Just end it, one way or another.
I've found myself wishing I was a mutant with immense psychic powers, so the next time Trump swears he's going to do something or other, I'd be able to force him to keep his promises!!
Is there any indication Trump is a remotely competent negotiator?
No. He's reportedly ending up with a worse deal than the one Obama had.
And I actually think his threats are almost empty. Iran's regime would survive any bombing the US can do, and the US allies in the region would have very sensitive spots (water plants, nuclear plants, oil structures etc) destroyed, and they also seem to be hitting US military bases with very good precision, likely due to Russian and Chinese intel. The fact that the US military is much bigger counts for very little now, I think. They can't force open the Strait, and they can't remove the regime. US hegemonic power suffers by not being able to guarantee trade routes. Iran can outlast them and can keep making the same demands.
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