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Iran Protests Mark New Mideast Era

The significant demonstrations within Iran highlight the human rights shortcomings of former President Obama’s Mideast policy, which was centered around wooing Iran. Tragically, that strategy neither softened Tehran’s hatred of America, nor its intent to destroy U.S. allies in the region. Iran continues to support international terrorism and develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear or biological weapons of mass destruction.

The demonstrations appear to be widespread both geographically and in terms of popular support, even extending to the ruling Mullahs’ most significant regions of backing. Protests have occurred in cities such as Qom, which was the epicenter of the 1979 Islamist revolution and the base from which the current regime’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, destroyed Iran’s secular government in 1979.

The new perspective, openly critical of Iran’s leadership, brought about by the Trump Administration should not be overlooked in terms of its relevance to the confidence displayed by the Iranian protesters, who have been active in a half-dozen cities throughout the Islamist state.

The current U.S. State Department has been explicit in his comments about the Tehran regime for several months.  In December, the State Department noted that “Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders are Iran’s own people. The United States strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters. We urge all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption.”

This was a follow-up to comments made by Secretary Tillerson to Congress last June, which, in a sharp departure from the Obama approach, noted: “The regime in Iran continues activities and interventions that destabilize the Middle East: support for the brutal Assad regime, funding militias and foreign fighters in Iraq and Yemen that 2 undermine legitimate governments, and arming terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which threaten our ally Israel…” Tillerson also supported those within Iran seeking change:  ‘those elements inside of Iran…would lead to a peaceful transition of government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know.’”
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The Iran Project reports that Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has criticized the Trump Administration’s description of the Tehran regime as a “terrorist nation.”

The Obama Administration essentially traded away support for Iranian reformers and turned a blind eye towards Iranian financing of terrorists in return for negotiations leading up to the eventual nuclear deal with Tehran, an agreement which has come under considerable criticism due to its failure to restrain that nation’s current missile program or its eventual atomic arms buildup. Rep. Robert Pittinger (R-NC), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, and Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism, believes that Obama’s misguided agreement gives Iran a working path to continue developing nuclear weapons in just a few short years, while currently allowing Iran to continue development of long-range ballistic missiles that could reach anywhere in the world.”

Writing for the Jerusalem Post, Gil Hoffman reports that “Obama chose not to support the 2009 Iranian Green Protest Movement because he hoped to reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear weapons that he signed six years later, [Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S.] Deputy Minister Michael Oren … said…Obama’s failure to help Iranian protesters has been [criticized] …by Jewish Agency chairman and former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, who has called it the biggest failure to help human rights in modern history. … Oren notes that ‘The Obama administration’s lack of support for the Green Revolution was part of a pattern in which it did not hold Iran accountable for any provocation. It would seem it was part of a general approach that began in Obama’s first week in office in 2009 of wanting to reach a deal with Iran at pretty much any cost.’ Among the Iranian provocations ignored by the Obama administration, Oren listed the crackdown on the protesters, the kidnapping of Americans, having their missile boats provocatively approach American destroyers, trying to assassinate him and his Saudi counterpart in downtown Washington, the failure to follow through on a red line Obama imposed on Syrian dictator Bashar Assad using chemical weapons and Iranian-backed Hezbollah smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the US.”

There is rising hope that real change could occur in Iran, bringing with it an entirely new dynamic in the Middle East.

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Long overdue: An explanation of Obama’s military and diplomatic strategy

Why hasn’t there been more disclosure on the reasoning, goals, and strategy behind the dramatic shift in American military and diplomatic policy during President Obama’s tenure?

The White House has thoroughly altered the manner in which U.S. national security is maintained. It has also radically amended relations with friend and foe alike. These historic changes have failed to a devastating degree, which makes the lack of explanation about them all the more worrisome.

Substantial reductions have been made in defense budgets, key operative personnel have been cut, major programs have been altered and numerous changes have been made in military leadership positions. The latest information regarding major alterations, as reported in the Washington Free Beacon, reveals that “The U.S. military is set to shutter 15 sites across Europe and reduce the number of active personnel stationed in these areas…This latest realignment follows a series of significant reductions in Europe that have greatly reduced the U.S. military presence there.”

This move comes in the wake of the 2014 withdrawal of American tanks from Europe, the 2015 inability of the Navy (due to budget cuts) to have any aircraft carrier presence in the eastern Pacific for a substantial part of this year, and the elimination or significant reduction of plans for the development of defenses against the growing missile threat not only from major current nuclear powers, but from North Korea and Iran as well.

As America has cut its defense spending, Moscow and China have significantly increased theirs, and North Korea and Iran have moved swiftly to enhance their nuclear capabilities.

With the increased confidence that comes from a more powerful military, Russia has invaded Ukraine and threatened Eastern Europe, both with its strengthened conventional forces as well as with its newly emplaced Iskander short range nuclear missiles which it has stationed along its western border. It has continuously threatened European airspace with fighter aircraft, and it has militarized the Arctic. It has initiated nuclear bomber and submarine patrols off the eastern, western, and southern U.S. coasts.

China has moved aggressively against almost all of its oceanic neighbors, even stealing offshore resources from the Philippines. Obama’s early withdrawal of troops from Iraq gave rise to the opportunity for ISIS to move in, and a similar move with potentially similar results is underway in Afghanistan.
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Throughout the globe, Islamic extremism has been on a significant upswing.

Russia, China, and Iran have all significantly increased their military relations with Latin American and Caribbean nations.

Equally notable changes—and failures– have occurred in Washington’s diplomacy.  There has been a dramatic shift in Washington’s relations with allies and adversaries.

Relations with the United Kingdom were endangered as a result of the President’s surrendering of British nuclear information to Moscow during the New START treaty negotiations. Relations with Israel have reached an all-time low, at a time when that embattled nation truly needs a solid ally. When a portion of the Philippines exclusive off-shore economic zone was occupied by the Chinese Navy, the U.S. did nothing either diplomatically or militarily, although Washington subsequently agreed to a token increase of military aide and cooperation with Manila, after the crisis had passed.

While estranging old friends and allies, Washington has attempted to endear foes.  It essentially agreed to the Kremlin’s terms on nuclear weapons and anti-ballistic missile systems. It has softened sanctions on Iran without any meaningful gains. It has opened up relations with Cuba, again without obtaining anything worthwhile in response. It has not responded in any significant manner to Beijing’s massive and unprecedented cyber-attacks on American military, governmental, and civilian infrastructures. It has encouraged Arab Spring movements that have strengthened al Qaeda, while toppling the pro-U.S. regime of Hosni Mubarak. Interestingly, the one Arab Spring movement it did not endorse was the “Green Revolution” in Iran which had as its target the vehemently anti-U.S. regime in Tehran.

An explanation of the logic and intentions behind Mr. Obama’s comprehensive and failed national security and diplomatic policy is long overdue.