Reprinted with permission from Shareblue.com
Trump’s decision to throw out the Iran deal endangers the United States and the rest of the world, says former CIA Director John Brennan.
Brennan has served in high level national security positions for both Democratic and Republican administrations. He warned that scrapping the deal “puts at risk our national security as well as the security and stability of the Middle East.”
As part of his obsession with undoing President Barack Obama’s legacy, Trump announced that America would walk away from the deal. But he was unable to prove that Iran had violated the agreement that repealed sanctions in exchange for a halt to its nuclear development.
On MSNBC hours after Trump’s announcement, host Nicolle Wallace asked Brennan, “Is there a consistent policy on the pursuit of nuclear weapons from countries that threaten this country?”
“There is consistent incoherence in the policy which certainly unnerves our allies and partners,” Brennan replied. “I really don’t understand it.”
He took note of the international leaders and diplomats that have come to Washington to convince Trump to keep the deal in place and cited that as evidence that the agreement has widely been seen as a way to stabilize the world.
Scuttling the deal “is not just foolish, this is dangerous,” Brennan noted.
He slammed Trump for having “repeatedly misrepresented the facts” about the deal. And he noted that Trump “has basically lied to the American people and lied to the world about what that deal entailed.”
Brennan cited the statement released by President Barack Obama slamming the decision to walk away from the deal as a true accounting of the structure of the agreement, in contrast to Trump’s repeated lies.
“With the wave of a hand, Mr. Trump, he has basically sent a very bad signal to Iran, to North Korea, to our allies, as well as to Russia and China. In terms of can they count on something that Washington agrees to when administrations change,” Brennan said.
The decision already throws upcoming negotiations with North Korea, which has its own nuclear ambitions, into question.
“This is fundamentally wrong from the standpoint of the United States being able to fulfill its responsibilities,” Brennan charged. “I don’t know when people, those in the Republican Party who continue to apologize and make excuses for Mr. Trump — when are they going to come to their senses?”
He concluded he remarks in no uncertain terms.
“This is a dangerous, dangerous act. It’s not just his statements or his tweets. This is an action that puts at risk our national security as well as the security and stability of the Middle East.”
John Brennan has seen America’s secrets and knows its vulnerabilities. He is raising the alarm, pointing out that Trump has made the nation less secure and less trustworthy.
It’s an action that may threaten American lives — and the rest of the world.
