One of the features of a President who conducts his business like it’s a reality TV show is we are always left guessing about the next episode of his stories without ends.
Take Trump’s war on Iran.
It bounces back and forth. Is it on? Is it off?
Who knows? Certainly not Trump.
He has already declared victory more times than he’s denounced the Pope. But in actuality, it appears that the way this sordid affair will probably end is more or less back where we were before the bombing began.
But with thousands of people dead and millions displaced.
If reports prove true, Trump is considering releasing up to $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for some or all of the enriched uranium, which may sound to inattentive ears like a reasonable enough deal on its face.
But mind you, this is strikingly similar to the deal Obama negotiated when he freed up $1.7 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for a halt in that country’s uranium enrichment efforts years ago.
Trump tore up Obama’s deal, denouncing it in the most salacious of terms. He said Obama withdrew lovely green dollars from this country’s banks and flew them over in 747s to hand over to the greedy Anatollahs.
Now Trump is offering to do essentially the same thing but at a much higher cost in blood and money. Tellingly, he now calls his whole Iranian adventure a “transaction.”
Stay tuned, if you can stomach it. He will no doubt eventually hail himself as having “ended” yet another war.
Hypocrisy never goes out of style in reality TV.
HEADLINES:
Iran’s Military Says It Has Reimposed ‘Strict Control’ of Strait of Hormuz (NYT)
Oil plunges 13%, Dow soars 1,000 points on Friday after Iran says Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open’ during ceasefire (CNN)
France and Britain will chair a meeting of around 40 countries aimed at signaling to the US that some of its closest allies are ready to play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow. (Reuters)
Acting ICE director says he’s resigning amid record-breaking shutdown (NPR)
The latest Democratic special election win adds to GOP leaders’ headaches (MS.NOW)
Supreme Court gives oil and gas companies win in Louisiana environmental lawsuit (PBS)
Trump administration deepens quest to stamp out the events of Jan. 6 (WP)
Three things to know about FISA Section 702: Congress passes short-term extension of controversial surveillance program (CNBC)
Georgia Republican says ouster of Gen. George will have ‘chilling effect’ on military (The Hill)
Drone wars: The strategic convergence between Ukraine and Iran (CNN)
Ukraine’s army evolves under fire, with new units challenging Soviet legacy (AP)
Zuckerberg Is Dangerously Close To Cracking Google’s Money Machine (Benzinga)
A vital system of Atlantic Ocean currents is weakening and closer to collapse than thought, new studies find (CNN)
The A.I. Writing Panic Is Completely Missing the Point (Slate)
AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body (Wired)
It’s Getting Harder to Spot AI in Contemporary Publishing. And That’s Very, Very Bad. (Literary Hub)
Anthropic CEO heads to White House amid hacking fears over new AI model (WP)
Amazon’s AI boom is creating a mess of duplicate tools and data (BI)
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