Even Top Senate Democrat Bob Menendez Is Not Thrilled with Biden's 9/11 Iran Deal
Is Joe Biden’s team trying to tackle him or is it merely a reflection of his ineptness?
In his 2014 memoir “Duty,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said of then-Vice President Joe Biden, “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades,” according to the Atlantic. Nothing’s changed, and now even some Democrats are “concerned.”
Veteran Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey “expressed concerns Monday amid reports that the Biden administration agreed to unfreeze $6 billion for Iran in exchange for five U.S. prisoners.” according to The Hill. Menendez serves as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Though the deal was certainly in the works before 9/11, that’s when the news came out — the anniversary of the most deadly terrorist attack the U.S. has ever experienced. Talk about bad optics.
Menendez told reporters, “This is an example of why we have to go ahead and make it very clear to Americans that they cannot travel to certain places in the world where they are likely to ultimately become a hostage. Until we do that we will constantly be in a set of circumstances” in which the U.S. is put into the unsavory position of negotiating with terrorists.
One of Menendez’ “concerns” about negotiating with Iran regarding American prisoners unjustly detained is that it will spur other hostile nations to do the same. Why not? If five hostages can put into play $6 billion for the Iranians, there’s an obvious profit to be made in the hostage trading game.
The Biden administration claims the $6 billion comes in the form of unfrozen oil funds and is “limited to the purchase of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods,” according to The Hill.
According to National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making sure “Iranian funds can move from one restricted account to another and remain restricted to humanitarian trade.”
That’s like making sure rain doesn’t fall during a hurricane. The Iranians aren’t known for playing by the U.S. rulebook. If they did, they’d lose face in a bad way. If Blinken thinks he can make the Iranians play fair, he needs to see a psychiatrist. Not only do you not negotiate with terrorists, you don’t trust them either.
GOP Senator Mitt Romney of Utah shares Menendez’s “concerns,” according to The Hill. “If we’re paying a billion dollars per kidnapped individual, then you’re going to see more kidnappings. That’s why you don’t negotiate with terrorists; that’s why you don’t negotiate with kidnappers,” Romney said. “The idea of basically paying to release, in this effect, a hostage is a terrible idea”
When Biden’s foreign policy decisions draw criticism from top Democrats and RINOs, it’s time for concern all right — and plenty of it.
GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma stated on his official website, “It has been a longstanding policy of the United States that we will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not pay ransom money to free hostages.” That was in 2016. Cole was criticizing the Obama administration for, well, negotiating with terrorists.
“Unbelievably, we have since learned that the Obama administration has also paid Iran $1.3 billion dollars in 13 separate payments of $99,999,999.99,” Cole lamented. “This, they explained, was the interest we owed Iran for keeping the $400 million over the past few decades. This defies common sense by any definition. A country that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days and has been a sworn enemy of the West and which is widely recognized as one of the leading state sponsors of terrorism should not be rewarded with a refund on an arms deal along with nearly 4 decades of interest.”
“Defies common sense” is an understatement. Obama appeared to be treating Iran as an equal business partner. Is Biden carrying on Obama’s tradition? You decide.
The U.S. government does negotiate with terrorists. If that shocks you, it shouldn’t. Welcome to the liberal America, where foreign policy makes no sense and the American people are the ones who are held hostage.
Bob Menendez and Mitt Romney are concerned when they should be afraid. But they’re not. Menendez doesn’t think the new Iranian hostage deal will even make it to the floor for a vote where each senator’s vote can be recorded. I’ll bet he’s happy about that.
Biden, Blinken, the rest of this administration — not one of them will be held accountable. The U.S. will continue negotiating with terrorists and in doing so encourage more terrorism against the United States.
“Live Free or Die,” was written by Gen. John Stark on July 31, 1809. In 2023 it’s more like, “Shut up and bend over” as far as the feds are concerned. Yes, Joe Biden is inept, and so is his administration. It’s a Democratic tradition.
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