In 2014, ISIS made public that they had possession of American journalist James Foley. They made it clear that he would be murdered if ransom demands were not met. America’s standing policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists made the demand pointless. When Foley’s family looked into raising the ransom themselves, the government threatened to prosecute them for supporting terrorism if they continued. The family desisted & Mr. Foley’s murder was televised.
In 2016, outgoing President Obama ordered the delivery of a planeload of cash to Tehran, under cover of darkness. The American public would never have known, had it not been for a surreptitious video that showed pallets of American currency being unloaded from an American military transport on a runway of Tehran’s International Airport. When confronted with the footage, Mr. Obama said the money was the property of Iran, frozen since the overthrow of the Shah. 1.7 BILLION DOLLARS was handed over to the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism! Coincidentally, 4 American prisoners being held in Iran were released the next day. He stated these events were unrelated.
When the Shah was overthrown in 1979 by the extremist regime that has reigned ever since, President Carter & Congress froze Iranian assets in the U.S. to keep them OUT of the hands of those deemed to be a potential threat to national security. That estimation was vindicated when our embassy in Tehran was invaded & its staff taken hostage, with the new government’s approval. To his credit, President Carter did not ‘pay them off’, though there had to be pressure to do so. Every U.S. president since has considered the release of Iranian funds to be an unacceptable risk to our nation’s security, as evidenced by the choice to ‘let it ride’. It has not been a topic of discussion in Congress, for the same reason.
In his typical imperious way, Mr. Obama discounted the wisdom of the 5 previous presidents, circumvented any discussion with Congress & tried to sneak his actions past the American public. According to a Washington Times article dated February 7th of this year, some of that $1.7 billion has been traced by our government to Hezbollah & the Yemeni rebellion. Did the former President not see that coming, or just not care? Iran calls America “the great Satan” & Israel “the little Satan.” ‘Satan’ means adversary. Israel takes their hostility very seriously, & we should, too.
What disturbs me the most here is not Mr. Obama’s treason (which in NO WAY overstates the case), but America’s silent acceptance of it. Where is the outcry for justice? Will it take an event of 9/11 proportions to stir up American outrage? Lord, I hope not! If such happens, perhaps we’ll find stenciled on whatever weapons are used:
Funding Provided by President Obama: ALLAHU AKBAR!