Really? How could it be that we are helping Iran? We are supposed to be doing everything to control Iran from gaining power! Perhaps that is what we want, but it seems that our policies and actions or inactions are bringing about exactly the opposite results.
A while back I did a blog on Iran's sudden emergence as a player in Iraq. This was before we struck that wonderful (according to our leaders) nuclear deal with Iran. We had allowed Iran to insert their special operations force to help fight ISIS. The Iranians, led by their notorious "shadow" general, had some success initially which gained them valuable prestige in the area. Also, the simple fact that we allowed Iran to intervene in Iraq gave Iran a tremendous boost in prestige in the Middle East, especially with those who were on the fence, not sure whether to side with Iran or with our allies. Then the bombshell, we make a "deal" with Iran on the nuclear issue and lift part of the sanctions with the rest to be lifted within a year. What most people don't realize is that even before negotiations for the nuclear deal took place, we allowed some funds to filter through to Iran. Those were mostly previously "frozen" assets that were suddenly and quietly "unfrozen." The release of funds and allowing Iran to enter Iraq to fight ISIS was apparently payment to Iran for agreeing to sit down for nuclear talks.
I won't go into the details of the agreement, suffice it to say that it sure looks as if Iran got the better end of the deal! Once the agreement was inked, huge amounts of money was released allowing Iran to immediately go to Russia and purchase more arms, especially the sophisticated anti missile system that would make it very difficult for us to take out their nuclear sites should the need arise! In the meantime, the Supreme Leader of Iran continued to spew out venomous rhetoric, "death to Israel, death to the shaitan, the great devil (America)," and so on. He also kept saying that there would be no more negotiating with the U.S. whatsoever! Cleverly, he added that although he was against any sort of an agreement with the U.S., including the recently concluded nuclear deal, it was up to the Iranian parliament to approve or disapprove the deal. Not surprisingly, the Iranian Parliament approved it recently.
Then last week, out of the blue, he once more reiterated that Iran would make no deals, no negotiations with the U.S. whatsoever. Considering that there was nothing pending on negotiations with Iran, it seemed a bit strange that he would say that. But, there was a reason, there is always a reason! Shortly after that statement, Iran announced that the Washington Post Tehran Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian, who had been in jail for quite sometime, had been convicted of espionage! A few days after that announcement by Tehran, Iran conducted a ballistic missile test! Obviously the new funds that they received from the nuclear deal allowed them to go full speed ahead in weapons development! Our reaction was to say that Iran did not violate the nuclear agreement, but they "might" have violated other UN agreements. Give me a break! Those missiles are meant to carry nuclear warheads, how does that not violate the nuclear deal? But be that as it may, Iran is now flexing its muscles. Why? Because it knows that the only country that is capable of putting a stop to their antics, the U.S., will not do anything! Israel, who is a threat to Iran, is unlikely to do anything without our approval unless they are directly attacked unprovoked, and Iran is too smart to do that!
Russia has created a new Middle East Alliance by establishing a headquarters for fighting ISIS in Baghdad, right under our nose! They have allied with Syria, Iran and Iraq, three countries that border each other! We have, for all practical purposes, given up in Syria, although we apparently will continue the bombing, when we can, if Russia will allow us! We have announced that we have abandoned the plan to train "moderate" rebels! Iran, in the meantime, has moved-in to Syria in a big way. They were already present for sometime with Hezbollah as their proxy, but now they have actual ground troops which are being reinforced constantly. Of course, Russia is also increasing its ground presence significantly. Those who said, "let Russia have Syria and all the mess," got their wish. The only problem is that although it is a mess and Russia may not succeed in solving the problem, it does allow Russia as well as Iran to increase their presence and foothold in the area, and Al-Assad's regime, which we wanted so badly to topple (but did nothing!), will continue to survive if not thrive!
In the meantime, by convicting Jason Rezaian, Iran now has a valuable hostage to trade, should we decide to try and help the Washington Post Bureau Chief! If we don't do anything, he will be in jail for at least the next 20 years! Sadly, and unfortunately, owing to our bungling "negotiations" and foreign policy, we will probably have to give up something significant to have Rezaian released. Right now, Iran is holding all the trump cards and is enjoying the huge windfall from the nuclear deal. Unless we do something about our incredibly inept foreign policy, we will continue to have major set backs and lose ground in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment