Renee Parsons
In 1770, US Second President John Adams coined the phrase “facts are stubborn things” in defense of his Red Coat defendants; today that phrase might be amended to “words are stubborn things” which may remind its narrator of long forgotten words.
In 2011, Donald Trump commented on then President Barack Obama’s future plans: “Our President will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak, and he’s ineffective.” The following year on Sean Hannity’s radio show in January 2012, Trump added, “I say that he starts a war in Iran before the election… lives will be wasted for no reason.”
As if foreseeing into the future, Trump further insisted that war with Iran would be politically motivated as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump with “You have done great things for Israel.”
The President clearly has had a preoccupation with Iran since he destroyed the JCPOA Agreement in 2018 which provided certain guarantees regarding Iran’s commitment to no nukes.
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Soon after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, 2025, it became apparent that the America First candidate who had pledged a non-interventionist war policy was either a figment of our imagination or perhaps he never existed. A quick scroll through his inaugural address presented that day reveals a consistent message with his campaign to bring unity included some of the following selections:
- “I will very simply put America First.”
- “After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict n free expression”
- “I also will sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.”
- “…we will restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law.”
- “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and the wars we never get into”.
- “Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.”
- “As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society”:
- “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”
That list includes somewhat predictable, patriotic policy options that represent favorable policies most Americans would support – the problem is that most of those options have never materialized while some have been directly contrary to Trump administration policy as conveyed to the American people.
With no explanation of how or why Trump’s inaugural policies dramatically shifted ground, that document may now be seen as little more than a PR document as if American public would be so easily snookered.
One of the more egregious unmentionables absent from the Inaugural list was any mention of a US $33 billion contribution for Israel’s genocide in Gaza providing necessary weapons and bombs to destroy the lives of thousands of Palestinians. A Report released by the Quincy Institute and Brown University’s Cost of War study concluded that “Israel’s prolonged and devastating military campaign would not have been possible without US financing, weapons, and political backing” and that “An increasing share of Israel’s arsenal would be down for maintenance without US contractor mechanics and spare parts.”
The report confirmed that arms deliveries continued under the Biden Administration and the Trump Administration.
As if the Trump Administration is beyond public embarrassment or public disclosure of its generosity to genocide were not sufficient reason for Trump to withdraw its backing, the Trump administration continues to further dig its hole deeper in its defense of Israel’s genocide case pending before the International Court of Justice, a case brought by South Africa.
As the Court considers whether genocide can be legally charged as a war crime pending the genocide convention created in 1948, the US filing to the Court rejects allegations of genocide as a simplistic effort to “delegitimize” Israel as a country.
Meanwhile as the US-Israel coordinated war against Iran continues as a war of aggression which is again contrary to Trump’s inaugural promises, Trump threatened to attack Iran energy facilities in 48 hours if the Hormuz Strait was not opened to unfettered traffic.
Suddenly, before the self imposed deadline, Trump announced that the US and Iran had ‘very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East….and postponed all military strikes against Iran for a five day period.”
The President continues the pretense that Iran ‘blinked’ as the IRGC denied any direct or indirect conversations as Iran tv reported that Trump himself had “capitulated’ upon hearing Iran’s three mandates of reparations, US expulsion from the Middle East and safety security guarantees.
Maria Bartiromo reported she talked personally to Trump who assured her that Iran wanted to ‘make a deal badly’ and that Witkoff and Kushner who had earlier conducted failed negotiations had spoken with Iranian counterparts.
One hopelessly inexplicable question arises, how did Trump so dramatically deviate from his Inaugural promises and get himself into this profoundly untenable international crisis and remains unable to assert his authority to protect US interests?
The answer lies in his relationships with Zionist funder Miriam Adelson and Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu leading Trump by the nose who continually acquiesces to Israel with no recognition their interests are not the same as US interests.
Renee Parsons has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and a staff member in the US House of Representative in Washington, DC. Before its demise, she was also a member of the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She is a regular contributor to Global Research.