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Iran Was Obama and Biden’s Mess, Trump Is Cleaning It Up

  
Via:  XXJefferson51  •  4 years ago  •  9 comments

By:   Matt Margolis

Iran Was Obama and Biden’s Mess, Trump Is Cleaning It Up
While Biden joined the chorus of Democrats blasting Trump for the strike that killed Soleimani, Obama and Biden’s own Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the Soleimani strike “was a lawful military objective. The President under his constitutional authority as commander in chief had ample domestic legal authority to take him out." Years of Obama-Biden appeasement has lead to the current situation we’re in with Iran. Obama let Iran go unaccountable for years because he was desperate...

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We the People

Obama and Biden made a mess of Iran and Trump has to clean it all up. Obama was a total screw up dealing with Iran, terrorism, and nuclear weapons 


S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



The Iran nuclear deal was a disaster. Despite Obama’s repeated claims that the deal would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Iran never saw it that way. "We did not agree to dismantle anything," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  told CNN in January 2014 , while negotiations were in progress. Zarif also claimed Obama was mischaracterizing the intention of the deal. "The White House tries to portray it as basically a dismantling of Iran's nuclear program. That is the word they use time and again," Zarif said on the deal during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  even bragged that  “world powers surrendered to Iranian nation’s will.”

When the deal was finally official, we had a deal Iran never intended to keep, was unenforceable anyway, and yet Iran got a windfall of benefits at the expense of the safety and security of the United States and our Middle East allies. The deal lifted economic sanctions, thus freeing $150 billion in fresh capital—which even Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry  agreed could fuel military and terrorist activities.  “I think that some of [the money] will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,” Kerry said in 2016.

Obama himself admitted that his treasured nuclear deal  wouldn’t stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons . Iran  refused nuclear inspections of military sites , despite Obama advisor Ben Rhodes promising they could be carried out “anywhere, anytime.” By September 2019, they  were already using advanced centrifuges specifically prohibited by the nuclear deal , capable of enriching uranium into weapons-grade material.

Opposition to the Iran nuclear deal was bipartisan as well. Chuck Schumer opposed the deal, arguing Iran “will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power." It was a rare moment when I actually agreed with him.

Even as Iran refused to abide by the commitments of the deal, they enjoyed  access to America’s financial system , and a huge influx of American taxpayer money, including  the $400 million cash ransom given to them in exchange for four American hostages . Despite giving Iran tons of money with sanctions relief, Obama  admitted that that money would likely benefit their military . "Now, this is not to say that sanctions relief will provide no benefit to Iran’s military. Let’s stipulate that some of that money will flow to activities that we object to," he said.

Accountability for Iran was never part of the Obama-Biden foreign policy; appeasement was. When Soleimani's Quds Force attempted to bomb a restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 2011,  their administration did nothing in response . Former Defense Secretary James Mattis  explained in his memoir :

Had the bomb gone off, those in the restaurant and on the street would have been ripped apart, blood rushing down sewer drains. It would have been the worst attack on us since 9/11. I sensed that only Iran’s impression of America’s impotence could have led them to risk such an act within a couple of miles of the White House. Absent one fundamental mistake — the terrorists had engaged an undercover DEA agent in an attempt to smuggle the bomb — the Iranians would have pulled off this devastating attack.

Mattis concluded that the failure to respond would make Iran "emboldened to challenge us more in the future,” which they did.

While Biden joined the chorus of Democrats blasting Trump for the strike that killed Soleimani,  Obama and Biden’s own Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said  the Soleimani strike “was a lawful military objective. The President under his constitutional authority as commander in chief had ample domestic legal authority to take him out."

Years of Obama-Biden appeasement has lead to the current situation we’re in with Iran. Obama let Iran go unaccountable for years because he was desperate to get a nuclear deal with them that was unenforceable and did nothing to stop them from their objective: develop nuclear weapons.

Trump’s response was necessary and needed to show Iran that the days of Obama-Biden appeasement are over, and the days of accountability are back.

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XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
1  seeder  XXJefferson51    4 years ago

When the deal was finally official, we had a deal Iran never intended to keep, was unenforceable anyway, and yet Iran got a windfall of benefits at the expense of the safety and security of the United States and our Middle East allies. The deal lifted economic sanctions, thus freeing $150 billion in fresh capital—which even Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry agreed could fuel military and terrorist activities.  “I think that some of [the money] will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,” Kerry said in 2016.

Obama himself admitted that his treasured nuclear deal  wouldn’t stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons . Iran  refused nuclear inspections of military sites , despite Obama advisor Ben Rhodes promising they could be carried out “anywhere, anytime.” By September 2019, they  were already using advanced centrifuges specifically prohibited by the nuclear deal , capable of enriching uranium into weapons-grade material.

Opposition to the Iran nuclear deal was bipartisan as well. Chuck Schumer opposed the deal, arguing Iran “will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power." It was a rare moment when I actually agreed with him.

Even as Iran refused to abide by the commitments of the deal, they enjoyed access to America’s financial system , and a huge influx of American taxpayer money, including  the $400 million cash ransom given to them in exchange for four American hostages . Despite giving Iran tons of money with sanctions relief, Obama  admitted that that money would likely benefit their military . "Now, this is not to say that sanctions relief will provide no benefit to Iran’s military. Let’s stipulate that some of that money will flow to activities that we object to," he said.

Accountability for Iran was never part of the Obama-Biden foreign policy; appeasement was. When Soleimani's Quds Force attempted to bomb a restaurant in Washington, D.C., in 2011, their administration did nothing in response . Former Defense Secretary James Mattis  explained in his memoir :

Had the bomb gone off, those in the restaurant and on the street would have been ripped apart, blood rushing down sewer drains. It would have been the worst attack on us since 9/11. I sensed that only Iran’s impression of America’s impotence could have led them to risk such an act within a couple of miles of the White House. Absent one fundamental mistake — the terrorists had engaged an undercover DEA agent in an attempt to smuggle the bomb — the Iranians would have pulled off this devastating attack.

Mattis concluded that the failure to respond would make Iran "emboldened to challenge us more in the future,” which they did.

While Biden joined the chorus of Democrats blasting Trump for the strike that killed Soleimani,  Obama and Biden’s own Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said  the Soleimani strike “was a lawful military objective. The President under his constitutional authority as commander in chief had ample domestic legal authority to take him out."  

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
2  seeder  XXJefferson51    4 years ago

Obama and Biden made a mess of Iran and Trump has to clean it all up. Obama was a total screw up dealing with Iran, terrorism, and nuclear weapons.  Obama got nothing right about dealing with the Middle East.  Obama turned against our allies in the region in many cases and tried to deal with our sworn enemies.  Trump will repair the Obama Biden Hillary screw ups in the region

 
 
 
Steve Ott
Professor Quiet
3  Steve Ott    4 years ago

Iran is actually a republican mess. It started with the CIA in 1954 under Eisenhower when they overthrew a democratically elected leader and installed a puppet dictator.

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
3.1  seeder  XXJefferson51  replied to  Steve Ott @3    4 years ago

It’s actually a real democrat party mess dueto the incompetence of Jimmy Carter and Barrack Hussein Obama. The incompetent dunce and the messiah. 

 
 
 
Steve Ott
Professor Quiet
3.1.1  Steve Ott  replied to  XXJefferson51 @3.1    4 years ago

Well no, not actually. You need to learn some history.

 
 
 
Steve Ott
Professor Quiet
3.1.2  Steve Ott  replied to  XXJefferson51 @3.1    4 years ago

A short timeline. If you care to go into more detail, just let me know. Perhaps a more in depth discussion about the Iran-Contra Affair?

1953 - CIA helps orchestrate overthrow of Iran’s popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, restoring to power the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

1957 - The United States and Iran sign an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation.

1967 - The United States provides Iran with the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor along with weapons-grade 93 percent enriched uranium fuel.

1968 - Iran signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which, when ratified two years later, permits Iran to have a civil nuclear program in return for a commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons.

1979 - Iran’s Islamic Revolution forces U.S.-backed Shah to flee, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns from exile and becomes supreme religious guide. Fundamentalist students demanding Washington hand over the Shah for trial seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4 and hold staff hostage for 444 days.

1980 - United States cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, seizes Iranian assets and bans most trade with it. U.S. hostage rescue mission ordered by President Jimmy Carter fails when helicopter crashes in sandstorm and eight U.S. servicemen are killed.

1981 - Iran releases U.S. hostages minutes after Carter steps down and Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. president.

1984 - U.S. lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

1986 - Reagan reveals secret arms deal with Tehran in violation of U.S. arms embargo. Money from the sales was secretly passed to anti-communist guerrillas in Nicaragua.

1988 - U.S. warship Vincennes mistakenly shoots down Iranian passenger plane over the Gulf, killing all 290 aboard.

2000 – Secretary of State Madeleine Albright acknowledges the damage done by the U.S. role in the Mossadegh coup, saying: “It is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs.”

2002 - President George W. Bush declares Iran, Iraq, North Korea an “axis of evil.” U.S. officials accuse Tehran of operating secret nuclear weapons program.

— An Iranian exile group opposed to the government in Tehran reveals that Iran had two previously undisclosed nuclear facilities under construction: a uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy water-moderated nuclear reactor at Arak.

2006 - Washington says willing to join multilateral nuclear talks with Iran if it verifiably suspends nuclear enrichment.

2007

May - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chat briefly on the sidelines of conference in Egypt.

December - A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate assesses with high confidence that Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons until the fall of 2003, when it halted weapons work.

2008 - U.S. President George W. Bush for the first time sends an official, Under Secretary of State Bill Burns, to directly take part in nuclear negotiations with Iran in Geneva.

2009 - U.S. President Barack Obama takes office and tells Iran’s leaders he would extend a hand if they would “unclench their fist” and persuade the West they were not trying to build a nuclear bomb.

2009 - Britain, France and the United States announce that Iran is building a secret uranium-enrichment site at Fordow, near the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Qom. Iran says it disclosed the site to the U.N. nuclear watchdog earlier in the week.

2009-2012 - Nuclear negotiations between major powers and Iran largely stall.

2012 - U.S. law goes into effect giving Obama the power to sanction foreign banks, including the central banks of U.S. allies, if they fail to significantly reduce their imports of Iranian oil. The result is a drastic reduction in Iranian oil sales and a sharp downturn in the Iranian economy.

2012 - U.S. and Iranian officials begin secret talks, which intensify in 2013, on the nuclear issue.

2013 - Pragmatist Hassan Rouhani is elected Iran’s president on platform of improving Iran’s relations with the world and its economy, something that can only be achieved by easing sanctions imposed because of Iran’s nuclear program.

On Sept. 28, Obama and Rouhani speak by telephone in the highest-level contact between the two countries in three decades.

On Nov. 23, with the groundwork laid by the secret U.S.-Iran talks, Iran and six major powers reach an interim pact called the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for limited sanctions relief.

The six powers are the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

2015

On July 14, Iran and the six powers strike an agreement, under which Iran agreed to take a series of steps, including slashing its number of centrifuges and disabling a key part of its Arak nuclear reactor - in return for significant easing of U.S., U.N. and EU sanctions.

The deal is called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

2016

On Jan. 14, Iran releases 10 U.S. sailors who ended up on Iranian territorial waters on two small boats less than 24 hours after Iran took them into custody.

On Jan. 16, the United States and Iran conduct a prisoner swap. Four Americans imprisoned in Iran are freed in return for clemency for at least seven Iranians, most of whom are dual U.S.-Iranian nationals, who were convicted or awaiting trial in the United States. A fifth American is released separately.

The International Atomic Energy Agency prepares to confirm Iran has taken the steps to restrict its nuclear program under the JCPOA. After that step, the United States will ease its nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
3.1.4  Kavika   replied to  Steve Ott @3.1.2    4 years ago

Of course there were the episodes in 1983/84 that stand out. 

The bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon April 1983. 17 Americans dead. Embassy personnel, Marine, Army and CIA members. 

The bombing of the Marine Corps barracks Beirut, Lebanon Oct. 1983. 241 US Servicemen killed over 100 wounded.

The kidnapping and killing of CIA station chief Wm Buckley in Beirut, Lebanon. March, 1984.

Ronald Reagan was president at the time. 

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
3.1.5  Sean Treacy  replied to  Steve Ott @3.1.2    4 years ago
ow of Iran’s popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, restoring to power the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

Let's stop with this silly Marxist narrative used for years in anti-American propaganda  and look at actual facts. 

Mossadegh was no democrat, committed to the rule of law, as the American left now likes to portray him.  imprisoned his political enemies, suspended the Iranian legislature and tried to rule by decree. He then rigged a plebiscite (he won 99% of the vote, like Saddam Hussein always did) to justify his dictatorship. He ruled through street gangs (think Brownshirts) who attacked any dissent for his rule. He was a dictator who got rid of the legislature because he lacked majority support. 

 
 
 
Steve Ott
Professor Quiet
3.1.6  Steve Ott  replied to  Sean Treacy @3.1.5    4 years ago

Nor was the Shah. So who is to blame? What is the truth? That we replaced one dictator with another? Now that is really accomplishing something isn't it? The fact remains. Our overthrow of the government was a direct cause of the rise of the far right religious conservatives.

My narrative is not Marxist except in your tiny pea brain. It is history, whether you like it or not.

 
 

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