As a physician, a judge, and a political animal, I know a blockage when I see one.
asserted
I → know → one
In medicine, when a patient’s system is completely backed up, tense, taking in tons of input but absolutely locked up when it comes to any outward movement, we call it constipation.
asserted
we → back → it
Lately, looking at our foreign policy with Iran, I have to ask a serious question: Is President Donald Trump politically constipated?
asserted
Trump → look → question
You don’t need a top-secret security clearance to see why people are asking this.
asserted
people → need → this
You just have to sit where I sit on Saturday mornings — at the local diner, talking with different groups of my friends.
asserted
I → have → friends
I’ve got mostly Republicans, some Democrats, people who lean toward both sides of the aisle, and some who just sit square in the middle of it.
asserted
who → get → it
And they all look at me and ask, “Eric, what’s going on with the president?
asserted
what → look → president
One day, he’s saying he’s going to bomb them.
asserted
he → say → them
Then he’s not going to bomb them.
asserted
he → go → them
Then he’s going to wipe Iran out, or he’s going to free the people.
asserted
he → go → people
We hear the sanctions are working, the sanctions are working…
asserted
sanctions → hear → ?
I mean, what is actually going on?”
asserted
what → mean → ?
What I say to them is exactly what I’ve stated in my prior op-eds, and what many people now recognize: the economic sanctions are working.
asserted
sanctions → say → what
The regime’s leaders are fighting with one another behind closed doors because our economic pressure has put them in a total vice grip.
asserted
pressure → fight → grip
According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, wide-reaching secondary sanctions have systematically locked up their digital assets, gold, and banking networks.
uncertain
sanctions → accord → assets
Independent financial analyses featured in the Economist report that the trade blockade has triggered a staggering 90% inflation rate and chopped oil exports to zero.
asserted
blockade → feature → zero
But to the regular guy sitting at the diner watching the news, it looks like a total standoff.
asserted
it → sit → standoff
The administration keeps saying the policy is working, but the public message feels stuck in place.
asserted
message → keep → place
We get all this aggressive talk followed by total hesitation, and it leaves people wondering whether we actually have a plan to finish the job.
asserted
we → get → job
To be absolutely fair, the president faces incredibly tough decisions.
asserted
president → face → decisions
That comes with the job.
asserted
That → come → job
As a political animal, I know exactly what is happening inside the Oval Office.
asserted
what → know → Office
He has plenty of administration officials whispering in his ear, screaming, “Don’t do this because of the midterms!” while another faction yells, “Do this because of the midterms!”
asserted
faction → have → midterms
They are shoving all kinds of contradictory polls and surveys across his desk to support whatever political position they are pushing that day.
asserted
they → shove → position
On top of the internal domestic theater, he is facing intense international pressure.
asserted
he → face → pressure
He has the Saudis and our other moderate Arab nations — our so-called friends in the region — trying to pressure him into taking the lead to bomb the Houthis or pull the trigger on the Iranians… or not.
asserted
Saudis → have → Iranians
Intelligence assessments detailed by Axios reveal that Saudi Arabia has repeatedly pleaded with the United States to launch offensive airstrikes to break regional trade chokeholds.
asserted
Arabia → detail → chokeholds
This is a man who is personally accustomed to making big, heavy decisions throughout his life.
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who → accustom → life
But right now, all these conflicting voices in his ear, the domestic polling, and the foreign pressure might just be clouding his judgment.
uncertain
voices → conflict → judgment
Look, I am a fan of Trump.
asserted
I → look → Trump
I think he is doing a remarkable job on so many fronts.
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he → think → fronts
It is a calculated move designed to keep our own media guessing, and more importantly, to keep the enemy off their feet.
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It → design → feet
It’s Trumposophy at its best.
asserted
It → ’ → best
Reports from global correspondents tracking Reuters reflect that the administration intentionally utilizes public posturing to maintain diplomatic leverage.
asserted
administration → track → leverage
There is real value in keeping Tehran completely unsure about what comes next.
asserted
what → be → Tehran
But even the best strategic defense has a shelf life.
asserted
defense → have → life
There comes a point where the noise has to stop.
asserted
noise → come → ?
There is a time where he has to look in the mirror and ask himself a very basic American question: Do I “s***, or get off the pot?”
asserted
I → be → pot
The reason it looks like a stalemate right now is that, despite the internal rot our sanctions have caused, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is still the one holding the microphone over there.
asserted
Corps → look → microphone
And its public face behaves exactly like the Black Knight in the Monty Python movie, which I’ve written about before.
asserted
I → behave → which
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
