En varm kartoffel

Der er næppe nogen tvivl om, at Donald Trump har været den mest udskældte og latterliggjorte politiker i nyere tid i medierne. Både i USA, Danmark og Spanien. Ja, lige fra det tidspunkt han fortalte, at han ville stille op som præsidentkandidat i USA.

TV2 i Danmark har sit ugentlige program ‘Presselogen’ om søndagen, hvor mediernes chefredaktører og andre ‘eksperter’ står for skud.

Vil de i morgen ransage sig selv om deres dækning af præsident Trumps meddelelse tirsdag aften den 8. maj klokken 20:00 om hans udmelding af Atomaftalen?

Samme slags dækning fandt sted i de spanske medier.

Næppe havde præsidenten afsluttet sin tale og underskrevet dekretet, før man overlod skærmen til alverdens kommentarer om hans beslutning.

For eksempel til EUs højtstående repræsentant for udenrigsanliggender og sikkerhedspolitik, den 44-årige italiener Federica Mogherini, til statsminister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, til udenrigsminister Anders Samuelsen og stribevis af ‘eksperter’.

Alle var enige om, at det var en dårlig beslutning, og hurtigt rettede fokus sig mod de eventuelle økonomiske konsekvenser for Danmark. Trumps beslutning kunne let gå ud over Danmarks eksport til Iran, der gennem de seneste 12 måneder er steget fra knap 1,5 mia. til knap 2,5 mia. kroner.

Trump advarede nemlig om at lande, der støttede Iran, også kunne blive ramt af økonomiske sanktioner fra USA.

Hvor var overvejelserne og analyserne i forhold til indholdet i Trumps tale?

Naser Khader, de konservatives udenrigsordfører, udtalte i et interview onsdag morgen, at han personligt støttede Trumps beslutning. Han var allerede imod Atomaftalen, da den blev indgået i 2015. Det Konservative Folkeparti gjorde det dog hurtigt klart, at det ikke var partiets holdning.

Hvad manglede i dækningen?

Jeg lyttede opmærksomt på hele Donald Trumps tale, og jeg må indrømme, at jeg ikke har været helt så observant på Irans støtte til terrorgrupper, som jeg burde have været.

Uddrag fra præsident Trumps tale

“Instead of using the money from the JCPOA (Atomaftalen red.) to support the Iranian people at home, the regime has instead funded a military buildup and continues to fund its terrorist proxies, such as Hizballah and Hamas.

• In Syria, the Iranian regime supports the Assad regime and is complicit in Assad’s atrocities against the Syrian people.

• In Yemen, the regime has escalated the conflict and used the Houthis as a proxy to attack other nations.

• In Iraq, Iran’s IRGC sponsors Shia militant groups and terrorists.

• In Lebanon, the Iranian regime enables Hizballah to play a highly destabilizing role and to build an arsenal of weapons that threatens the region.”

Sidst i denne artikel kan du læse Trumps tale i sin helhed.

Er Trumps påstande sande eller usande? Det er da noget, som kan have betydning for mine kære og alle mine andre medmennesker.

Jeg er jo ikke ubekendt med terrorhandlinger i Spanien.

Medierne er dog ikke gået i dybden med disse påstande. I stedet har man taget brudstykker fra talen og brugt dem til rædselscenarier for dansk og spansk økonomi. “Se bare oliepriserne er allerede steget: Det betyder Trumps beslutning nu for din økonomi!”

Havde det ikke været et godt hensyn til seere og læsere, at mediecheferne havde vurderet den nødvendige brede analyse af indholdet i Trumps tale i stedet for straks at give ordet til de politikere og eksperter, der blot benyttede lejligheden til at profilere sig selv?

Natten til torsdag reagerede Israel på raketangrebene mod Golanhøjderne fra Irans fremskudte positioner i Syrien. Man foretog et effektivt gengældelsesangreb på de iranske positioner og ødelagde - ifølge Israel selv - de fleste af dem.

Iran har jo erklæret, at det er dets erklærede mål at udslette Israel fra jordens overflade.

Det, som jeg er endnu engang er blevet erindret om ved dækningen af Trumps udtræden af Atomaftalen, er, hvor vigtigt det er selv at være kritisk og ikke lade sig køre over af det overordnede billede, som mediernes dækning danner på vores nethinder.

Det passer ikke rigtigt de medier, iagttagere og eksperter, der har kritiseret Trump siden starten, at han ser ud til at være tæt på at få løst konflikten med Nordkorea. Nogle af dem er allerede begyndt at give æren til andre.

Din mening

Teamet bag Spanien i Dag ønsker dig en god weekend.

Torben Wilkenschildt

Her kan du læse præsident Trumps tale i sin helhed:

"My fellow Americans,

Today, I want to update the world on our efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

The Iranian regime is the leading state sponsor of terror. It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies and militias such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Over the years, Iran and its proxies have bombed American Embassies and military installations, murdered hundreds of American service members, and kidnapped, imprisoned, and tortured American citizens.

The Iranian regime has funded its long reign of chaos and terror by plundering the wealth of its own people.

No action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than its pursuit of nuclear weapons — and the means of delivering them.

In 2015, the previous administration joined with other nations in a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program. This agreement was known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or J.C.P.O.A.

In theory, the so-called “Iran deal” was supposed to protect the United States and our allies from the lunacy of an Iranian nuclear bomb, a weapon that will only endanger the survival of the Iranian regime.

In fact, the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and — over time — reach the brink of a nuclear breakout.

The deal lifted crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for very weak limits on the regime’s nuclear activity — and no limits at all on its other malign behavior, including its sinister activities in Syria, Yemen, and other places all around the world.

In other words, at the point when the United States had maximum leverage, this disastrous deal gave this regime — and it’s a regime of great terror — many billions of dollars, some of it in actual cash — a great embarrassment to me as a citizen and to all citizens of the United States.

A constructive deal could easily have been struck at the time, but it wasn’t.

At the heart of the Iran deal was a giant fiction: that a murderous regime desired only a peaceful nuclear energy program.

Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie. Last week, Israel published intelligence documents — long concealed by Iran — conclusively showing the Iranian regime and its history of pursuing nuclear weapons.

The fact is, this was a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.

In the years since the deal was reached, Iran’s military budget has grown by almost 40 percent — while its economy is doing very badly. After the sanctions were lifted, the dictatorship used its new funds to build its nuclear-capable missiles, support terrorism, and cause havoc throughout the Middle East and beyond.

The agreement was so poorly negotiated that even if Iran fully complies, the regime can still be on the verge of a nuclear breakout in just a short period of time. The deal’s sunset provisions are totally unacceptable.

If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Everyone would want their weapons ready by the time Iran had theirs.

Making matters worse, the deal’s inspection provisions lack adequate mechanisms to prevent, detect, and punish cheating and don’t even have the unqualified right to inspect many important locations, including military facilities. Not only does the deal fail to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but it also fails to address the regime’s development of ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads.

Finally, the deal does nothing to constrain Iran’s destabilizing activities, including its support for terrorism.

Since the agreement, Iran’s bloody ambitions have grown only more brazen. In light of these glaring flaws, I announced last October that the Iran deal must either be renegotiated or terminated.

Three months later, on January 12th, I repeated these conditions. I made clear that if the deal could not be fixed, the United States would no longer be a party to the agreement.

Over the past few months, we have engaged extensively with our allies and partners around the world, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. We have also consulted with our friends from across the Middle East. We are unified in our understanding of the threat and in our conviction that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.

After these consultations, it is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement. The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen. In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons.

Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

In a few moments, I will sign a presidential memorandum to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime. We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction. Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.

America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail. We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. And we will not allow a regime that chants “Death to America” to gain access to the most deadly weapons on Earth.

Today’s action sends a critical message. The United States no longer makes empty threats. When I make promises, I keep them. In fact, at this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un. Plans are being made, relationships are building. Hopefully, a deal will happen, and with the help of China, South Korea, and Japan, a future of great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone.

As we exit the Iran deal, we will be working with our allies to find a real, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear threat. This will include efforts to eliminate the threat of Iran’s ballistic missile program, to stop its terrorist activities worldwide, and to block its menacing activity across the Middle East.

In the meantime, powerful sanction also go into full effect. If the regime continues its its nuclear aspirations, it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before. Finally, I want to deliver a message to the long-suffering people of Iran.

The people of America stand with you.

It has now been almost 40 years since this dictatorship seized power and took a proud nation hostage. Most of Iran’s 80 million citizens have sadly never known an Iran that prospered in peace with its neighbors and commanded the admiration of the world.

But the future of Iran belongs to its people. They are the rightful heirs to a rich culture and an ancient land, and they deserve a nation that does justice to their dreams, honor to their history and glory to God.

Iran’s leaders will naturally say that they refuse to negotiate a new deal. They refuse, and that’s fine. I’d probably say the same thing if I was in their position. But the fact is, they are going to want to make a new and lasting deal, one that benefits all of Iran and the Iranian people.

When they do, I am ready, willing, and able. Great things can happen for Iran. And great things can happen for the peace and stability that we all want in the Middle East. There has been enough suffering, death, and destruction. Let it end now. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you."