Just like her boss, United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley knows how to warm up a crowd.
Speaking at the pro-Israel AIPAC conference Monday, Haley talked tough on Iran, repeatedly slamming the Obama administration’s nuclear agreement with the regime. “When the Iran deal took place,” she told an adoring crowd, “all it did was empower Iran and it empowered Russia.”
But even casual observers of foreign policy have seen this episode before. Like President Trump, Haley drops pro-Israel crowd pleasers only to under-deliver. Anyone hoping for a more substantive and hawkish stance toward the world’s lead state sponsor of terrorism would be disappointed.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to rip up the Iran deal, a pledge that was downgraded as soon as he entered office. Then in February, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn announced that the White House was “putting Iran on notice.” Twelve days later, Flynn and his hard lines were gone.
Enter Haley, who insisted there was “a new sheriff” in town at the U.N. Like the administration though, she’s more of the reserved lawman. After slamming Iran, the best Haley could promise was “to watch them like a hawk.” From her perch, observance and messaging are all the southern firebrand can offer in the General Assembly.
To her credit, the former South Carolina governor has reasserted American support for Israel, letting the global community know that the U.S. won’t tolerate the bullying of the Jewish state. And she even managed to get a U.N. bureaucrat fired for suggesting that Israel was an apartheid state.
Other than that, and like the rest of the administration, Haley only rattles her diplomatic sabre. After noting the difficulty of reinstating Iranian sanctions and promising vigilance, Haley pivoted to bash the international body. “My concern is that you’re seeing a lot of love in the security council,” she told the crowd, “and that’s unfortunate.”
Much of the crowd leapt to their feet when Haley exited the stage, just like they had when she entered fifteen minutes earlier. But in less than six months, Trump’s team has gone from a promise of bold action on Iran to meek vigilance. Haley’s wishy-washy, wait and see statement is just the latest.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
