Yet another war, this time with Iran

[Jimmy Higgins]

Does Trump have any clue how to negotiate?

 

[bilby]

Does Trump have any clue how to negotiate?

Sure he does. He has a seven stage negotiating strategy:

1) Insults. You start by insulting the guys you are negotiating with; Then you insult anyone who might offer you assistance or support in the negotiation. Don't hold back; Insults are a sign of confidence and diplomatic strength.

2) Demands. Once everyone hates you enough, you make demands that are so outrageous that they would almost certainly have been rejected even if you had skipped step 1 (above). If there is any chance whatsoever that they might meet your demands, you haven't demanded enough. Demand more!

3) Surprise. Sun Tzu recommended surprise as a tactic; So when your demands are utterly rejected, act surprised.

4) Pleading. Beg the folks you hoped would help you out to help. Don't mention the fact that you insulted them during step 1 (above), with any luck they might have forgotten.

5) More insults. Nobody is answering your pleas, so tell them how cowardly and horrible they are in no uncertain terms. Insult your opponents again, too. Tell them how they are making a terrible mistake by not caving to your demands from step 2 (above).

6) Threats. Threaten your opponents with the obliteration of everything they hold dear. This is a great tactic, so don't just use it on your opponents, threaten your allies too! If you already obliterated something, threatening to do it again is a great move - nobody wants their stuff destroyed twice, and you will remind them of just how effective your efforts were the first time around.

7) Victory. Declare it loudly enough, and maybe nobody will notice you just made it even less likely than it was when you started.

 

[Derec]

Israel wants to wipe Hezbollah off the face of the earth.

What's wrong with wanting to wipe a terrorist organization that wants to exterminate you off the face of the Earth?

But it's good to know you think Israel is as reliable as a known terrorist organisation. That's progress of a sort I guess.

.A terrorist organization is only "reliable" in the sense that you can trust them to not negotiate in good faith. Like agreeing to disarm, and then admitting to the fawning NPR reporter that they never had any intention to give up any good weapons.

 

[bilby]

What's wrong with wanting to wipe a terrorist organization that wants to exterminate you off the face of the Earth?

Symmetry.

 

[Arctish]

Israel wants to wipe Hezbollah off the face of the earth.

What's wrong with wanting to wipe a terrorist organization that wants to exterminate you off the face of the Earth?

But it's good to know you think Israel is as reliable as a known terrorist organisation. That's progress of a sort I guess.

.A terrorist organization is only "reliable" in the sense that you can trust them to not negotiate in good faith. Like agreeing to disarm, and then admitting to the fawning NPR reporter that they never had any intention to give up any good weapons.

Please post evidence Hezbollah agreed to disarm before making ^this claim again.

It looks like you're trying to make a dishonest sleight-of-hand an accepted part of the narrative. That's counter-productive.

WRT honoring a ceasefire, the article you posted indicated Hezbollah did not violate the ceasefire despite not being a party to it and despite repeated violations by Israel. So really, you should be asking if Israel is going to honor this new one.