Biden’s ugly betrayal of the Iranian people
That’s the title of this article by Mariam Memarsadeghi in Tablet:
It was during the Trump maximum pressure campaign that the demands of the Iranian people—as manifested by protest slogans, dissident letters, social media discourse, and more—traversed unmistakably to an absolute opposition to the totality of the regime and the demand for its wholesale removal. Contrary to the warning of those who supported the Iran deal and opposed the maximum pressure strategy, crippling sanctions did not cause the people of Iran to rally behind the regime’s flag. It caused them to revolt against it.
The Iranian people proved the overwhelming consensus of Iran experts in the United States and Europe to be wrong. Not only did Iranians not protest against the United States or against international sanctions, they made clear in their protest slogans that their enemy is the regime, not America.
Actually, a great many foreign policy events for several decades – starting, for me, with the fall of the Soviet Union – have seemed to prove the “overwhelming consensus” of foreign policy experts to be wrong.
The article also goes into what seems to be the required paragraph of Trump-bashing, with such typical stuff as “The same democratic liberties and institutions which the Iranian people sought to achieve with American support, Trump often seemed to threaten at home.” No examples, naturally. Then it segues into a description of what Biden has done:
For the Iranian people, Biden’s repeat of Obama’s betrayals is made all the worse because of the open failures of the Iran deal—which the new administration is choosing to repeat nonetheless. Appeasement 2.0 is being led by the same Obama team that traded the aspirations for freedom of the Green Movement in Iran and later the people’s uprising against the dictator Bashar Assad in Syria for the phony “peace” of kicking the can of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program down the road for a few years under U.S. protection.
That Trump’s maximum pressure campaign and the Abraham Accords have provided America with tremendous leverage against its imperial enemy in the Middle East is a fact that is dismissed resentfully by the Biden administration. Reversing the Trump gains because they are Trump gains means more to the appeasers than protecting America or advancing American security interests in the region—let alone giving hope to the people who still look to America as a beacon of freedom.
In the short time since taking office, Biden has already snubbed Iranian dissidents who courageously wrote to him from inside Iran, some writing from prison, urging him to maintain sanctions and other pressures on the regime and to provide support and solidarity for their democratic struggle. Instead, their message was received as an inconvenience by a White House national security team staffed with some of the regime’s leading U.S.-based apologists. The administration then quickly provided other sweeteners to the regime, including the lifting of sanctions on their proxy in Yemen, the lifting of restrictions on its arms buying and selling, the lifting of U.S. opposition to an IMF loan, and the neutering of a pro-freedom public diplomacy initiative from the State Department, which went overnight from being a popular source of information on the regime’s repression and corruption to the butt of jokes among Iranian democracy activists…
Biden’s policy of appeasement has been accompanied by large increases in the number of executions and deaths in custody of political prisoners, the taking of foreign hostages for ransom, and threats to kill dual nationals like Swedish Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali. The new administration has, in effect, taken every opportunity to demonstrate to Iran’s thuggish theocracy that it will give in, even signaling that the regime’s holding of American hostages will not be an impediment to negotiations on the nuclear program.
There was never a moment’s question that this would be the result of a Biden presidency. Those who voted for him – and whether or not you think Biden won the actual vote, there were plenty of people who did in fact vote for him – either did not care about Iran, did not know about Iran, or considered getting rid of Trump the most important thing of all. Trump was a demon, and demons must be exorcised no matter what the cost might be.
In that regard, the gratuitous Trump-bashing by the author of the article is not irrelevant. It’s part and parcel of the retention of the “Trump is evil” mindset even in many of those who should know better, for example those who recognize (as the author does) the good things he did in Iran and the Middle East as a whole, and the bad things the Biden administration is doing.
The Iran policy of the Biden administration was always going to be a return to the glorious days of Obama’s appeasement of Iran, and so it has played out that way. It’s a combination of a kneejerk undoing of anything Trump did – even the good things or perhaps especially the good things – and some twisted leftist geopolitical theory that dictates making things easy for the mullahs. What the American people might want and what the Iranian people might want is not even on this administration’s radar screen.
[NOTE: I tend to write “the Biden administration” rather than just “Biden” because it’s not clear who’s actually behind any of Biden’s policies, and how much input he has in his own presidency.]
“Reversing the Trump gains because they are Trump gains means more to the appeasers than protecting America or advancing American security interests in the region—let alone giving hope to the people who still look to America as a beacon of freedom.”
That sums up the Biden administration policies very well.
I have little doubt that our current administration would treat its dissidents in the same manner as does Iraq’s regime, if not for fear that it might be accused of
cultural appropriation.
“Actually, a great many foreign policy events for several decades – starting, for me, with the fall of the Soviet Union – have seemed to prove the “overwhelming consensus” of foreign policy experts to be wrong.”
And throughout his Senate career Joe Biden went on the Sunday news shows and was hailed as the great Democrat foreign policy expert as he repeated all the same wrong consensus things the other “experts” did.
John+F.+MacMichael,
They don’t really care that they are “Trump gains,” anymore than they care about any other talking point or issue of the day. These people care only for their own power and money and are in bed with all other power mad tyrants. Like seeks and loves like. They hate those who love America, Trump is just a figurehead for focusing that hate.
geoff+b,
It completely amazes me how few professional people appear to pay any attention to people’s “track records.” Many people keep getting things wrong, big things, over and over, yet they still show up on my TV as pundits, or in periodicals or think tanks, and worst of all, in elected office.
I see these poor prognosticators called out and mocked more and more on social media. Maybe this will finally break the cabal of bookers and insiders who have been propping these fools up?
“Biden” is finally—after an agonizing four-year wait—in a position to take down the US and Israel in one fell swoop. (Or if not “one” then a series of swoops…)
Keeping in mind that unlike the 2016 election that the Democrats managed to blow, “Biden” is also ensuring that if their overarching goals don’t quite succeed this time around, they will still get another chance. And another. And another….
(While all the usual suspects cheer from the sidelines…as well as within the “government”.)
I’ve never understood the Obama/Biden policy towards Iran. What do you expect to accomplish by appeasing a regime that ends the Friday night prayers with a chant of ”Death to America, Death to the Great Satan”? It’s not as if the mullahs govern with a light hand in Iran. Elie Wiesel said the lesson of the Holocaust was that you should take someone at his word who says he wants to kill you. In the Xiden administration we have Jean, “I speak French”, Kerry who loves the mullahs as he has all of America’s enemies during his entire career.
US foreign policy has been run by idiots going back to Viet Nam. Both Eisenhower and MacArthur, five star generals and heroes of WW II, told Kennedy not to get involved in a land war in Asia. The geniuses from Harvard’s school of government ignored those old fuddy duddies and laughed them off and gave us Viet Nam.
Biden, who thinks Indian-Americans are “taking over the country” is a mere office holder. His brain is tapioca. The Obama roaches like Susan Rice are back, fundamentally transforming the country as Barack Hussein originally said was his goal.
I have said it before: We can become a Venezuela really quickly.
The Democrats in power intend to make us like the old USSR. The US Politburo guarded by razor wire and NG troops willing to kill fellow Americans is in the New Kremlin. Money is mailed out to the proletariat from DC from time to time. Like Neo pointed out in Dostoyevsky: “Feed us! Feed us!” Modern Monetary Theory supports just that.
Boy, the future looks rosy!
Paul in Boston:
I have wondered the same thing about Obama and Biden and the rest – why are they so eager to enable Iran? My answer is that it’s a combination of doing the opposite of what the right does, and hubris.
If the right hates the mullahs, well then to the left they must not be so bad. If Bush called them part of an axis of evil, well then they must be pretty good. Also, it’s a way to unify with Europe, which has long been willing to do business with Iran. And to hurt the Saudis, who were tight with the Bushes as well. Don’t forget, too, that the left praised Khomeini right from the start – in fact,, the left in Iran helped overthrow the Shah and thought they could push Khomeini out of the way afterwards. He got the last laugh on them. But the left has no trouble with totalitarians in principle.
The hubris part is a bit different. Obama, et al have been eager to make a big splash in foreign policy. What better way to do it than to make a big treaty with Iran about something like nuclear weapons? We’re so smart we can do it where everyone else couldn’t! We’ll get another Nobel peace prize!
Obama also has long had an interest in nuclear disarmament. He wrote an article about it while still at Columbia, and I wrote this post about the article and his attitude.
they hate the western civilization, that is predominantly Christian and free market in it’s foundations the Soviets were the major force in that era, most of the extant players from the Cold war era, Pelosi, Biden, Kerry Sanders, and their staff were blind to the people behind the iron and bamboo curtains,
but after the fall of the Soviet Union, they chose radical islamists, the saudis according to ‘inside the kingdom’ which was written by robert lacey, but with imput largely from jamal khashoggi, though they would be favored, but it turned out they leaned more to qatar and iran, and turkey on the sidebar,
The fate of the Iranian People is the Iranian People’s Problem. It should be no business of any other People.
The West has strategic interest in keeping nuclear weapons capability out of the hands of the Iranian regime. Israel has existential interest in doing so. Beyond that there might be some arguments to be made for energy security requiring certain limits to be put on Iranian troublemaking in the region, but even that’s debatable in a sane world given that a few tankers going up would do wonders for US Energy producers — again in a SANE world.
The ‘Human Rights’ of the Iranian People, however, are Bunk. Let them take out their own garbage. This constant Invade the World, Invite the World has got to stop.
The hubris part is a bit different. Obama, et al have been eager to make a big splash in foreign policy. What better way to do it than to make a big treaty with Iran about something like nuclear weapons? We’re so smart we can do it where everyone else couldn’t! We’ll get another Nobel peace prize!
neo:
I agree and would add my belief that Valerie Jarrett was a factor as well. She was born in Iran and learned Persian as a child.
I recall with distaste an Obama interview where he boasted that he didn’t need a George Kennan (the big think guy behind the Containment Policy towards Soviet expansionism in the Cold War) because Obama was his own Kennan for working things out in the Middle East.
The fact is JCPOA was working. Except for Israeli loyalists, everyone agrees it was working: IAEA, France, Germany, UK, Russia, China. Once Pompeo/Bolton cancelled it, Iran amassed an order of magnitude more LEU than JCPOA allowed, and it is setting up facilities to manufacture weapons grade HEU and plutonium. Iran’s missile program also continues.
The direct consequence of cancelling JCPOA is that Iran will get nuclear weapons and missiles that can reach all of Europe. After that, they will have missiles that can reach the US.
Cancellation of JCPOA is one of the greatest diplomatic disasters in history.
Zaphod
It’s possible to do two things at once; our middle east interests and helping the Iranian people. In fact, likely the goals will converge.
Iranians are descended from Persians and a different religious tradition from the Muslims. I’ve read there is a significant cultural difference.
The more resources the mullahs devote to internal security, the less to external trouble. Or the reverse.
Also heard, hard to credit, that demographics don’t favor the mullahs. Should this be true, something’s going to blow and it would be a good idea to be prepared, with possibly a thumb on the scale.
Don’t need to invade.
The fate of the Iranian People is the Iranian People’s Problem. It should be no business of any other People.
Zaphod:
I’m still enough of a Christian to consider “setting the captives free” part of the deal. My entrance into conservatism was as a neocon. I thought Iraq and the world were a better place after “Shock and awe.”
However … after the beautiful “purple fingers” of Iraqi voters were betrayed by just about everyone, I realized that even if the US could free the captives without screwing things up, the UN, Democrats, Europeans, Muslims and the Swamp would make sure the captives would be imprisoned again, soon enough.
So, I see no reason to waste American blood and treasure on such gambles in the future.
_________________________________
I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take
hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a
covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to
open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and
to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42:6,7
Bob Sykes chimes in with a view from the land of alternative reality. Bless his heart. What a sweet child.
As Neville Chamberlain and a majority of the British public demonstrated, appeasement of fanatics always results in a far higher price to be paid. After WWll, the liberals in the UK were not held to account for their actions in support of Chamberlain. That support did not lessen until Hitler invaded Poland and denial was no longer feasible. After the war those liberals returned to their delusions and kicked out of office the man who had saved them.
So too with Iran. Left unchecked, the Mullahs will attack with nuclear weapons both Israel and the “Great Satan”. In Israel’s case a successful nuclear attack upon Tel Aviv would effectively destroy Israel.
In America’s case, a simultaneous EMP attack launched from commercial shipping on both coasts and from the gulf would devastate America. Once launched there’s no reliable way to bring down those missiles.
Russia has sold a launch system that can operate from a commercial container ship for over a decade and Iran has the needed rocketry. All they need is nuclear capability and its game over. The only upside to this scenario is that 95% of those on the left would die in such an attack. Tragically, so too would those on the right.
There’s a bit of ideology to keep in mind. Many on the left view America’s hyper-power status as a bad thing. Apparently there’s a line of thinking that believes that the world would be more stable if the world had a number of regional powers that were each responsible for the stability of their own region instead of one hyper-power like the US.
Guess who the designated regional power for the Middle East just happens to be?
Hint: It ain’t Israel.
“If Bush called them part of an axis of evil, well then they must be pretty good.”
Reminds me of the classic Evan Sayet speech
Yeah, that HEU and ballistic missle technology is essential for generation of electric power for the Persian population, eh, Bobby? Such a sweet innocent child.
“…a combination of doing the opposite of what the right does, and hubris.”
Well, OK, but we’re dancing around the issue here—the destruction of the Big and Little Satans and everything for which they stand: “Racism, Colonialism, Oppression, Greed, Disrespect, Crassness, Lack of Sophistication, Inability to Get Along with Neighbors, and most egregiously, Refusal to Agree to Destroy Themselves…well, you get the picture…. And the glorious goal is within reach.
(Oops, there I go again: not “destruction” so much as “fundamental transformation”….)
Yes, this will be Obama and Co.’s contribution to the “greater good of humankind”.
(For anyone who remains unconvinced, Obama gave up all pretense when they decided to ban Dr. Seuss.)
“The fact is JCPOA was working.”
As in most things, it all depends on one’s definitions, in this case how one defines “working” (as well as “The” and “fact” and “is” and “was”—don’t have to bother defining “JCPOA” as it is simply one more eloquent example of Obama and Company’s Orwellian ingenuity)….
Right, “working”. Here’s another definition:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-agents-snuck-nuclear-files-out-of-iran-with-authorities-on-their-tails/
“Betrayal”…
…it should be noted well, will be the Trademark of the “Biden” administration.
In the following case, for example, Jan Psaki will once again be able to stress (in keeping with the “Biden” administration’s focus on being a women-friendly outfit—just ask Tara Reade, et al.) that the person in question is a woman…
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-administration-fires-trump-appointed-lawyer-who-refused-to-resign
Though once again, it is a question of definition: betrayal for some is, for others, Legitimization, Validation, Redemption; and to be fair to “Biden”, if “he” does not betray “his” country, then “he” will be guilty of betraying “his” “record-breaking number” of “voters”. Tough choices, ahead, no doubt….
The Left is a con game designed to enable evil people to acquire power over all others. If you signed on with them believing they cared about your own personal great cause, the betrayal was already baked in the cake.
“It completely amazes me how few professional people appear to pay any attention to people’s “track records.” Many people keep getting things wrong, big things, over and over, yet they still show up on my TV as pundits, or in periodicals or think tanks, and worst of all, in elected office.”
Paging Paul Ehrlich. Paul Ehrlich to the white erroneous phone, please.
Back about 2010, the Obama admin was saying that things going so well in Iraq would be a signature accomplishment of their administration.
Then they screwed it up.
Somebody said that a republican president should never start a war because it was inevitable that a dem admin would come along and betray that for which brave men died.
See Viet Nam, 1975.
It’s what they do.
Neo, I could be wrong, but I think some of what you’re describing is a form of innumeracy.
It’s like a mythical primitive tribe that never invented arithmetic, and only has words for one, zero, and many. This means that, if they see two medium-sized numbers, they have no tools for comparing the two.
And so the American Left could not simply describe Trump as evil. He had to be ULTIMATE evil; he had to be “literally Hitler”, complete with the Jewish grandkids. But then they have no way to compare a greater evil to a lesser evil; in fact, no way to determine which IS the greater evil. And when it turns out that Biden isn’t all they thought he would be — no minimum-wage increase, no immediate fat juicy checks for everyone — they don’t know how to respond. He can’t be Ultimate Good if he does that, but then he’s certainly not Ultimate Evil either (because that was Trump)… so what IS he? And we see cognitive dissonance galore.
I have seen precious little soul-searching along the lines of “okay, Biden may not be all that good, but he’s certainly not Trump!”… and I’ve seen NO leftist analysis going deeper than that (i.e. “Biden is better than Trump because”).
They criticized Trump for not working hard enough (remember all the golf?)… but Trump didn’t declare “lids” at 10AM and blow off State of the Union addresses. Trump put kids in cages… hey wait, Biden is doing it too. Trump supposedly botched the COVID response… and now Biden is following his lead.
I’m seeing this sort of innumeracy even from people who can do math perfectly well. It’s unsettling.
The problem with our foreign policy elite is that, as far as I can tell, is that one becomes a member of that elite by simply memorizing a bunch of names and facts about this or that portion of the world. Any demonstrated wisdom or accomplishments appear to be unnecessary. This seems to breed a mindset that the way things are right now is the way things should always be because an understanding of the current situation is all our foreign policy elite have to offer.
Why do our foreign policy elite work so hard at pretending Russia is a big threat even as the general American public more and more realizes that China is the chief problem facing us today? It’s partly because the 50something and above members of our foreign policy elite spent the formative parts of their careers in and just after the Cold War, so the Soviet Union/Russia is what they know more about than anything else. When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
But it’s also because everybody younger than 50 in our foreign policy elite grew up and were educated with the notion that China is inevitably going to become the world’s dominant power and EVERYTHING they’ve learned and EVERYTHING they think is oriented around that. The moral or practical implications don’t even enter their minds because, to them, there’s no point fretting over the inevitable.
Mike
Betrayal, part 64,000 (and counting)….
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ted-cruz-rage-tweets-fact-check-lefty-press-sen-durbins-lies-about-illegal-immigrants
(AKA, when is a lie not a lie?….)
Follow-up: It’s really too bad that Florida doesn’t have a border with Mexico. Nonetheless, I’m certain “Biden” is working on it.
File under: “I solemnly swear to betray the USA and the principles for which it stands….”
In the meantime, Cuomo the Elder is impressive in his best Al Pacino impersonation.
Deserves another Emmy, certainly.
(Or should that be his impersonation of “It’sh-all-Trump’sh-fault-boy-I’d-like-to-get-my-handzh-around-that-MF’zh-neck” De Niro? Whatever. Give him an Emmy—an Oscar even—for all his sublime efforts and diverse talents; his playing to the “right” crowd; his virtue signaling…. Then cart him off to Rikers—or even better, one of his senior citizens “residences”….)
File under: “I coulda’ been a human being”…
@neo:why are they so eager to enable Iran? My answer is that it’s a combination of doing the opposite of what the right does, and hubris.
It’s because somebody connected wants to make money in Iran.
I too used to the think the Left was made up of bad, dumb people who didn’t realize the consequences of what they were doing. Meanwhile the Right was made up of well-meaning good people who were just too independent to pull together against the Leftist Borg. Of course the Left says exactly the same about the Right, and the Right then says “Leftists always project” and no doubt the Left says the same.
I’m increasingly convinced this is a mistake. When people–left, right, whatever–do something that doesn’t seem to make sense, what I have found every time I have dug in is that there is a perspective from which it makes perfect sense.
It’s harder to figure out what to do once you have found this perspective, because there is generally an excellent reason for why it is the way it is. But at least you’re no longer being fooled by the kayfabe.
As for the people of Iran, I’m in the “we go not abroad in search of monsters to destroy” camp.
For nearly a hundred years now American foreign policy, and American warmaking, have been couched in moral absolutes, doesn’t matter whether it’s a war the Left wants or a war the Right wants.
A commercial Republic with a small government, whose foreign policy revolves around trade and keeping the sea lanes open while involving itself in as little else as possible, would look very different from what we have now, which is continual looting of a bloated Treasury by politicians of both parties and their connected clients. The moralistic foreign policy is there to obscure what the foreign policy is really there to support, the financial interests of politicians.
“It’s because somebody connected…”
That’s odd: I would have thought “It’s because somebody—disconnected—wants to GIVE sh**loads of money to Iran.” (But why might that be?….. Oh, well, let us count the ways…)
Still, maybe you’re right.
Disclaimer: I’ve always been a sucker for brilliantly counter-intuitive arguments…
…one of the huge advantages of this one being that we can—FINALLY(!)—jettison having to worry about the perverse ideological motivation of the “Biden” administration and replace it with one far more acceptable, understandable, and even laudable: profit!! (Even if Lenin had something to say about THAT once upon a time, but…oh never mind!)
Yep, patriotic profit: just throw that pernicious—and slanderous—ideological rationale right over the side. We done ’em wrong…..
Needless to say, it is such an incredible relief to be able to conclude that our Democratic party, instead of harboring foul, traitorous adherents to a perverse and destructive ideology, is “merely” unleashing them in pursuit of “the American Dream”!
Patriots!! one and all….
Yep, patriots ALL….
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/436812/
“It’s because somebody connected wants to make money in Iran.”
&
“The moralistic foreign policy is there to obscure what the foreign policy is really there to support, the financial interests of politicians.” – Frederick
Indeed.
Substitute the Country of Choice for “Iran” – most of the current coterie of Congress appears to be in hock to China – but it’s an all-purpose, all-party, all-time-period universal observation.
Works for most domestic policy as well.
Yep yep…
It’s not Rocket Science. The tried and tested way to launder vast sums of money is *through other countries*. You don’t need a War for this: Japan Inc. has operated a gigantic ML scheme for the LDP establishment via soft loans for international development for more than 2 generations now.
But a Nice Little War certainly helps. There’s no multiplier effect quite like a Nice Little War.
It’s a Big Club.. and we aren’t in it.
I do not think so……..
https://twitter.com/deborahamos/status/1368978132573773835?s=20