Today’s two-steps forward, two-steps back news from the US-Iran negotiations reminds us not only of how but also of why the period after the ‘peace deals’ or ‘memorandum(s) of understanding’ seem so hard to distinguish from what came before them – a mix of meetings, sometimes inconclusive, sometimes hastily scuttled; Trump’s occasional threats to annihilate Iran; reports of good vibes from the latest meeting.
Judged most generously, we are witnessing a very, very slow and incremental negotiation that will eventually result in some agreement but it needs to be salted with occasional ‘deals’ along the way as kind of morale boosters to keep everyone happy and energized. Less generously, the “deals” are just BS, a way to make it seem like we’re not in endless negotiations which are going nowhere. We remain in the same waiting pattern in which Trump refuses to do the things which might change situation (massive escalation) and also refuses to admit where that leaves him in (in defeat, unable to compel’s Iran’s behavior). So we remained locked in Donald Trump’s denial over a war that came entirely from his whims, enthusiasms and need to self-soothe.
