During the Obama administration, the US was one of the six signatories to the deal signed with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Once Trump came into office, his goal seemed to be to repeal everything that his predecessor had done and so the US walked away from the deal. But now the US wants to invoke one of the provisions of the deal that requires the UN to re-impose sanctions on Iran after they expire on October 30 that would be obligatory on all member states.
But the UN has said no, that by walking away from the deal, the US has forfeited any standing in its application, leaving the US ambassador railing ineffectively.
The president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has said it was “not in position to take further action” on a bid by the United States to trigger “snapback” sanctions against Iran.
Indonesia’s UN Ambassador, Dian Triansyah Djani, whose country is presiding over the UNSC for August, made the remark on Tuesday while responding to a question from Russia and China during a council meeting on the Middle East.
The move by the UNSC president drew an angry rebuke from the US ambassador to the UN, who accused the opposing countries of supporting the “terrorists”.
This issue has exposed how much Trump has alienated even the strongest allies of the US because 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council are opposed to the US move. That includes even its NATO allies, France, the UK, Germany, and Belgium. Only the Dominican Republic sided with the US.
The US is like a spoiled child that storms away from his team because he did not get his way, then still demands a say in how the game is played, and then stamps their feet when the others tell him no.
If Trump was less of a micromanager, let the professional diplomats and negotiators do their job consistent with the long-term goals of the nation, none of this would be quite so fucked up. Same with relations with North Korea, the EU, China and pretty much every nation on the planet. That is why there are independent departments so the presidency doesn’t screw up international relations and, in return, isn’t bogged down and in the weeds selecting drapes and ordering paper clips.
But, moving toward the worse possible combination of traits, Trump is a micromanager in addition to being a bully with the emotional maturity of a toddler. So very much of what is now wrong in international relations is a direct result, and reflection of, Trump’s damaged personality.
One of the accusations that the left makes against Obama that is perfectly true is that he basically carried forward George W. Bush’s foreign policy without making many changes. (Iran and Cuba were perhaps his biggest departures.) But Bush mostly carried on Clinton’s policies, and so forth all the way back to Eisenhower.
While there was a lot wrong with how the US carried out its foreign policy, there was also a lot right in its consistency, particularly in terms of building up long-term relationships and trust. Trump seems to have set out to willfully destroy that, for no good reason. Nobody benefited except for Putin.
lorn @1
That’s also a pretty good description of the god of the Pentateuch. Could that explain why so many Christian Evangelicals love him?
billseymour @ #3:
“That’s also a pretty good description of the god of the Pentateuch. Could that explain why so many Christian Evangelicals love him?”
Yes.
@1 lorn
Not only does Trump micromanage he seem to unerringly pick the most incompetent or unsuitable characters for senior advisory and ministerial posts. Pompeo and DeVos for examples should never have cabinet posts.