Trump raises danger of war after move on Iran nuclear deal, Germany warns

MCP

International
International Member
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...deal-north-korea-germany-europe-a8000846.html

'My big concern is that what is happening in Iran, or with Iran from the US perspective, will not remain an Iranian issue,' says German foreign minister

gettyimages-860988378-0.jpg


Mr Trump’s refusal to certify that Tehran was complying with the 2015 accord has set European allies on edge AFP/Getty

Donald Trump’s decision to not certify the nuclear pact signed with Iran could bring the danger of war close to Europe, Germany’s foreign minister has warned.

Mr Trump has given the US Congress days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2016 as part of the deal, and warned that he may seek to terminate the deal completely.

However, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that if the US follows through on either of those options, then it could result in Iran developing nuclear weapons and raise the threat of conflict.

Speaking to Deutschlandfunk radio, Mr Gabriel said that Mr Trump had sent a “difficult and dangerous signal” when the US administration was also dealing with a crisis over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.




If the Iran deal falls, the world would be a more dangerous place

A decision to walk away from the deal, which Mr Trump has said he would consider if things do not change, would be a boon to Iran’s hardliners who seek more protection from America, Mr Gabriel said.

“Then they might revert to developing nuclear weapons,” Mr Gabriel said, adding Israel would not tolerate that and “then we will be back where we were 10, 12 years ago with the danger of war relatively close to Europe”.

Mr Trump’s decision to refuse to formally certify that Tehran was complying with the 2015 accord, accusing it of violating the deal (even though international inspectors say it is meeting requirements), has set European allies on edge.

It has also drawn a stern rebuke from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has accused Trump of making “baseless accusations” over the deal.

In response, Mr Trump said Iran was spreading “death, destruction and chaos” around the globe with its actions in Syrian, Iraq and Yemen.

Mr Gabriel said that the impression that Mr Trump would give if the US pulled out of the deal – which entails Iran putting limits on its nuclear energy programme in return for sanctions relief – may make others think about nuclear weapons.

“My big concern is that what is happening in Iran, or with Iran from the US perspective, will not remain an Iranian issue – but many others in the world will consider whether they themselves should acquire nuclear weapons too, given that such agreements are being destroyed,” Mr Gabriel said.

“And then our children and grandchildren will grow up in a very dangerous world,” he added.



Iranian general says he would ‘bury’ Donald Trump
The deal was hailed by Barack Obama as key to efforts for peace in the region and beyond, and was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union.

In that regard, Mr Gabriel urged the United States not to endanger the security of its allies and its own people for domestic policy reasons.

The decision not to certify the Iran deal comes at the end of a week in which Mr Trump has sought to fulfil some of the promises he made on the campaign trail for the presidency. Walking away from the Iran deal, or at least getting tougher with Tehran, was one such promise.

Another was the repeal and replacement of Mr Obama’s signature health legislation, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. With the Republican-led Congress struggling to pass new legislation, Mr Trump took action into his own hands by signing an executive order to begin dismantling parts of Obamacare.

He said the new order will increase competition and reduce insurance premium costs, but critics say it will destabilise the markets, with younger people being lured by cheaper plans forcing premiums up for the sicker people left on Obamacare plans.

The order also removes subsidies for insurers, which critics say could mean higher premiums for low-income people.

On Saturday, Mr Trump tweeted that he is “very proud” of the executive order, with stocks in health insurance companies having “plunged” after he signed it.

The moves over the Iran deal and Obamacare, as well as the social media feuds over critical coverage by the media, and the ongoing debate about whether NFL players should stand for the national anthem, are all things that will play well with Mr Trump’s base support. And in that respect, Mr Trump will believe he has had a good week.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Apparently, the Germans are not only worried over the U.S. under Trump vis-à-vis Iran, but the U.S. under Trump vis-à-vis Germany and the rest of western society . . .


Germany's Gabriel: 'We need a European moment'
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has called for European unity in the face of growing global tensions. He also spoke of German "perturbation" at Washington's foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference.

To watch this video, please go to our mobile page.


In what may be his last major speech as German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel on Saturday told delegates to the Munich Security Conference that the European Union needed to develop a joint foreign policy agenda to counter growing assertiveness from countries such as China and Russia.

At the same time, he stressed the continued importance of US-European cooperation, saying now was not the time for "just pursuing individual national interests."

Read more: Are China and Russia challenging US military dominance?

Gabriel's comments come amid widespread European concern that the US, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, is increasingly turning its back on traditional trans-Atlantic partnerships.


We no longer recognize our America'

He said that particularly Germany, which had learnt so much from the US about democracy, multilateralism and free trade after World War II, was "perturbed" at the new course taken by Washington "because we no longer recognize our America."

"I am convinced cooperation between Europe and the US is important to maintain the architecture of freedom," he said.

Among other things, he called on Washington not to abort the nuclear deal with Iran, but instead to help devise joint new strategies to counter Iranian expansionist policies.

Read more: As China takes 'center stage,' Europe stands at a crossroads

Investing in solidarity

On the European front, Gabriel said three things were necessary to move forward: generating internal cohesion, developing joint foreign policy interests and coming up with tools to pursue common interests.

"We need a European moment ... We firmly believe we need cooperation instead of confrontation," he said, adding that Germany would invest in solidarity for that reason.

Gabriel also warned of the challenges posed by China's growing geopolitical assertiveness and Russian aggression, notably in Ukraine.

He said China and Russia were trying "to test and undermine" the liberal Western world order, and that for that reason he expected friends such as the US to support the EU project.

"Nobody should attempt to divide the European Union: not Russia, not China and also not the United States," he said.

Read more: Eight facts about the Munich Security Conference

'The EU a huge achievement'

In moving words, he described the EU as a huge achievement, where within one generation enemies had turned first into partners, then friends.

But he went on to say that the bloc, which was once a bid to establish internal reconciliation following two wars, now needed a common "power project" to avoid it being a "vegetarian in a world of carnivores."

Gabriel: Rethink Russia sanctions

Earlier, Gabriel said at talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that he was in favor of gradually softening some sanctions imposed on Russia over its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine if a ceasefire could be brought about with the help of UN peacekeepers.

Although the official stance is that all provisions of the Minsk peace accords should be implemented before any sanctions are lifted, Gabriel said this was "not realistic" unless Moscow were given some sanctions relief.

Russia has proposed bringing UN peacekeeping forces into eastern Ukraine to end violence in a conflict between pro-Moscow rebels and the Kyiv government that has killed some 10,000 people since 2014.

Gabriel is currently serving in an acting capacity as foreign minister, as Germany continues its struggle to establish a coalition government.

Read more: Ukraine: The forgotten victims of Donbass

We're sorry, but this video is currently not supported for AMP. To watch this video, please go to our mobile page.


https://news.google.com/news/amp?caurl=http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-gabriel-we-need-a-european-moment/a-42624573#pt0-796490

.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MCP

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator

Top U.S. officials tell the world to ignore Trump’s tweets


BBJhjjm.img

© Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attends
a panel discussion Saturday at the 2018 Munich Security Conference.



U.S. lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — and top national security officials in the Trump administration offered the same advice publicly and privately, often clashing with Trump’s Twitter stream: the United States remains staunchly committed to its European allies, is furious with the Kremlin about election interference and isn’t contemplating a preemptive strike on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.

But Trump himself engaged in a running counterpoint to the message, taking aim on social media at his own national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, because he “forgot” on Saturday to tell the Munich Security Conference that the results of the 2016 weren’t affected by Russian interference, a conclusion that is not supported by U.S. intelligence agencies. They say they will likely never be able to determine whether the Russian involvement swung the election toward Trump.

The determination to ignore Trump’s foreign-policy tweets has been bipartisan.

“There is a lot more support for continuing our past policies than it might appear from some of the statements,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told an audience on Sunday that was comprised mostly of Europe’s foreign-policy elite. “The unanimity comes from those folks who are actually operationalizing policy.”

“The values are the same, the relationships are the same,” said Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). “What you do see is this administration willing to put pressure upon the systems.”​


The question of whom they should believe — the president or his advisers — has befuddled European officials. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel confessed Saturday that he didn’t know where to look to understand America.

“Is it deeds? Is it words? Is it tweets?” he asked.

He said he was not sure whether he could recognize the United States.

Away from the glare of television cameras, many European diplomats and policymakers echoed the same concerns. One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid provoking Trump, asked whether policymakers like McMaster who adhere largely to traditional U.S. foreign policy positions were falling into the same trap as Germany’s elite during Hitler’s rise, when they continued to serve in government in the name of protecting their nation.

The answer, the diplomat said, might be found following “nuclear war,” which he feared could be provoked by Trump administration’s hawkish approach to North Korea.

Testing those lines, McMaster offered a starkly different view of the world from his own boss, saying that the “evidence is now incontrovertible” that Russia intervened in the U.S. political system. Trump has downplayed Russian involvement, saying that he believes the reassurances of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Kremlin was not involved in the election.

McMaster even walked back some of his own previous tough language. Asked about a Wall Street Journal op-ed he co-authored with White House economic adviser Gary Cohn last year that said they embraced a world that was “an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage,” McMaster said it was actually a call for greater cooperation among Western powers.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats took a similarly reassuring stance hours later.

The assertions that nothing fundamental has changed about Washington’s commitments to the world do seem to have eased some concerns among some allies, particularly regarding the U.S. commitment to defend NATO allies against the threat of Russian aggression.

In the Baltic nations, which border Russia, the election of Trump had raised concerns about U.S. commitments to NATO. But that doubt is now “gone,” Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said in an interview, embracing the Pentagon’s stepped-up military commitments to Eastern Europe.

Even hawkish Republicans shrugged away from Trump’s top priorities. While speaking on a panel Friday, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) was cued up by a questioner to attack the “failure” of Europe to spend 2 percent of its economic output on defense — a frequent Trump talking point. Graham demurred.

“I want you to get to 2 percent so Trump will be quiet,” he said before swiftly moving on.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-tweets/ar-BBJh3ji?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp


.

 
Top