Category Archives: Iran
Prison Press Pass
President Obama is good at getting prisoners released from GITMO but not so much from Iran. While he polishes his nuclear deal, a Washington Post reporter rots in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Jason Rezaian has been the Supreme Leader’s guest there since last July.
Rezaian’s trial was yesterday. Secret – like the nuke deal. So far no word on the outcome.
Gulf Arms Race
President Obama held a beer summit for Arabs and nobody came. At least nobody important. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had to wash his hair. The King of Bahrain checked out horses with Queen Elizabeth.
The Arab leaders are not happy with Obama’s Persian nuke plans. Could it lead to a Gulf arms race? Saudi Prince Faisal said, “Whatever the Iranians have, we will have too”.
Knowing What We Know Now
Megyn Kelly asked Jeb Bush if, knowing what we know now, he would have supported the invasion of Iraq. It would be a great question to ask Hillary Clinton since, as a Senator, she voted for the war. Alas, Hillary is above questioning so Megyn’s question is only being asked of Republican candidates.
Nobody asked him, but Professor Victor Davis Hansen answers the question here.
It’s a good question. Most of the Senate Democrats who voted for the the war quickly turned against it. Many Republicans and public opinion soon headed for the exits too.
With everybody against him, President Bush finally fired Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, poured more troops into Iraq, and put General David Petraeus in charge. The NYT published MoveOn.org’s ad calling him General Betray Us. Hillary called him a liar.
As it turned out the Petraeus plan worked. In 2010 Joe Biden proclaimed events in Iraq the Obama administration’s finest hour. President Obama withdrew U.S. forces as he had promised.
Islamic man-burning barbarians soon filled the vacuum. Obama called them al Qaeda’s JV team. On Sunday the JV team routed the Iraqi defenders in Ramadi – 70 miles from Baghdad.
At present the last line of defense appears to be Shiite fighters from Iran.
Knowing what we know now, who in their right mind would answer yes?
Ayatollah Advice
Ayatollah Khamenei recently held a fire and brimstone revival in Iran. He said there would be no nuclear deal unless sanctions are lifted immediately.The Supreme Leader then presided over a rousing chorus of Death to America chants.
Half Baked Near Treachery
Forty-six Republican senators have signed a letter written by freshman Senator Tom Cotton to the leaders of Iran. The letter explains that the nuclear deal President Obama is negotiating is non-binding and won’t survive after he leaves office.
For that breech of etiquette foreign policy expert Leslie Gelb, in a Daily Beast column, says “Republicans hate Obama more than a nuclear Iran”. He calls the letter an act of “near treachery”. (On the other hand, in January he demanded that Obama fire his staff and meet with Senate leaders.)
Fellow foreign policy expert, David Ignatius, says the Senators’ letter is “Grossly irresponsible”.
Michael Gerson thinks the letter is a “half baked” scheme brought on by Obama cutting the Senate out of the process.
Mark Thiessen says it’s not a big deal because it’s all happened before – and he was part of it.
Carl M. Cannon thinks calling the Senators traitors is “beyond Orwellian”.
And Molly Hemingway, in The Federalist, complete with a photo of veteran Tom Cotton holding a kitten while on military duty, calls the whole over-reaction a “media smear”.
