longer.blue

Rep Adam Smith tells the truth: Where we actually are with Iran. The short version: we are stuck. Trump has wanted Iran to give up their nuclear program, end their ballistic missile program, and stop supporting terrorism in the region. Those are the right goals. But the war took us a million miles away from them. Every proposal Iran has put forward has been focused solely on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which wasn't even an issue before this started. We have gone from trying to accomplish those bigger goals to just trying to get the Strait back open. And Trump keeps acting like we've made progress toward a real deal. There is zero evidence of that. Worse, Trump is saying Iran is militarily defeated. That we destroyed their navy, their air force, and now we're negotiating from strength. That is strategically stupid. We have been through this over and over again. Being able to blow things up doesn't translate into a strategic advantage when your adversary only needs to survive. Iran doesn't need a navy to place the region at risk. Didn't we learn that in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan? This war was a dumb idea from the start. Iran was actually negotiating over their nuclear program when we launched it. Now we are in a weaker position.