Trump gave Iran every chance to resolve this peacefully – Doug Sheridan

Energy News Beat

ENB Pug Note: Doug Sheridan on LinkedIn wrote the following article. I found it spot on and had outstanding points. I highly recommend following Doug on LinkedIn.

The WSJ Editorial Board writes, Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s three most significant nuclear sites helped rid the world of a grave nuclear threat and was a large step toward restoring US deterrence. It also creates an opportunity for a more peaceful Middle East, if the nations of the region will seize it.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said. And good thing. A nuclear Iran was a perilous threat to Israel, the nearby Arab states, and America.

Trump gave Iran every chance to resolve this peacefully. The regime flouted his 60-day deadline to make a deal. Then Israel attacked, destroying much of the nuclear program and achieving air supremacy, and still Trump gave Iran another chance to come to terms. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted a bomb more than peace.

A full damage assessment will take time, and it’s possible some enrichment capability survived. But the Israelis believe the site at Natanz, where enriched uranium was stored, has been completely destroyed. At the very least Iran’s nuclear program has been set back by years.

Military conflict is unpredictable and Iran may retaliate, no matter how self-destructive that would be. Iran and its Iraqi proxies have threatened US regional bases with missile fire, but Trump warned that “future attacks will be far greater” if ran goes down that road. It now knows Trump isn’t bluffing. If the regime values self-preservation, it will give up it will stand dowm.

Much of the press has fixated on the idea that Trump has now joined or even started a conflict. But Iran has been waging regional and terrorist war for decades. It’s as likely that he has helped end it. Leaving Iran with a hardened nuclear enrichment facility after an Israeli military campaign would have been a recipe for maximum danger, all but asking Iran to sprint to a bomb.

The opportunity to act and the danger of standing pat may have proved decisive. US Presidents always have a choice, and they have been known to kick the can down the road. Credit goes to him for meeting the moment, despite the doubts from part of his political allies.

The isolationists in Trump’s camp were wrong at every step leading up to Saturday, and now they are again predicting another Iraq, if not a road to World War II. But Trump had to act to stop the threat in front of him to protect America, which is his first obligation as President.

Our Take 1: As the Board points out, Trump made clear Iran brought this on itself. “For 40 years, Iran has been saying ʻdeath to America,’ ‘death to Israel.’” This is absolutely right. Now, finally, an American president has taken the Mullahs at their word—before it was too late.

Our Take 2: No question that Iranian leadership got what was coming to them. Good on Trump—and America’s military—for delivering it.