When wusses cave

Soon after my column was written, it became common knowledge that the Trump administration was going to decertify the Iran deal because of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s continuing refusal to abide by its (almost non-existent) restrictions on nuclear development, and the fact that the deal itself is clearly contrary to the U.S. national interest. It also became clear that the United States planned to increase economic pressure on the Iranians, regardless of the desire of the Europeans and others who wanted to expand economic ties to Iran. So, what happened with our European allies, who were consistently threatening to side with the brutal theocracy in Iran over the U.S. on this issue? They did exactly what I said they would do – they caved because the U.S. remained strong in the face of pressure: “We need to be compliant with international law, or applicable law. And if sanctions come back and that means we cannot do our work inside or outside Iran, then we will stop,” the executive from the multinational said. “Iran is a big market. It’s also quite a stable country,” the executive added. But multinational companies “have to consider markets around the world, and Iran today is still relatively small, compared to Europe or the U.S.” The Iranians also yielded to the U.S. In my previous column, I wrote:

And if daddy U.S. smacks down the nuclear nuts in North Korean and Iran, the Europeans will go along as well, and the North Koreans and Iranians will cave, or simply be destroyed.

Prior to this, the mad mullahs of Iran had over and over again declared that they would never negotiate over their ballistic missile program, which their Supreme Leader had declared was as sacrosanct as a religious commitment. But then, after the reports that President Trump planned to decertify, and that the U.S. was going to get tough with Iran, the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic posture completely changed:

Iran has suggested to six world powers that it may be open to talks about its ballistic missile arsenal … But the sources said that given U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to ditch the deal reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, Tehran had approached the powers recently about possible talks on some “dimensions” of its missile program.

President Trump got tough with the rogue nation of Iran, and the European appeasers went along with his dictates. Exactly as I said they would a few days ago. President Trump needs to double down on this. He also needs to be ratcheting up the pressure on the North Korean “Rocket Man” next, most likely by threatening China, North Korea’s sugar daddy. The U.S. can use economic pressures on China, or it can encourage Japan and South Korea to build nuclear weapons on their own, something the Chinese Communist regime fears more than anything. You can be sure that the wusses of the FPE, and the mainstream media, will continue to whine about President Trump’s supposedly brutish and dangerous attitudes, just as they behaved when President Ronald Reagan got tough with the Soviet Union. It is what they do. But luckily, the FPE’s foolishness can play into a strong president’s hand, as it did with those “cowboys” Reagan and Bush (II), and it can for Trump as well. Once again, as Machiavelli said, it is better for a leader to be feared than loved. President Trump is feared by all the right people. He should continue to use that to his – and our nation’s – advantage.