President Trump’s Failed Iran Policy
By Jason Sibert
President Donald Trump has stated time and again that he can negotiate a better treaty with Iran than President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Trump withdrew from the treaty in 2018 and then slapped sanctions on Iran. Last weekend, a United States directed drone strike killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The killing of Soleimani generated a sense of nationalism in the Iranian people. Many of them rallied behind their government, even those who want to change their government. Just last night, Iran struck back with a missile strike on a military installation in Iraq. No deaths have been reported in the strike.
Trump has presented himself as a better deal broker than Obama on the issue of Iran. Thus far, the President’s approach has not produced another treaty of any sort with Iran. Who would think that military strikes and sanctions are a way to draw a government into a treaty? Who would think walking out on an existing deal would build enough trust between our country and Iran to create a quality treaty?
Following the strike on Soleimani, there was plenty of criticism of the President’s approach. Colonel Andrew Bacevich of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft penned an interesting story titled “Trump’s Soleimani Strike is More of the Same Old Losing U.S. Game Plan in the Middle East.” He calls out our government for trying to dominate the Middle East for more than a generation. Bacevich points to President Jimmy Carter’s Carter Doctrine in 1979 as the starting point of this flawed policy. Carter stated that the United States would go to war, or at least threaten force, to keep order in the Middle East. Since that time, we’ve seen failed states, wars, and terrorist factions that didn’t even exist before the inception of this policy.
Keep in mind, Iran’s power was embroiled in the region after the 2003 Iraq War. The tensions between Iran and Iraq kept a certain sort of order in the region. Now the challenge is dealing with Iran, and ensuring it turns into a democratic nation-state in time, without bringing more disorder to the region. Iran’s young are very interested in Western and democratic ways. How do we return to the ideas of diplomacy and arms control? More military strikes will not force a return to either.
Jason Sibert is the Executive Director of the Peace Economy Project
