{"id":982,"date":"2018-05-08T11:43:32","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T15:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=982"},"modified":"2018-05-12T11:53:41","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T15:53:41","slug":"opinion-trumps-plan-b-on-iran-utter-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=982","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Trump\u2019s Plan B on Iran: Utter chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"pb-byline\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/people\/dana-milbank\/\">Dana Milbank<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"pb-role\">Columnist<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"pb-timestamp\">May 8<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/9f8fb716-52ee-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"powa-tease franklin-light\">President Trump said May 8 that the United States would reinstate sanctions on Iran and warned other states against helping Iran with its nuclear program.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"powa-byline franklin-light\">(The Washington Post)<\/span><\/h5>\n<article class=\"paywall\">\n<p id=\"U130064500697aQH\">In announcing a U.S. pullout from the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday, President Trump boosted exports of a product his administration manufactures in abundance: chaos.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697PGH\">In the Oval Office, standing beneath a portrait of George Washington, Trump\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/world\/2018\/5\/8\/17332494\/read-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-speech-full-text-announcement-transcript\" shape=\"rect\">spoke at length<\/a>\u00a0about the \u201cvery weak,\u201d \u201cdisastrous,\u201d \u201cpoorly negotiated\u201d and \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d deal, which is a \u201cgreat embarrassment,\u201d a \u201cgiant fiction\u201d and a \u201chorrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made\u201d with a \u201csinister,\u201d \u201cmalign\u201d and \u201cmurderous\u201d regime \u201cof great terror.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697x9G\">But after that torrent of adjectives, Trump had few words left to say about what would happen next, beyond working with our allies (who oppose the U.S. reversal), economic sanctions on Iran (which does little business with the United States) and threatening Iran with military action for noncompliance (\u201cbigger problems than it has ever had before\u201d). In other words, he has no idea.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697qjB\">Leaders of Britain, France and Germany had come to Washington in recent weeks to plead with Trump not to withdraw from the accord, warning this could touch off a nuclear arms race and war in the Middle East \u2014 an unnecessary risk, given that Iran was in compliance. British Foreign Secretary\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2018\/05\/07\/609025517\/dont-junk-the-iran-nuclear-deal-boris-johnson-says-on-fox-friends\" shape=\"rect\">Boris Johnson<\/a>\u00a0argued that \u201cPlan B does not seem, to me, to be particularly well-developed at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697KgE\">But Trump does have a well-developed Plan B. It is to sow uncertainty. Chaos is not an unfortunate byproduct but a desirable end.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/cf13b48c-4ed5-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033\" width=\"480\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-content inline-video\">\n<div class=\"powa-blurb-wrap powa-blurb inline-video-caption\">\n<h5><span class=\"powa-tease franklin-light\">For the United States, the Iran deal is about much more than nuclear negotiations. It&#8217;s about freeing Americans from prison, says opinion writer Jason Rezaian.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"powa-byline franklin-light\">(Adriana Usero\/The Washington Post)<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"U130064500697frH\">Will the pullout from the Iran deal result in a \u201cbetter deal\u201d \u2014 or a mushroom cloud? Stay tuned! For our European cousins who have not watched previous seasons of the Trump show, the president delights in keeping us watching a perpetual cliffhanger.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697cW\">A conventional president is measured by popularity, or policy achievements, and Trump has been wanting for both. But he appears to measure himself by a different yardstick: his ability to command attention. If the metric is TV ratings, the president is winning.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697KNE\">This would explain his delight in constant disruption and churn, even if it produces conventionally bad news. On any given day, virtually anybody in the White House might be fired. We could find ourselves in a tiff with any foreign power, friend or foe. Rudy Giuliani might return, or Trump\u2019s doctor, or a porn star, or the villain, Robert Mueller. Can a torture enthusiast be confirmed to run the CIA? Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006977QD\">In the Iran withdrawal, Trump had an opportunity to keep the world in suspense. He set a deadline for the decision \u2014 May 12 \u2014 and built it up for months. \u201cNobody knows what I\u2019m going to do on the 12th,\u201d he\u00a0<a title=\"deadline.com\" href=\"http:\/\/deadline.com\/2018\/04\/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-iran-nuclear-deal-deadline-press-conference-1202375610\/\" shape=\"rect\">teased<\/a>\u00a0with the French president at his side.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697bhC\">He teed up Tuesday\u2019s announcement as a coming attraction. \u201cI will be announcing my decision on the Iran Deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00pm,\u201d he\u00a0<a title=\"twitter.com\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/993562242124865536\" shape=\"rect\">tweeted<\/a>\u00a0Monday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697rs\">This is exactly how he\u00a0<a title=\"twitter.com\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realdonaldtrump\/status\/870083798981111808?lang=en\" shape=\"rect\">rolled out<\/a>\u00a0his decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement: \u201cI will be announcing my decision on Paris Accord, Thursday at 3:00\u2009P.M. The White House Rose Garden. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006978e\">It\u2019s the same level of gravity he used to tease events\u00a0<a title=\"twitter.com\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/948359545767841792\" shape=\"rect\">such as<\/a>\u00a0his \u201cMOST DISHONEST &amp; CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS\u201d and,\u00a0<a title=\"twitter.com\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/554820095776927744\" shape=\"rect\">before<\/a>\u00a0he started his campaign, \u201cThe Celebrity Apprentice\u201d: \u201cstay tuned for the 2nd half we have one more firing tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697RYB\">Trump is now asking us to \u201c<a title=\"www.washingtonpost.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/stay-tuned-trump-and-advisers-treat-fate-of-north-korea-prisoners-as-a-cliffhanger\/2018\/05\/04\/6457fef0-4fb1-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html?utm_term=.781f689f8fd7\" shape=\"rect\">stay tuned<\/a>\u201d for North Korea nuclear and hostage talks, a \u201c<a title=\"twitter.com\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realdonaldtrump\/status\/887280380423938048?lang=en\" shape=\"rect\">great healthcare plan<\/a>\u201d to replace Obamacare, and more. The outcomes don\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697p0C\">Trump delights in his reality-TV presidency. \u201cWelcome back to the studio,\u201d he\u00a0<a title=\"thehill.com\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/368311-trump-welcomes-media-to-cabinet-meeting-welcome-back-to-the-studio\" shape=\"rect\">said<\/a>\u00a0at one Cabinet meeting. He\u00a0<a title=\"transcripts.cnn.com\" href=\"http:\/\/transcripts.cnn.com\/TRANSCRIPTS\/1801\/10\/cnnt.02.html\" shape=\"rect\">boasted<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cmy performance\u201d at a recent event \u201cgot great reviews,\u201d adding: \u201cI\u2019m sure their ratings were fantastic; they always are \u2014 which is why I think the media will ultimately support Trump in the end, because they\u2019re going to say, if Trump doesn\u2019t win in three years, they\u2019re all out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006978ZH\">In Trump\u2019s view, if he brings the drama, the ratings soar \u2014 and, somehow, he wins.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U130064500697yQD\">This is how busting up the Iran deal is best understood: drama for the sake of drama. Trump, squinting into the camera Tuesday, recited Iran\u2019s misdeeds \u2014 most long before the nuclear deal was signed. \u201cWe will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction,\u201d Trump said, an echo of pre-Iraq War claims. Using a thick marker, he scrawled an oversize signature on the pullout order.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006970zF\">What happens with Iran now? Who cares? Trump is skipping to the next episode: He announced, at the end of the Iran speech, that the secretary of state was arriving in North Korea.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006973VE\">A reporter asked: Will North Korea release its American captives? (Trump\u00a0<a title=\"www.washingtonpost.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/stay-tuned-trump-and-advisers-treat-fate-of-north-korea-prisoners-as-a-cliffhanger\/2018\/05\/04\/6457fef0-4fb1-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html?utm_term=.69a28b68788f\" shape=\"rect\">teased this<\/a>\u00a0in a tweet last week.)<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006977zG\">\u201cWe\u2019ll soon be finding out,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"U1300645006978v\">Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Twitter: @Milbank<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0Dana Milbank\u00a0Columnist\u00a0May 8 President Trump said May 8 that the United States would reinstate sanctions on Iran and warned other states against helping Iran with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-politics","category-presidential-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8VBh7-fQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1003,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1003","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":0},"title":"Opponents of Iran Deal Hired Investigators to Dig Up Dirt on Obama Aide","author":"Donnie","date":"May 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By\u00a0Michael D. Shear\u00a0and\u00a0Ronen Bergman May 7, 2018 Benjamin J. Rhodes, a top national security aide to President Barack Obama, in 2016.CreditStephen Crowley\/The New York Times WASHINGTON \u2014 For years, opponents of the nuclear deal with Iran have accused Benjamin J. 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(Chip Somodevilla)\u00a0 In retrospect, the era of American hegemony \u2014 the moment of the \u201csole superpower,\u201d when the United States was the \u201cessential\u201d country \u2014 was remarkably brief. It began in 1991, with the\u00a0collapse of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-12_11-42-16.jpg?fit=796%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-12_11-42-16.jpg?fit=796%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-12_11-42-16.jpg?fit=796%2C495&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-12_11-42-16.jpg?fit=796%2C495&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":763,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=763","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":2},"title":"After Another Week of Chaos, Trump Repairs to Palm Beach. No One Knows What Comes Next.","author":"Donnie","date":"March 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By\u00a0MARK LANDLER\u00a0and\u00a0JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVISMARCH 23, 2018 President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Thursday.\u00a0CreditDoug Mills\/The New York Times PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 President Trump decamped to his oceanfront estate here on Friday after a head-spinning series of presidential decisions on\u00a0national security,\u00a0trade\u00a0and the\u00a0budget\u00a0that left the capital reeling and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Presidential Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Presidential Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-24_15-02-33.jpg?fit=768%2C469&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-24_15-02-33.jpg?fit=768%2C469&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-24_15-02-33.jpg?fit=768%2C469&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-24_15-02-33.jpg?fit=768%2C469&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1064,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1064","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":3},"title":"Escalating Clash With Canada, Trump Is Isolated Before North Korea Meeting","author":"Donnie","date":"June 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By\u00a0Peter Baker,\u00a0June 10, 2018 President Trump \u201cis not going to let a Canadian prime minister push him around,\u201d said his top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, left, after the president left early from a tense G-7 summit in Canada.CreditDoug Mills\/The New York Times WASHINGTON \u2014 President Trump escalated a bitter clash\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Presidential Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Presidential Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018-06-10_21-07-31.jpg?fit=800%2C505&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018-06-10_21-07-31.jpg?fit=800%2C505&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018-06-10_21-07-31.jpg?fit=800%2C505&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018-06-10_21-07-31.jpg?fit=800%2C505&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=363","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":4},"title":"Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration","author":"Donnie","date":"March 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"President says Russia has new line of nuclear-capable weapons that can breach US defences Andrew Roth\u00a0in Moscow Thu 1 Mar 2018\u00a007.14\u00a0ESTFirst published on Thu 1 Mar 2018\u00a006.10\u00a0EST\u00a0 \u00a0Vladimir Putin is seeking a fourth term as president in elections this month. Photograph: Sergei Chirikov\/EPA Vladimir Putin\u00a0has announced that Russia has developed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-01_19-20-59.jpg?fit=697%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-01_19-20-59.jpg?fit=697%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-01_19-20-59.jpg?fit=697%2C415&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1081,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1081","url_meta":{"origin":982,"position":5},"title":"Haley Blames Watchdog Groups for U.S. Withdrawal From U.N. Rights Council","author":"Donnie","date":"June 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By\u00a0Gardiner Harris\u00a0June 20, 2018 Nikki R. 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