What is the United States’ Word Worth These Days?
Years ago, in Hamilton, NJ, a candidate for the local governing body campaigned against a contract the township was about to sign, I think it was about garbage collection. The contract was approved and signed. Then he got elected with enough of a slate to make a difference on government policy, and I asked him if he would try to overturn the contract. He seemed shocked at the question as he answered, “Your word is your bond.”
He was talking about Hamilton Township’s word, not his. A duly elected government body had signed on the dotted line, promising a sum of money for specified service for a set period of time. Like it or not, the contract must be honored, or the word of the township became meaningless.
Sad to say, that lowly politician, smallest cog in the political wheel, knew more about government than the man now sitting in the Oval Office. Though our allies and our own government agencies say that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal negotiated by former President Obama, Trump is “decertifying” the deal because he claims Iran violated the terms of the agreement.
In what way? He hasn’t told us, and when a man lies as often as he does, you can’t really take him at his word. He has said, over and over again, that it was the “worst deal ever,” though that designation loses its validity when you consider that he applied the same phrase to at least four other agreements or policies.
This is the key point: The U.S. signed an agreement with Iran. All evidence points to Iran living up to the terms of the agreement. The only reason Trump gives for abrogating the agreement is that he doesn’t like it. That means that if we impose new sanctions against Iran, which Congress can now do, then it will be the United States that has broken the terms of the pact, meaning our word is NOT our bond. This can have serious implications for the future. What nation can ever deal with us again, knowing that our promises extend no further than the next election?