Ben Rhodes, a former national security aide to former President Barack Obama, accused President Trump of pursuing a foreign policy based on “Obama envy” following news of a violent mob attacking the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
“Trump sanctions on Iran have done nothing to change Iranian behavior except make it worse,” Rhodes, who once described the Iran Deal as “necessary … even if Iran doesn’t change,” tweeted Tuesday morning.
“This is what happens when your foreign policy is based on Obama envy, domestic politics, Saudi interests, and magical right wing thinking,” he added:
Trump sanctions on Iran have done nothing to change Iranian behavior except make it worse. This is what happens when your foreign policy is based on Obama envy, domestic politics, Saudi interests, and magical right wing thinking. https://t.co/HDn0ywZnHu
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) December 31, 2019
Rhodes was an instrumental figure in the Obama administration who tried to sell the deal that resulted in billions in cash to Iran — money that essentially funds state-sponsored terrorism, further facilitating attacks such as the aggression unleashed on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Rhodes’ tweet followed news of protesters breaking into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad in protest of recent U.S. airstrikes against the Iran-backed Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah (KH) in Iraq, a member of the umbrella group Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which the Pentagon blamed for the death of a U.S. contractor in Kirkuk, Iraq.
As Breitbart News reported:
Several militia commanders loyal to Iran were spotted in the mob, including Hadi al-Amiri, head of the state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) umbrella organization for paramilitary groups. At least one sitting member of the Iraqi parliament also participated in the attack.
“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will,” the president tweeted on Tuesday.
“Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq,” he continued, promising that they would be held “fully responsible”:
Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Rhodes was far from the only leftist to blame Trump for the developments in the Middle East.
“Really hard to overstate how badly Trump has bungled things in the Middle East,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wrote in a post retweeted by Rhodes.
“One of the only good things going – anti-Iran street protests in Iraq – have now morphed into anti-U.S. protests thanks to Trump’s mishandling of Iran policy,” he added:
Really hard to overstate how badly Trump has bungled things in the Middle East. One of the only good things going – anti-Iran street protests in Iraq – have now morphed into anti-U.S. protests thanks to Trump's mishandling of Iran policy. https://t.co/1glF0HjRAC
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 31, 2019
Rhodes also retweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who criticized the president’s “reckless decisions to walk away from the Iran Deal.”
“Trump’s reckless decisions to walk away from the Iran Deal and now to launch airstrikes in Iraq without Iraqi government consent have brought us closer to war and endangered U.S. troops and diplomats,” she wrote in part:
Trump’s reckless decisions to walk away from the Iran Deal and now to launch airstrikes in Iraq without Iraqi government consent have brought us closer to war and endangered U.S. troops and diplomats. We should end the forever wars, not start new ones.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 31, 2019
Rhodes, a frequent political commentator on NBC and MSNBC, recently described Trump as a threat to U.S. security.
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