It seems like the main goal of the US campaign in Iran is to open the Strait of Hormuz which was open before the US invaded.

For all his authoritarian tendencies, in the end Orban did the right thing: he conceded the election, did not make phony accusations of fraud, and called his opponent to congratulate him. That's the lesson American conservatives should take from Viktor Orban.

1. All int'l agreements are negotiated first by lower level staffers.
2. Principals can't make deals in the spotlight.
3. 21 hours is a blink.
4. JCPOA took 2 years, and that was on just one issue.
5. These guys were supposed to iron out the Strait, nuclear, oil all in 1 night.
6. Impossible.

You know what would be amazing, if Vance can negotiate an agreement where Iran doesn't enrich above 3.67% (far below weapons grade); gets rid of 98% of its stockpile of uranium; has weekly inspections by the IAEA; and commits to all of this for at 10 years. Oh, yeah, that was the Obama Iran deal.

The giveaway of this admin’s depravity is the easing of sanctions against Iran to keep oil prices low. It shows they care more about gas prices than whatever reason they invaded in the 1st place. Sanctions are a more powerful weapon than missiles & the admin gave it away as it enters negotiations.

The calculation the Iranians made was that they could withstand the military pain longer than Trump could withstand the economic pain, and they were right.

An American president threatening the death of an ancient civilization is in some ways the end of the 250-year moral experiment of a constitutional republic that the framers saw as a model for all mankind.

The Iranian people are not our enemies. This all started with mass protests against their government, protests which this administration supported. Now we are threatening incalculable damage to the lives of those we encouraged. Not smart.

I was the US soft power czar. Our popularity may never recover | Richard Stengel Trump’s venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America’s ability to make a positive difference in the world

Trump's war of choice in Iran is a blow to American soft power, that is, our global favorability. It's a return to the Ugly American trope, but this time with a venality and immorality that is unprecedented. America First = Little America, smaller, meaner, with less influence.

Trump is requesting $1.5 trillion for defense. That is roughly what the entire rest of the world spends on defense. China: ~ $300b. Russia ~ $200 b. Rest of NATO: $500b. It is more than the next 20 countries combined. No wonder we can't afford daycare, Medicare, food stamps etc.

The irony of Trump's threats against NATO is that they're about psychology not policy. We hardly save a dollar by "withdrawing" from NATO—we already spend more money on our military than the next 9 nations combined. NATO is a defensive alliance. We were not attacked. He makes a mess of everything.

Trump would be better served by simply narrating his presidency and not attempting to govern. Every large action he has taken has come to grief. His profound incompetence was painfully clear last night as he gave what is surely the most disjointed and incoherent wartime address of any president ever

The Powell Pottery Barn Doctrine: You break it, you own it.

The Trump Doctrine: We broke it, you own it.

But of course the Strait will "just naturally re-open."

Someone is complaining about our European allies not helping open the Strait, but what about our Gulf allies who buy US weapons and have US bases and who really need the Strait to export their oil?

He is repeating every foreign and domestic policy mistake the US has made over the last five decades, but he's doing it with a gracelessness, cluelessness, and corruption that has no precedent.

The new paramount objective of the war in Iran is the opening of the Hormuz Strait, the closing of which was a result of the lack of objectives of the original invasion.

Protesting against kings is in our DNA as a people. The foundational American idea is that here the people are sovereign. So, too, is the idea that protesting against unconstitutional abuse of power is patriotic. I will be doing my patriotic duty today at my local No Kings protest. Hope you will too

Iran War Live Updates: Trump Claims Progress in Talks and Extends Strait of Hormuz Deadline

Man wants cheaper gas and threatens war crime to get it.

He says their military is “obliterated.” Maybe they should give him a new word? After all, he already obliterated their nuclear threat nine months, and then they were two weeks away from having a bomb.

The commander-in-chief has a dual role during wartime: to make military decisions but also to explain those decisions to the American public. Trump has failed utterly on the latter count. Instead, he sees himself as the prime negotiator and is adopting all kinds of positions, many of which are false

"We negotiate with bombs," said the Defense Secretary. They seem to be mainly negotiating with bluster, the kind of macho language every past defense secretary would have rejected.

Live updates: Trump delays strikes on Iranian power plants after ‘very good’ talks with Tehran | CNN President Donald Trump says the US and Iran have held “productive conversations” and that he will hold off any military strikes against Iranian energy sites for five days. Follow for live updates.

He's had enough winning.

His entire presidency is about giving people permission to be their worst selves.

Trump Is Finally Eyeing an Exit From Iran. But Will He Take It?

The best thing about not having a plan when you go in is that you can say whatever you want when you get out.

The Trump admin lifting sanctions on Iranian oil shows just how unserious, unstrategic, and unthought-through this entire action is. They are more worried about oil prices at home than whatever their stated mission is in Iran.

Forget for a moment the lies and the shameful behavior, it’s just painfully clear that he’s grossly incompetent.

Trump admin weighs $200 billion request for war with Iran The Trump administration is weighing whether to ask Congress for $200 billion for the war with Iran. MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter David Rohde, Co-host of MS NOW's "The Weekend: Primetime" ...

The Trump administration is weighing whether to ask Congress for $200 billion for the war with Iran.

@davidrohde.bsky.social, @crampell.bsky.social and @rickstengel.bsky.social join Katy Tur to break down the economic impact of the conflict.
www.ms.now/katy-tur/wat...

4. During a war, peaceful protest ends. There's a rally round the flag phenomenon.
5. If you don't enlist your allies beforehand, you won't get them afterward.

Some rules of war this admin did not seem to know:
1. Unintended consequences are the rule not the exception.
2. When you decapitate hard-line leaders, harder-line leaders replace them.
3. When you attack energy supplies, energy prices go up.

NATO is a "defense" agreement. Article 5 of the agreement says if a NATO nation is "attacked," other members must come to its defense. We were not attacked by Iran; we attacked Iran.