State Department Confirms Iran Compliant With Nuclear Deal, but Warns Tehran Still on Notice

Heritage

"With a new White House, many have wondered about the fate of the 2015 nuclear agreement made between the Obama administration and Iran. 

"The Trump administration’s stance on the agreement became a little clearer on Tuesday when the administration notified Congress that Iran is complying with the terms of the agreement, and that the United States would therefore extend the sanctions relief granted to Iran as part of that agreement.

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, wrote that Iran remained compliant with the agreement, but that the administration was concerned about Tehran’s support for terrorism and is reviewing whether to continue suspending sanctions, as required under the deal. 

"Congress mandated that the State Department must notify it every 90 days about Iran’s compliance with its nuclear obligations. Tuesday’s letter was the first such notification by the Trump administration.

"Significantly, Tillerson also added:

President Donald J. Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the [agreement] is vital to the national security interests of the United States.

"This statement casts doubt on whether the administration will continue to grant Iran sanctions relief in the future. At a minimum, it reinforces the administration’s previous warning that Tehran is “on notice” about its malign behavior.

"The bottom line is that the Trump administration has approved 90 days more of sanctions relief for Iran. But the pending policy review may lead the president to withdraw this concession in the future."

More here:

• Trump Administration Slaps Sanctions on Iran for Missile Test and Other Provocations
• Iran Is Wrong: Trump Can Absolutely Overturn the Nuclear Deal
• Obama’s Legacy Is Likely to Be Nuclear-Armed Iran
• The Dangerous Regional Implications of the Iran Nuclear Agreement
• The Nuclear Deal Has Not Changed Iran

Trump asks Obama surgeon general to resign, replaces him with a black nurse: Libs slam her credentials

It’s not until the last paragraph that the New York Times mentions that Sylvia Trent-Adams has a Ph.D. and was a nurse officer in the Army who had served as deputy surgeon general.

BizPacReview  "For President Trump, no good deed goes unpunished.  
"Trump asked Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, an Obama holdover, to step down. In his place, the president promoted Deputy Surgeon General Sylvia Trent-Adams as acting surgeon general. 
"Instead of applauding President Trump for elevating a black, female nurse to the post, leftists attacked Dr. Trent-Adams’ credentials, saying she’s “just a nurse.” Obviously, Trump’s promotion of a black woman doesn’t fit the liberal media narrative that he’s a “racist misogynist.”       

The disses started with liberal media outlets like ABC News, which tepidly announced in a snide tweet: “Dr. Vivek Murthy — an Obama appointee — resigns as Surgeon General, replaced by deputy Sylvia Trent-Adams, a nurse.”  

" 'Actually, she’s a nurse with a Ph.D., so you can call her “Doctor.”' 

"Similarly, the New York Times — the so-called bastion of social justice activism — bleated in a snobby headline: “Nurse Replaces Surgeon General After Obama Appointee Resigns.' ”  

"No one doubted Trent-Adams’ credentials (or lack of a medical degree) when she was deputy surgeon general under Obama. If she was qualified to be second in line to the Surgeon General’s post then, why is she suddenly unqualified now? Is it simply because Trump promoted her?  

"Meanwhile, “tolerant, open-minded” liberals immediately trashed Trent-Adams as unqualified." . . .

Why can’t the Clintons just go away?

NY Post

"Since losing the most winnable presidential election in modern American history, Hillary Clinton has, among other things: given a series of high-profile speeches, joined Gov. Cuomo at his public unveiling of tuition-free college, refused to rule out a run for mayor of New York and issued an online video message exhorting fellow Democrats to fight on in her name.

“ 'The challenges we face,” she said, “as a country and a party, are real.”

"Clearly, Hillary still sees herself as the leader of the Democratic Party. And why shouldn’t she? Democrats have been locked in an abusive relationship with the Clintons for decades, enabling, explaining, convincing themselves that next time will be different. Party faithful hew to Hillary’s excuses for losing to Donald Trump: It’s James Comey’s fault, plus the Russians, white supremacists, misogynists, the deplorables and immobilized millennials, among other things." . . .

"Trump’s Latest OBAMA LEGACY SMACKDOWN Just Happened "

By Tiffany Layne at The BlackSphere  "So Trump tackles another issue plaguing everyday Americans. Thus, once again Trump undoes the damage done by Obama.

"In 2009, Obama signed a presidential memo eliminating a tariff on Israel. The former agreement protected American dairy farmers and raised money for the American economy. Obama’s memo removed import surcharges on dairy products from Israel.

"Obama can’t call the memo a free trade effort, either. During that same time period, Israel was blocking the import of many American goods such as orange juice. Thus, Obama was never a friend to the American farmer.

"During that same time period, Israel was blocking the import of many American goods such as orange juice.

"Just a week shy of the 100-day mark, Trump is undoubtedly the curve-buster in the class of presidents.

"Trump has kept promise after promise. In fact, he’s kept so many promises we’ve made a list." . . .

"If we could give Trump a report card for his first 100 days, he just made straight A’s for his America First Agenda!"

Too many clown cars colliding this week.

"People who weren’t at the White House this week:"

Power Line Blog  "Too many clown cars colliding this week. Today is Earth Day (yawn), and also some kind of self-parodying science march, which will do for science with the woman’s march in January did for feminism. (But how will they outdo the hats?) I’m following the Berkeley/Ann Coulter drama in real time; stay tuned for updates. And Monday is Trump Day 100. Given that Trump has done everything contrary to the usual presidential story line, I expect he’s right that the traditional 100 Day mark doesn’t mean that much. And then there’s the Norks. . .

Meanwhile here at home. . . 

Crazy or just stupid? Maxine Waters's claim that she didn’t call for Trump’s impeachment is too much even for MSNBC

Mad Max

Thomas Lifson  "What could possibly motivate Maxine Waters to claim twice that she never called for Donald Trump's impeachment when the video evidence is so compelling?  It is one thing for conservative websites to call her out, but even MSNBC, the broadcast leader in Trump-hatred, is taking notice of the absolute falsity of her claim.

"Yesterday, in an on-air discussion among Hallie Jackson, Craig Melvin, and Mark Murray, the California congresswoman was explicitly called out for her denial of reality:" . . .

Video from Youtube:

. . . "But most people get their news from video feeds, either via television or computer, especially social media.  If Waters expected the media to cover for her, she is plain stupid – when compelling video proves her claim to be absurd.

"If it is Alzheimer's that is starting to afflict her memory, then I have compassion.  There is no political aspect to this terrible disease, and the congresswoman deserves the excellent medical care to which her membership in Congress entitles her.

"But unfortunately, there is no cure for Alzheimer's, just as there is no cure for stupid.  So it may not really matter all that much which is the source of her outrageous claims." 

Charles Krauthammer: With North Korea, We Do Have Cards To Play

Investors.com  "The crisis with North Korea may appear trumped up. It's not. Given that Pyongyang has had nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for more than a decade, why the panic now? Because North Korea is headed for a nuclear breakout. The regime has openly declared that it is racing to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the United States — and thus destroy an American city at a Kim Jong Un push of a button.

 "The North Koreans are not bluffing. They've made significant progress with solid-fuel rockets, which are more quickly deployable and thus more easily hidden and less subject to detection and pre-emption.

"At the same time, Pyongyang has been steadily adding to its supply of nuclear weapons. Today it has an estimated 10 to 16. By 2020, it could very well have a hundred. (For context: the British are thought to have about 200.)

"Hence the crisis. We simply cannot concede to Kim Jong Un the capacity to annihilate American cities.

"Some will argue for deterrence. If it held off the Russians and the Chinese for all these years, why not the North Koreans? First, because deterrence, even with a rational adversary like the old Soviet Union, is never a sure thing. We came pretty close to nuclear war in October 1962.

"And second, because North Korea's regime is bizarre in the extreme, a hermit kingdom run by a weird, utterly ruthless and highly erratic god-king. You can't count on Caligula. The regime is savage and cult-like; its people, robotic. Karen Elliott House once noted that while Saddam Hussein's Iraq was a prison, North Korea was an ant colony." . . .