Gary Franks

To borrow a golf term, President Donald Trump has finally agreed to take a “mulligan” per the war in Iran. Sadly, it was the most expensive mulligan in history, potentially amounting to half a trillion dollars, the deaths of 13 American service members, increased fuel costs, a major reduction in our military weaponry, and a near depletion of our Strategic Oil Reserve.

In a friendly game of golf when you hit the ball in the woods you ask for a mulligan in most cases. As a professional golfer, when this happens, you are given a choice: You can ask for a “drop” which will cost you shots or you can take a chance and attempt to hit the ball out of the woods without getting a shot penalty. There are huge risks with the latter.

Well, Trump did not want to take a mulligan like we all do in friendly games of golf. He did not want to “pay” for his error by losing a couple of strokes. Instead, the president decided to slug his way through the woods.

But after hitting the ball in the woods, he doubled down, took another shot, and that shot ricocheted off several trees, leaving Trump in a worse position than when he started. Unlike past administrations, this administration never anticipated Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, even though some military leaders reportedly warned of that potential scenario.

As a result, the world’s energy needs went on pause as oil and gas could not flow freely through this critical area. Top that off by Iran demanding payment for ships to safely travel through the Strait and our problems were multiplied.

Wisely, though reluctantly, Trump finally realized that with no other options, it was time to take a mulligan, which “ain’t all that bad” especially considering other options.

To reach an agreement with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and “restart” negotiations on the nuclear issue would be the definition of taking a mulligan. It would be as if nothing had happened, a return to January 2026. It would give us an opportunity to take another swing at solving the Iranian problem.

Now Trump has his mulligan – well, maybe. He has been angry with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Israel’s leader “has f**ing bad judgment.” Attacks on Israel from Hezbollah and the Israeli military occupation of Lebanon could derail or even prevent Trump from having a restart. Iran is adamant about Israel’s leader ceasing military activities in Lebanon as part of any peace agreement with the U.S.

Have we seen anything like this before? Yes.

In the 1990s America, with the support of most of the world, pushed Iraq out of Kuwait. To protect Israel from auxiliary attacks on America’s staunch ally, Israel, we developed and delivered the Patriot missile system which could knock down any incoming missiles that Iraq could fire at Israel. In 1991, when I was in Congress, during President George H.W. Bush’s Desert Storm, the Patriot system was good enough to protect Israel from conventional missile attacks and thus keep the Israeli government from responding to any attacks from Iraq.

Unless things have changed, why is the Patriot missile defense system not good enough now?

Back to the first tee – a total restart. Now the hard lifting would need to begin. This time each party would have realized a newfound respect for each other.

We must all understand that Iran is no Venezuela. We should recognize that Iran is the second largest country in the Middle East, second to only Egypt. In fact, it is the same size as France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom combined (1.65 million square kilometers). Its population is also larger than any country in Europe. It has over 1 million military personnel, making Iran’s armed forces one of the largest in the world. Iranian culture has been around for thousands of years, not hundreds.

Only Trump and his sycophants in his administration ever thought it was a needed war while also believing it would end quickly. That was a big misjudgment. But, Trump has not yet “failed.” The jury is still out. The Iranians, however, are cashing in immediately via selling their oil, which had been sanctioned.

Trump should avoid bully tactics. Instead he should be patient in working to achieve realistic objectives, even if that means we return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) developed by former President Barack Obama.

Trump must realize that white males do not have all the answers. It is very possible that people who do not look like Trump (like Obama) bring huge value as well. His obsession with disrespecting the talents of all Americans is now costing us dearly.

Think about it: Is it a coincidence that the most racist states in America have also been the poorest ones? They do not use or properly develop all the talent in their states to increase productivity and ingenuity. Conversely, folks who try to follow the Golden Rule have total disdain for seeing overt or covert racism and consequently they choose not to live in those states. The states that have changed their attitude toward “some” people different from themselves have seen their fortunes change for the better.

Yet despite the position Trump now finds himself in, he persists in using words like “stupid” and “Obama” in the same sentence. He said, “the Iranian leaders said Obama was one stupid son of a b****”. This alleged statement comes from the same man who depicted Obama and his wife Michelle as apes in a social media post. Mention of women has also not been absent in the president’s disrespectful rants. Trump recently said that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “begged” him for a picture. Meloni called Trump a liar. Oh well.

Now enters Vice President JD Vance. He has the lead on negotiations with Iran – a position normally reserved for the Secretary of State.

Politically, this high-stakes role could make or break Vance. After all, Trump has said perhaps facetiously that “if Vance is successful, he (Trump) will take the credit and if Vance fails, he (Trump) will blame it all on Vance.

Is it irony or fate? Vance, who reportedly was not convinced it was a good idea to attack Iran, is now charged with finalizing the deal. Godspeed, Mr. Vance.

Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org