It is amazing how our government, with the collaboration of liberal media, manages (or at least tries to!) to put on a spin on everything that may appear suspicious, or not exactly right to the American people. What happened in the last few days, the so-called "successful" prisoner exchange with Iran is a perfect example.
Initially the media reported that four U.S. citizens were exchanged for seven Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. for "sanction violations," i.e., trying to smuggle out forbidden technological data or equipment, possibly even those related to nuclear weapons. Neither the media nor the government gave any specifics. Rather, they made it sound as if it wasn't such a big deal. Well, if it wasn't such a big deal, why were these Iranians arrested and imprisoned? In addition, we had 14 Iranian terrorists and suspected terrorists taken off the International Terror Watch List. This means that these 14, who were mostly in hiding around the world (except for those that were members of Iranian government!) are now able to come out of hiding, travel around, and commit terror acts! On top of this, sanctions against Iran have more or less been lifted completely, at least in the area where it counts. Iran is allowed to sell its petroleum on the world market and its banks are allowed to operate without restrictions. Oh, these two things are "not" connected to the prisoner release, according to the spin doctors in the White House and news media.
Obviously the government was a bit concerned about the reaction from the public. Despite the fact that the release of the four U.S. citizens was welcomed universally, just about everyone was concerned about the lop-sided trade. Of course everyone wanted these U.S. citizens released from Iranian prisons, but at what price? Starting about yesterday, the media began to refer to released U.S. citizens as being five, not four. The fifth American was a language student who was held for 40 days on unspecified charges and released, as it so happens, the same time as the four who were traded for the Iranian prisoners. Yet, in a subtle way, the government and the news media wanted the public to think that the fifth American was part of the deal! Oh, there was or is no claim to that effect, but the suggestion is there.
Yesterday another bit of information was leaked about this latest deal. Turns out that we, the American tax payers, are going to pay Iran 1.7 Billion dollars that the U.S. government "owes" to the Iranian government. Supposedly, the prior regime, the Imperial Iran, had paid us 400 million dollars for purchase of military equipment which we never delivered. So, considering the time, 37 years, the compounded interest, and other monies that we "owed" Iran, we are paying the outrageous sum of 1.7 Billion dollars. Kerry, who is a lawyer by training (some lawyer!) explained on CNN that had the case gone to Hague (International Court), the amount would have been much greater and that we were lucky that Iran was willing to settle for this amount! Kerry stuttered his way through the interview, sounding very unconvincing, naturally claiming it was a good deal!
A good deal? The 400 million was owed to the Imperial Iranian government, the government that was displaced by the new and current Islamic government. We don't owe these Mullahs anything! There is historical precedence in cases like this. Some of our companies, like Remington Arms, owed Imperial Russia millions of dollars for rifles that were never delivered because of the revolution and the subsequent change in government. We (Remington Arms) never paid that money to Russia! That is just one example, yet we are paying Iran? What about reparation payments to more than 50 Americans who were held hostage by this same government for 444 days! Kerry says we are "working on it!" Why not just deduct our claim from the 1.7 Billion that we are about to pay? Makes sense to me. Unless our government doesn't even have a figure to work with, in other words, has not done anything to get reparations from Iran!
Concurrently, with the release of information of our ridiculous payment to Iran, there was an announcement that we have enforced "new" sanctions against Iran for their missile testing. It was explained that we waited purposely, until the prisoners were released before we "slapped" them with these new, harsh, sanctions. What clever negotiators we are! According to a Middle East expert from one of our "think tanks," the sanctions that we lifted from Iran on this Nuclear Deal, if you were to measure by weight, were several tons! The sanctions that we just imposed were less than a slap on the wrist, may be a couple pounds! We sure are clever and tough in our negotiating.
But what bothers me the most is that with all the hoopla and self congratulatory statements by our government, we still didn't get an important prisoner released! Robert Levinson is a former DEA and FBI agent who worked for CIA as a contractor, so he was a CIA employee, albeit on contract. He disappeared in Iran in 2007. Initially, six years ago, he was supposedly kidnapped. But then word got out that he was arrested and imprisoned by Iranian intelligence, then just disappeared. The Iranian government claims they have no idea where he is! Can you believe that? In a country with a totalitarian system where even its own citizens can't do anything without government knowledge, a foreigner just disappears? I'll believe that, as the old saying goes, "when pigs fly!" Is our government so naïve that we believe these Mullahs when they claim they have no knowledge of missing American's whereabouts? For the sake of his family, I hope he is alive, but I am afraid more than likely he was killed by the Iranians, perhaps unintentionally during a torture session!
Kerry tells us that his "good friend," Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Iran who has already taken Kerry to the cleaners a couple times, "promised" that the Iranians will search for the missing American. Kerry said the Iranians are fully cooperating with us on this and he is certain everything will be done to locate Levinson. I know I am repeating myself, but, oh yeah, "when pigs fly!"
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