Christopher Merrill

🚨WATCH:🇺🇸 Former President Obama on Iran: “We pulled it off without firing a missile. We got 97% of their enriched uranium out. No shut down the Strait of Hormuz.” "They were able to maintain a modest civilian program for energy. And it was working."

What's much more likely for the Gulf states is a plan to get along with an angry but surviving Iranian regime not a rapprochement with Israel.

Nothing “quiet” about it. We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.

When asked about the recent settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family tax records, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) says President Trump “obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of” the Biden administration. “I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did,” he says. “They certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president.”

Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv and nearby towns early Sunday, with explosions shaking buildings for hours and multiple fires breaking out. The barrage included a rare intermediate-range Oreshnik missile. At least four people were killed and nearly 100 injured across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. “The attack was severe,” Ukrainian President Zelensky said. “The most hits were in Kyiv, and Kyiv was the main target of this Russian attack.” “He’s truly insane,” Zelenskyy said of Vladimir Putin. “It’s important that this doesn’t go unpunished for Russia. Today, everyone in the world who doesn’t stay silent and who helps Ukraine is a defender of life.”

DC's Iran hawks got two wars, nearly every conceivable sanction designation, a blockade, threw a wrench in global economy and will still claim that just a little more pressure and a touch more bombing will magically yield the concessions they still won't be satisfied with.

With all due caveats about a deal that has not been announced yet, some thoughts: The US-Iran deal being described in the news is a weak deal, and the net result of this war is significant damage to US strategic interests. That said, since the war was a mistake from the beginning, we can at least be thankful it appears President Trump is moving, belatedly, to end it. This war was ill-conceived in every respect. There were no clear strategic objectives, and no way to achieve most of the objectives mentioned at an acceptable cost. After the Strait of Hormuz was closed, and the global economic crisis started to spread, reopening it became the most important objective. That meant Iran had far greater leverage than we did. So President Trump faced only terrible options, of his own making. The deal being reported is among the less terrible options he could have chosen. At least he is not choosing to escalate the war, which would cause an even greater global economic crisis. The least terrible deal would have been a verified opening of the Strait -- and nothing else. Keep full sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, maintain watchfulness and deterrence established in the 12-Day War last June, and try to negotiate a significant rollback of the program and intrusive inspections. This deal is weaker than that. It reportedly provides $25 billion in unfrozen assets without receiving any concessions on the nuclear program. That money will give the regime a lifeline and help it begin restoring funding to its proxies. And there are no guarantees that Iran will make meaningful concessions on enrichment or HEU once those talks do start. Those talks, which will likely drag on, may well take place without a credible US military threat backing them up, as the United States labors to recover from all it expended and lost in this campaign and shore up other strategic priorities (IndoPacific) that have been set back, and as US midterm elections approach. Meanwhile, the deal says nothing about Iran's ballistic missile program or its support for proxies. Yes, US and Israeli strikes degraded, but did not eliminate, many Iranian attack capabilities. But overall, Iran has gained significant leverage for the future by demonstrating it can control the strait, by attacking its neighbors and US bases in the region and causing significant damage, and by taking the United States' and Israel's best punch and surviving with enough ability to project aggression in tact. It's a bleak day for US strategic interests. But it's better than continuing the war and making it even worse. Once the dust clears, one thing must not be forgotten. The Iranian people continue to live under a vicious regime. Trump has barely spoken of them in weeks. They deserve help, support, and appropriate non-military external pressures on the regime to give THEM the best chance to change it. The Administration, which put so much faith in military power to do what it could not, should invest in Iran experts, communicators, Persian language broadcasting, transition planning, diplomacy, and more aimed at supporting the Iranian people in their quest for freedom from tyranny. That was true in January when the Iranian people were demonstrating for their freedom. And it is still true today, despite this stupid war.

The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster. Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!