Years later, we are still trying to figure out the mission of the Obama foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. After eight years, it seemed that American diplomacy was adrift in the region. In what can only be described as a shocking development, the flawed figure of Donald Trump appeared to reinvigorate the American mission, avoid conflicts, and find some level of peace through the Abraham Accords.
The Biden Administration appears to be working hard at destroying all of Trump’s gains (never mind the border wall issue). We once again have open war in the Middle East as Hamas and Israel are going at it hammer and tongs.
This Middle East conflict is measured in centuries, so blame cannot be placed at the feet of the American President, but there are several problematic decisions that must be discussed.
HOSTAGES
• There have been several hostage-type incidents in the Obama/Biden Administrations that left us all scratching our heads. Many Americans have been outraged over what appear to be terrible deals that signal American weakness to those who would engage in kidnapping:
o The Bowe Bergdahl disaster in which the Obama Administration traded five major terrorists to the Taliban for an American soldier who abandoned his post and lived with the Taliban for 5 years in a hostage-like situation (a situation which reeked of Stockholm Syndrome);
o In 2016 the Obama Administration secretly flew a plane full of $400 million in cash to Iran to seal the nuclear deal and ensure the release of four American hostages. They added another $1.7 billion for the nuclear agreement.
o Last year Biden agreed to trade international arms dealer and criminal Victor Bout to Russia in exchange for a weed collar – Brittany Griner.
o Most recently Biden agreed to release $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the release of five Americans held in Iran. While this negotiation was going on, Iran gave Hamas the go ahead for its attack on Israel. No doubt a good portion of the weapons used to start this current war were paid for by Iran.
• The Biden Administration has claimed that the $6 billion is only to be used for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs. Apparently, Biden doesn’t understand how money works (I guess that explains Bidenomics). I don’t know what’s worse, that Secretary of State Blinken said this with a straight face, or that people believe it. Just think of your personal finances. If someone agreed to pay your mortgage payments, wouldn’t you go out and replace that aging car right away? No one “paid” for your new car, but there it is in the driveway.
• Trump’s comment about this most recent deal was, “Once you pay, you always pay, & many more hostages will be taken.” That comment took about two weeks to be proven correct as Hamas now has taken several American citizens hostage from their raid into Israel. Let see if Biden pays up again.
• With this type of leadership and head-scratching deals, we can expect more Americans to be arrested, detailed, and kidnapped in efforts to get a nice cash reward. If you are travelling overseas, keep your head on a swivel and know the local laws.
DIPLOMACY
• Biden doesn’t seem to grasp the nuances of diplomacy. This Hamas attack is likely a result of that lack of understanding regarding the Muslim world. Iran obviously has little respect for America and would do anything necessary to maintain power in the region and embarrass the U.S.
• The Biden Administration has been futilely pushing for Saudi Arabia and Israel to reach a peace agreement. It’s a noble, and possibly achievable goal, but it is rife with pitfalls. If the Saudis agreed to recognize Israel, it would be a big win for international peace. But this deal would further isolate Persian Iran from the Arab states. Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, would garner less support.
• The Saudis are not jumping into this agreement with both feet, driving a hard bargain and revealing the desperation of the Biden Administration to pull off this deal. A recognition of Israel by the Saudis can cause them serious problems at home (recall, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Wahhabism). There are many extreme factions within the kingdom that would look at that deal as traitorous to their Islamic neighbors. The deal certainly can’t be made with a full-blown Israeli/Palestinian war going on.
• It seems Biden’s desire to pull this off has blinded him to the repercussions around the Muslim world. It seems they misjudged the Iranian government by a long shot. This recent Hamas offensive can be directly tied to the pressures that the United States put on Iran. That’s not a justification, it is a fact of international relations. The Iranian regime obviously doesn’t care a wit about war crimes or the opinions of polite society.
INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERINTELLIGENCE FAILURES
• There have been several intelligence failures in the Biden Administration. The most glaring was the embarrassing way the Afghan occupation ended. Biden was claiming that the U.S.-backed government would likely maintain power. Weeks later, the Afghan President fled the country and US soldiers were dying at an airport in Kabul. Nothing could portray American weakness more than the scenes from that evacuation.
• As we reported last month, the United States has been pulling back its efforts on international terrorism and focusing on domestic terror – i.e, right-wing groups. Numerous Iranian backed terror attacks have gone unanswered in recent years. This week no one is talking about January 6th or those nefarious “traditional Catholic” threats. International terrorism has just killed a thousand people in Israel. The United States appeared to have no idea that an invasion was about to occur.
• A prime example of the U.S. intelligence failures came in a speech by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on September 29th. He stated that the Middle East is “quieter today than it has been in two decades.” Great assessment, Jake. Early favorite to win this year’s Neville Chamberlain Award, for sure.
• The Biden Administration itself might be the biggest counterintelligence failure in American history. Robert Malley was Joe Biden’s Special Envoy to Iran. A longtime Obama apparatchik, (of course), Malley was placed on leave and had his security clearance pulled for undisclosed reasons. Leaks suggest that it may have been for mishandling classified documents (we will wait for him to be in the docket along with Trump). The truth may be far worse. It seems that Malley may have been ignoring sanctions on Iran and funneling money to the terror-sponsoring state. It is also alleged that his aides were running an Iranian influence and spying operation out of his office. We will explore this story more as details unfold.
These three areas of failure by our government seem to have paved the way for this current war in the Middle East. With the geopolitical experts currently working in the Biden Administration, we don’t see America’s lot on the international stage improving. As such, we can expect more heartbreak for our nation and our allies.
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