{"id":5104,"date":"2026-06-23T16:05:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5104"},"modified":"2026-06-23T16:05:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:05:40","slug":"letters-u-s-bungling-iran-growing-aggression-criticize-behavior-not-person","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5104","title":{"rendered":"Letters: U.S. bungling Iran | Growing aggression | Criticize behavior, not person"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amateurs bungling Iran talks<\/h4>\n

The war with Iran is over. Or is it?<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said the Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, between the United States and Iran would be signed on June 19 by Vice President JD Vance, because Trump had a prior engagement, a dinner with leaders in France on June 17. Seriously. But in a sudden reversal, Trump signed the agreement, not Vance. And like he was signing the menu at a restaurant, he scribbled his Sharpie while having dinner at Versailles. Vance didn\u2019t even make the trip.<\/p>\n

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Reports leaked that there was a $300 million reconstruction fund for Iran. \u201cFake news!\u201d said Trump. Turns out he was right. It\u2019s $300 billion \u2014 not $300 million \u2014 but what difference do a few zeros make? And not for nothing, when the Marshall Plan helped rebuild Europe and Japan, the F\u00fchrer and the emperor were no longer in charge. In Iran, the mullahs are still very much running things.<\/p>\n

But not to worry: Trump is sending a couple of outer-borough New York real estate developers, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, to straighten things out. It took the Obama administration 18 months \u2014 with seasoned diplomats and a Ph.D. in nuclear physics \u2014 to negotiate the deal Trump abandoned in 2018. The recently-signed MOU gives the parties 60 days to settle all of the intricate details the MOU only highlights.<\/p>\n

As I see it, our government is being led by the most inept amateurs imaginable. It\u2019s called a kakistocracy.<\/p>\n

\u2014 George Devitt, Maitland<\/em><\/p>\n

U.S. shouldn\u2019t be fooled by Iran again<\/h4>\n

So many have pointed out the potential consequences if and when Iran misbehaves in the coming future, but all seem to have forgotten that it took more than eight weeks to hammer home the point when they did just that? One does not chastise a misdeed weeks after the fact; one inflicts the consequences immediately, otherwise the lesson is not learned. I believe that failure to strictly hold Iran to the agreed behavior will only accelerate its return to aggressive terror behavior throughout the Middle East and beyond \u2014 a point the United States should have learned by now.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bob Kring, DeBary<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Criticize behavior, not identity<\/h4>\n

It might seem to some like too subtle a difference, but the use of simile in criticizing another person, is often preferable to metaphor. Think about it: What if President Trump talked about someone\u2019s \u201cbehavior,\u201d rather than their \u201cidentity\u201d when he calls out a colleague for criticism? He might have a totally different approval rating. It makes you wonder why some aide hasn\u2019t just sat him down and shown him how to use the technique.<\/p>\n

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For example, if he thinks Bill Cassidy is a jerk, rather than call him a jerk, why not suggest that he\u2019s simply \u201cacting like a jerk\u201d? One uses identity and metaphor, the other uses behavior and simile. Get it?<\/p>\n

For a decade, my teaching colleagues and I emphasized this technique in the discipline of our middle school students because they \u2014 unlike the \u201cgrown up\u201d Trump \u2014 often struggle, as we all know, with crisis of identity, when the reality is that the most of our problems with them are with their behavior, not who they are or think they are.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard the esteemed historian and commentator Victor Davis Hanson mispronounce the word \u201cnuclear,\u201d but he\u2019s obviously not a moron, it\u2019s his behavior \u2014 his articulation \u2014 that is in question here. Are you beginning to get the idea? Let\u2019s show the world that most Americans are not \u201cstupid,\u201d they just act like it sometimes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2014 Maurice McCoy, Bokeelia<\/em><\/p>\n

You can submit a letter to the editor by sending it by email to insight@orlandosentinel.com or by filling out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 250 words and must be signed (no pseudonyms nor initials).You must include your email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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