Our long national nightmare may be coming to an end: The White House and Iran are reportedly closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran seemingly willing to forgo tolls or controls on the waterway in exchange for various U.S. concessions like sanctions relief and the unfreezing of assets.
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President Trump said on Friday that he's convening his national security team in the White House Situation Room to make a final decision about the agreement reached between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.
Why it matters: The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the war started, but a final agreement tackling Trump's nuclear demands would require further negotiations.
The text of the MOU " which involves a 60-day ceasefire extension and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz " was largely agreed as of Tuesday, but Trump told the mediators he needed more time to make a decision.
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"Even here, the deal represents at best a return to the pre-war Hormuz status quo of open international navigation"and at a heavy cost.
In addition to the thirteen American service members killed and more than 500 wounded, plus the eye-watering price to taxpayers of the war itself, the United States appears prepared to extend a major economic lifeline to Iran that will help it quickly rebuild.
And Iran seems to have convinced the Trump administration to punt for now on further negotiations about its nuclear program.
Why American negotiators think they'll be able to get more concessions from Iran later, when they're able to apply less economic and military pressure, is unclear."
from the thread link, which is a twofer; there's another short article under it (with cool graphic) titled:
"It's Still About Us, Not About Him"
"There is one small problem, though. We elected Donald J. Trump as our president in 2024. And so he will preside over the 250th birthday of a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
I hope the Supreme Judge of the World (as the Declaration refers to Him) is enjoying this rather dark cosmic joke.
It's not just that Trump's policies fly in the face of the principles of the Declaration, and seek to undermine a government that secures our rights and derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.
It's also that Trump is doing his best to horn in on the celebration, to turn it into his event, not ours, to vulgarize it according to his taste, to personalize it in accord with his narcissism, and to distort its meaning in line with his prejudices."
;;
And yes, I know who wrote both, but I'm not voting for him or MTG or Mother Tucker... I just like seeing them show just a bit of democratic patriotism despite their Authoritarian leanings.