It would be a tragedy for the world if a nuclear deal with Iran, now on track, had been derailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s crude attempts to control American foreign policy, cheered on by the Republican warhawks in the House of Representatives.

Even now, implementation of this agreement is threatened who seem to prefer confrontation and war over negotiation.

This is another example of the wrong-headed Republican approach to a multitude of issues, which might be largely epitomized as the “The Republican Ten Commandments”:

1. Global warming is a hoax.

2. Same-sex marriage and abortion are unacceptable.

3. The rich should be taxed as little as possible.

4. Torture by the government is OK.

5. Subsidize the fossil fuel industry as opposed to the development of renewable energy sources.

6. Demonize and eliminate labor unions and collective bargaining.

7. Oppose gun control laws.

8. Always oppose Democrats’ initiatives and policies.

9. Spending for war and armaments need no controls.

10. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are socialistic and should be dismantled or privatized.

God help us if such thinking is embraced by the majority of Americans!

Gene Clifford

Mount Desert