Notes from Norm Friday October 14th: Iran Threat to the World

There is no denying that Iran is a country full of bad actors. The leadership of the nation is filled with petty tyrants, ruthless dictators and clerics who use their religion to mask the brutality of the regime.

What the Iranian government does within its country is of concern to anyone in the world who cherishes liberty and human freedom. The fact is, its government oppresses its people with fear and worse underscores that it is a regime without legitimacy.

Now, we learn from the Obama Administration of an alleged plot to murder the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States inside of our country.

However, it has been reported that the Administration’s evidence is being viewed “…with a wave of puzzlement and skepticism from some foreign leaders and outside experts.”

Furthermore, according to the New York Times, “Senior American officials themselves were struggling to explain why the Quds Force, an elite international operations unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, would orchestrate such a risky attack in so amateurish a manner.”

Americans shouldn’t be so puzzled. Quds Force has been involved in killing American soldiers in Iraq for years. Today’s New York Times notes that “... the Shiite militia’s aligned with the group have proved to be America’s most lethal enemy in Iraq…”

It goes on to note that they were responsible for the deaths of 13 of 15 American soldiers killed in June.

Those “Senior American officials,” cited by the Times must be reading too many spy thrillers to question why an “elite international operations unit” would orchestrate such a risky attack. The Quds force is a criminal gang that supports terrorism. Not everything they do reads like a James Bond operation.

There should be no shock that the Iranian government was stupid enough to plot the murder of a Saudi official in the United States for the purpose of fomenting unrest and conflict with a U.S. ally.

It may seem lunacy and stupidity, but given the type of actions and comments we’ve seen from the Iranian leadership, it can’t be completely dismissed.

That Iranian officials would support such an outrageous plot isn’t too surprising. The Obama Administration doesn’t frighten Iran.

The President’s so-called policy of constructive engagement has not slowed down Iran’s quest for a nuclear bomb.

Rather, it has resulted in nothing other than Iran being closer to having the capability to wipe our closest Middle East ally, Israel, off the face of the earth.

That the Iranian government could, and might, act in a manner the Obama Administration alleges, seems to have come to an outright shock to the President and his advisors.

Yet, for years officials from both of America’s political parties, military officials, and others, including Israel, have been pleading for the President to understand the threat that Iran and its regime pose to global security.

The Vice President and others within the Obama Administration are now publicly stating that “all options” are on the table to deal with the allegations they have presented as it relates to the effort to kill a foreign official on U.S. soil.

To be sure, I believe that military actions should have been on the table all these past years that President Obama has been in office. The reluctance of this Administration to let the Iranian regime understand our unwavering commitment to Israel and other allies in the region has unnerved those allies, and emboldened Iran.

The evidence of Iran’s meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan has grown, as have the actions of the regime which may have resulted in death or injury to U.S. forces and our allies.

The justification for military action to protect our national self-interests are, in my opinion, very strong already.

This coupled with Iran’s blatant effort to develop nuclear weapons, and its threat to use whatever means necessary to obliterate Israel, are more than sufficient to justify potential military action against a nation which directly threatens our country.

That it takes an allegation which has not yet been proven, desperately hyped by an Administration whose policies in Iran have been discredited, to finally get the President to realize the facts that Iran is a threat to America, is just one more reason we cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama.

As the election year approaches Obama MAY finally get tough with Iran. But have no doubt that the last 3 years of this Administrations’ toothless tiger approach to Iran has given the Iranians all the incentive they need to believe they can support terrorism with impunity.

On the other hand, it would not at all shock me that the Administration, in trouble politically, with an economy that continues in freefall while the President travels around the country waging class warfare, would time the release of this investigation when it’s Attorney General is in the cross hairs of a Congressional investigation.

This is an Administration that is showing all signs of imploding – with precipitous drops in the polls, high long term unemployment, most recently questionable intervention in projects that cost taxpayers over a half-billion dollars – to an Attorney General who is becoming more implicated in the so-called “Fast and Furious” program that was conducted by the ATF.

If George Bush were still President, I have no doubt the left would be raising a ruckus about questionable plots that could be used as a pretext for military action. They would be decrying the timing of these reports as an effort to divert our attention from the Presidents failings.

Is Iran capable of plots to kill foreign ambassadors and blow up restaurants and embassies on American soil? Absolutely.

But is this Administration capable of using such allegations to divert attention away from its own failings, and an Attorney General who is becoming an increasing political liability?

That’s a pretty fair question.