Radio America Online News Bureau

Iran

Kim’s Liberal Puppets, Media Ignore Threat to Trump Fam, Lizards Spying on Iran?

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are appalled as the liberals on “The View” and elsewhere blast Vice President Pence for not standing as the joint Korean Olympic team entered the opening ceremonies, but they are grateful that many on the left are allowing America to see that they actually hate the Trump administration far more than they hate one of the most repressive and brutal Communist regimes the world has ever seen.  They also blast the liberal media for largely ignoring that President Trump’s daughter-in-law had to go to the hospital after opening an envelope with white powder.  And they greatly enjoy learning that the Iranians are very worried that western nations are spying on their nuclear activities with lizards.

Share

Iran Deal Stands for Now, Trump Sends Clear Message

by

President Trump is giving the Iran nuclear deal another four months but also warned Congress that will not happen again without lawmakers passing major changes to the agreement, and leading Iranian dissidents urge the U.S. to stop trying to save a fatally flawed deal in the first place.

In addition, the Trump administration announced new sanctions aimed the Iranian regime in connection with its crackdown on protesters in recent days.

Officially, Trump is waiving nuclear sanctions against Iran until May.  He did not say what type of changes would meet with his approval at that time.

For the Iranian dissidents, there’s no way to salvage this deal.

“The main problem is that the entire nuclear structure of the Iran regime has remained intact, and the fact that there’s no real access to the key centers and locations that are actually engaged in weaponization, which is a critical part of building nuclear weapons.

“There’s no access for the [International Atomic Energy Agency] to the military sites where the real deal is.  Then there is a sunset clause.  At some point down the road, all of those restrictions are going to be gone and the Iranian regime will be free to continue its development of nuclear weapons,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is allied with the main internal resistance group in Iran, Mojahedin-e-Khalq.  The group is also known as the MEK.

Jafarzadeh says modifications to the nuclear deal will be fruitless because the regime will never abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.  He says there’s only one effective modification for Iran.

“The Iranian regime is intent on building the bomb so the real solutions to all of the problems is to see fundamental change in Iran to change the regime,” said Jafarzadeh.

The Iranian resistance is also very pleased with the Trump administration’s actions, through the Treasury Department, to issue sanctions against 14 different Iranian individuals and entities, largely in response to the repression of protests over the past couple of weeks.

One figure targeted financially is he head of the Iranian judiciary, Sadeq Larijani.

“He’s the one who implements all the repressive measures of the Iranian regime.  He’s the one who has been prosecuting and putting people in jail. at least 8,000 demonstrators in the past two weeks.  He has already instructed the other judges to be very, very harsh against the demonstrators,” said Jafarzadeh.

“Another entity was the Rajai Shahr prison.  It is a very notorious prison that is known for torture and horrible things they have done to prisoners.  A number of people who have been detained during the demonstrations are now in Rajai Shahr prison,” said Jafarzadeh., who says the head jailer there is also named in the sanctions.

Others targeted by sanctions on Friday include elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, specifically for cutting off internet access that prevented protesters from communicating with each other and the outside world.  Individuals and entities assisting the Iranian ballistic missile program are also being targeted.

Jafarzadeh says Trump is paying attention.

“The president showed Friday that while he is so unhappy with the nuclear deal, he’s even more unhappy with the other aspects of the Iranian regime’s behavior, namely their domestic repression, their censorship and threatening their neighbors in the region,” said Jafarzadeh.

He also says the pressure is getting to the regime.  This past week, Ayatollah Ali Khameini gave a speech vowing to crackdown on the protests even more and blaming them on a “triangle” of organized resistance – namely the United States, hostile Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, and the MEK.  He also vowed a fierce crackdown on all elements of the triangle within Iran.

Jafarzadeh does not think the threats will work because they don’t change the reality of economic misery in Iran.

“No matter how much you repress them, the disconnect of the people will not go away.  The economic situation is not going to get any better.  There’s no plan for the government to resolve the issues.  There are workers who have not been paid for eleven months.

“Even doctors who used to get regular pay haven’t been paid for 9-10 months.  A lot of factories are not working,” said Jafarzadeh.

Jafarzadeh says the protests swelled to 141 different cities of all sizes.

“This is absolutely unprecedented since the ayatollahs came to power in Iran,” he said.

The bottom line, says Jafarzadeh, is that pressure from inside and outside Iran is working.

“The more pressure the United States builds against the Iranian regime, the more the regime’s forces get frightened and the more encouraged the people will get,” he said.

Standard Podcast [ 13:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Unshackling Energy, Trump’s Impulses Obscure Big Week, Gorilla Channel Parody

by


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke for taking steps towards allowing energy exploration and development on more than 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf.  They also fume at President Trump for taking a week when he could be highlighting his support of Iranian protesters, the Dow crossing 25,000 and expanding American energy production and instead ranting about nuclear button sizes and trying to order a book publisher not to release a book critical of his presidency.  And they laugh at the liberals in the media and beyond who believed an online parody – about Trump being obsessed with the “Gorilla Channel” up to 17 hours at a time – was actually in that new book.

Share

Iran Protests Swell: ‘The Unrest is Everywhere’

by

The popular uprising engulfing Iran is growing bigger by the day and base of unrest dwarfs even the massive protests we saw in 2009, according to a key figure in the Iranian resistance movement.

The protests began Thursday in Mashad, Iran’s second largest city, and spread like wildfire to 80 different cities.  The ensuing government response has led to the deaths of at least 20 people.

“It’s growing every day, both in terms of the level of anger that you can see displayed by the population but also how rapidly it’s spreading,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of the Resistance of Iran.  The NCRI has played a critical role in uncovering Iran’s nuclear ambitions and violations of nuclear agreements.

Jafarzadeh says the protests have a strong foundation in economic animus towards the autocratic regime in Tehran, led by Ayatollah Ali Khameini and President Hassan Rouhani.

“The whole issue of the rise in cost of living and government corruption effects everybody.  In 2009, it was mostly the middle class and the intellectuals.  Now, the unrest is everywhere.  You’re talking about the poor, the workers, the impoverished, those who really have nothing else to lose,” said Jafarzadeh.

Corruption is a major factor as well.  Jafarzadeh says a number of “spooky” operations sponsored by the government encouraged Iranians to invest in plans which guaranteed high returns.  Instead, the Iranians who invested lost big and their frustrations were compounded by watching the mullahs funnel huge amounts of money to Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.

He says the people have simply had enough.

“The people feel there is really no solution for any of their problems – either economic problems or the repression they’ve been facing – other than changing the regime,” said Jafarzadeh.

In addition, the Iran people are no longer buying the notion that Iranian President Rouhani is some kind of reformer or significantly different at all than the hard-line mullahs.

“The common denominator to all the slogans in various cities is, ‘Death to Khamenei.  Death to Rouhani,’ rejecting both factions within the regime – the so-called reformers and the hard-liners.  In some cases, they were specifically chanting, ‘Reformers, hardliners, the game is now over,'” said Jafarzadeh.

“I think this put an end to this myth that there are some moderate elements within the Iranian regime and that if you reach out to them, empower them or negotiate with them and give them what they want then things will go in the right direction.  The population rejected that entirely with these extensive demonstrations,” said Jafarzadeh.

But it’s not just the depth of of the revolt in Iran that’s different than in 2009, Jafarzadeh also says the regime’s response is very different this time compared to 2009.

“The regime is in big disarray.  Each faction is trying to put the blame on the other faction.  The dissatisfaction is actually affecting some of the people within the ranks of the security forces, which is unprecedented,” said Jafarzadeh, noting some troops sent to quell protests have switched sides and joined the demonstrators.

He says the Iranian government also appears torn about how to respond to the protests in general, with both brutal repression and holding back both seen as fueling the protests rather than hastening their end.

And something else is very different: the American response.  Jafarzadeh says President Obama looked the other way when the Iranian people were begging for help in 2009.

“President Obama didn’t side with the demonstrators and didn’t say any words that would be supportive of them.  He basically waited until the demonstrations were crushed so he could go back to negotiations,” said Jafarzadeh.

President Trump has taken a very different approach in a series of tweets.

“Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!” Trump tweeted on Monday morning.

“The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their “pockets.” The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!” Trump added on Tuesday.

Jafarzadeh says that makes a huge difference.

“President Trump has publicly said that he’s standing on the side of the people.  The president has been tweeting repeatedly since day one,” he said.

And how does U.S. encouragement make a difference in the outcome?

“You want to show the protesters that they’re not alone,” said Jafarzadeh, noting that outside support is just as important as maintaining domestic intensity for the protests.

“They’re connected with the rest of the world.  The world is actually watching them.  The world actually cares about them.  The world actually stands on their side, not just in terms of the sentiment but also does practical things that will make a difference,” said Jafarzadeh.

Specifically, Jafarzadeh would like to see President Trump declare Iranian leaders as human rights violators and slap new sanctions on the regime for restricting internet access in an attempt to suffocate the demonstrations.  He also urges the U.S. to forge a close alliance with the MEK resistance group, which is organizing the protests and is ideologically similar to the NCRI.

Jafarzadeh says the biggest thing is forcing the issue sooner rather than later.

“We need to act quickly .  This cannot and should not take very long.  We need to act very quickly and talk about days instead of months.  The sooner the world acts, the less violence and the better the prospects for success,” said Jafarzadeh.

Standard Podcast [ 15:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Iranian People Rise Up, Trump Accusers Offered Big Bucks, Media Fails on Iran

by


Happy New Year!  Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer the Iranian people for risking everything to rise up against the corrupt, autocratic mullahs in Tehran and applaud President Trump for a much better response than the Obama administration offered in 2009.  They also slam Democratic activists David Brock and Lisa Bloom for offering huge amounts of cash for additional women to publicly accuse Trump of sexual harassment or assault in the final days of the 2016 campaign.  And they unload on the mainstream media for either ignoring the uprisings in Iran or offering misleading explanations or the protests – all to protect a political narrative.

Share

Bolton Lauds Trump’s First Year, Warns of Big Decision Needed in ’18

by

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says President Trump did an excellent job of identifying and confronting the greatest threats to national security in 2017, but warns those threats still persist and Trump will likely have to make a fateful decision in the coming year.

Trump is the first president in U.S. history never to hold prior public office or serve in the military.  Nonetheless, Bolton says Trump quickly got his “sea legs” and emerged with a foreign policy that should be recognizable to most Americans.

“I think it has been very much in the mainstream of conservative Republican thinking.  That may upset some of his supporters and some of his opponents, but the fact is it’s been a responsible foreign policy.  It’s corrected so many mistakes from the Obama administration,” said Bolton.

“In particular, I think Trump’s view of the threat posed by Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs is probably the most important,” added Bolton.  “Decertifying the Iran nuclear deal and the very tough line he’s taken with respect to North Korea are very important.”

The North Korean nuclear threat reared its head many times in 2017, with the Kim Jong-Un regime firing off numerous missile tests that performed competently enough to convince top U.S. intelligence officials that the window of opportunity for diplomacy is quickly closing.

“CIA Director Mike Pompeo said sometime back that North Korea could be within months of getting the capability to hit the United States with thermonuclear warheads carried by ballistic missiles,” said Bolton.

As of now, Bolton says the U.S. still has multiple options for dealing with North Korea, but none of them appear very attractive.  He says Trump will have likely have to make the toughest decision any president has to make sometime  in 2018.

I don’t think there’s any serious dispute that in the next 12 months we’re going to have to make a very important, very hard, very unpleasant decision over whether we allow North Korea to have this capability to threaten us from now as far as the eye can see, threaten Japan, threaten South Korea and sell that capability to anybody with enough money to pay,” said Bolton.

He says Iran, ISIS, Al Qaeda and other bad actors could well end up as customers of the North Korean regime.  He says the other option will be using military force to achieve Trump’s demand for the denuclearization of the communist state.

“This isn’t a choice President Trump wanted to make.  Nobody wants to make it.  It’s unattractive whichever option you pick.  But it’s a consequence of 25 years failure on the part of American foreign policy,” said Bolton, a clear criticism of the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations in dealing with the emerging threat.

Bolton stresses the decision is not just limited to North Korea.  He says failing to check Kim now could have massive worldwide consequences.

“We’re very nearly at the stage where our ability to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons will have failed irretrievably and that’s not a happy place to be.  It’s going to be in the Trump administration where these key decisions are made.  So in the new year, all of us are going to have to be thinking about what we think is best for the country,” said Bolton.

Another major accomplishment in recent months is the rout of ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria at the hands of U.S. air power, American coordination on the ground and the fighting of Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

Bolton is dumbfounded at how little coverage this accomplishment gets in the mainstream media.  Regardless, he says the impact of the military success is significant.

“It’s a very significant victory.  It was critical to eliminate the physical caliphate that ISIS had set up,” said Bolton.  “To deny ISIS that base of operations.  It’s very, very important.  It just means the war on terrorism into a different phase.”

“The next question in the region is how to deal with Iran, making sure that they’re not empowered by the defeat of ISIS to extend their control as they’re trying to do with some success through Iraq, through (Bashar) Assad’s regime in Syria, through Hezbollah in Lebanon, all the way to the Mediterranean,” said Bolton, who also urges Trump to scrap the Iran nuclear deal once and for all.

The former ambassador to the UN also weighed in on the recent uproar in the General Assembly as 128 nations voted to approve a non-binding resolution declaring America’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel “null and void.”  Just nine nations (including the U.S. and Israel) voted against the resolution and 35 countries abstained.

Ambassador Nikki Haley said the U.S. would take note of those countries looking to strip our nation of its sovereignty.  And Trump has suggested those nations might see less foreign aid in the years to come.

Bolton likes the American response.

“For two long, countries had a completely free hand at the United Nations.  They could denounce the United States.  They could attack our allies.  They could vote against us.  It was all cost-free to them.  So it shouldn’t be any surprise to us that their behavior in many respects was purely irresponsible,” said Bolton.

“I think if the president follows through and says we’re going to make sure there are consequences, it’s a potential game-changer, and not just directed at the countries that vote the wrong way but to use this as a wedge for substantial change in the way we fund the United Nations itself,” said Bolton.

But as 2018 dawns, Bolton says the far more immediate priorities are what do do about the emerging nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran.

“I expect 2018 to be a year of considerable activity,” said Bolton.

Standard Podcast [ 10:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

‘This May Very Well Save Christianity in the Cradle of Christendom’

by

Human rights advocates are vigorously applauding the Trump administration’s decision to stop sending aid to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis decimated by ISIS through the United Nations and to provide the help directly from now on.

On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence announced the shift in policy.

“Christians in the Middle East should not have to rely on multinational institutions when America can help them directly.  Tonight, it is my privilege to announce that President Trump has ordered the State Department to stop funding ineffective relief efforts at the United Nations.

“From this day forward, America will provide support directly to persecuted communities  through USAID,” said Pence, referring to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Virginia, was a leading human rights advocate in Congress for more than three decades.  He is now a distinguished senior fellow at the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative.  He is very happy to see the Trump administration make this move.

“It’s a very good decision that the administration and President Trump and Vice President Pence have made,” said Wolf.  “This may very well save Christianity in the cradle of Christendom.  more biblical activity took place in Iraq than any other country of the world other than Israel.”

Wolf says relief efforts organized by the United Nations failed for a number of reasons.

“Many in the Christian communities say they were afraid to go in some of the UN-run camps,” he said.  “Secondly, the aid was not getting to the Christian communities.  Many of the Christian communities and Yazidi communities wanted to return to where they were from.  Their towns were liberated but they were not getting any assistance through the UN.”

Wolf says Christians were fearful of entering UN camps because of the Sunni Muslim refugees there.  Not knowing which families had relatives fighting alongside ISIS, the Christians were afraid the Sunnis in those camps would report them and put their lives in danger.

Now that ISIS has largely been rooted out of Iraq, Wolf says the displaced people are eager to return home.  However, with the UN failing to provide aid, going home if almost impossible.

“They were concerned about security.  They were also concerned that they were seeing the money funded to different groups but not to them.  They couldn’t rebuild their water treatment plant, couldn’t rebuild their electrical grid, couldn’t restore some of their communal property,” said Wolf.

But while the removal of ISIS is a good thing, Wolf is very concerned about the Shia militias, called Hastashabi, that seem to be filling the vacuum.

“The Hastashabi are Iranian-backed, sometimes paid for by the Iranian government, Shia militias who are now filling in the gaps.  We went to checkpoints where there were Shia militias who had taken over for the others,” said Wolf, who was in northern Iraq just two weeks ago.

He says the rise of Shia militias is greatly concerning given Iranian ambitions in the region.

“The Iranians want to create what they call a land crescent or a land bridge, so you’ll be able to drive from Tehran, through Iraq, through Syria, to a port on the Mediterranean, whereby they will be able to aid terrorist groups with guns and missiles and weapons,” said Wolf.

“So there are problems as you see ISIS defeated.  There are some potential problems out there, particularly with regard to the militias,” said Wolf.

Standard Podcast [ 9:41 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Bolton Talks Iran Deal, ISIS Defeat, Tillerson & Trump

by

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says President Trump took a good first step in decertifying the Iran nuclear deal but he says the whole thing must be scrapped in order to remove the smokescreen that Iran is an honest player and end the financial windfall for the the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism.

Bolton is also cheering the collapse of ISIS and commending President Trump for policy changes that expedited that outcome, however he is deeply concerned about the fate of the Kurds as Iranian-backed militias and even the official Iraqi forces look to force Kurdish fidelity to the regime in Baghdad.

And he is also urging Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to get on the same page quickly for the sake of American foreign policy.

On Thursday, Trump announced he was decertifying the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, negotiated among the Obama administration, Iran, and five other nations in 2015.  Decertifying the agreement does not kill it but gives Congress 60 days to act on it.  If Congress cannot reach a consensus on how to move forward, Trump could then decide to abandon the deal.

Bolton has long called for a complete withdrawal from the JCPOA, but he is encouraged by Trump’s decision to declare Iran non-compliant.

“It’s certainly much better than recertifying that the deal is in America’s national interest.  What he did is to at least serve notice that it’s not.  Nobody should be under any illusions that we’re still in the Obama administration,” said Bolton.

But he says it is vital for Trump to kill the deal once and for all in the next couple of months.

“The reason that United States needs to withdraw entirely is to create a new reality, to strip away the camouflage that Iran is provided by this deal, where it gains resources from trade and investment deals from all over the world but basically continues to pursue its nuclear weapons program without adequate inspection or verification,” said Bolton.

And Bolton is confident that Trump will have the chance to kill it because he has no confidence in Congress.

“This basically gives Congress 60 days to see if they can come up with some kind of comprehensive strategy.  I have no faith whatever that Congress will be able to do that.

“So at 60 days, it’ll be back to the president.  I’m hoping then that having given the supporters of the deal and the people who think the deal can be improved time to play out their option and failing, that he’ll then take the next step and get out of the deal entirely,” said Bolton.

Bolton says “camouflage” of a compliant, responsible Iran is nonsense.

“The argument to stay in the deal is that somehow the deal is constraining them and I believe that it’s not.  They gave up temporary, easily reversible concessions in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars of trade and investment and assets being unfrozen,” said Bolton.

Furthermore, Bolton says Iran’s supposed transparency is also a farce.

“Every time that the Iranians have made a disclosure about their nuclear program for the last 20 years, it’s only been after U.S. intelligence uncovered it or Iranian opposition groups made it public,” said Bolton.

He says Iran did have one brief moment of honesty that also reveals the futility of the JCPOA.

“Just about two months ago now, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that if they made the decision themselves to withdraw from the deal, they could get back to pre-deal levels of uranium enrichment in five days.

“Now, you take everything the Iranian leadership says with a big grain of salt but in that case they happen to be right, and it’s an indication of just how minimal their concessions were,” said Bolton.

But if the JCPOA is not an effective nuclear deterrent for Iran, what would be?  First, he says it’s time for the U.S. to see Iran and North Korea as part of the same nuclear threat instead of separate challenges.  He says the following step is to make sure neither rogue actor has nukes.

“I know people don’t like to hear it but you can’t leave the military option off the table because if you believe, as Trump said in his UN speech just about a months ago, that only way forward with North Korea is denuclearization, and I think the same is true with Iran, that means we can’t leave the current scenario with them still in possession of nuclear weapons.

“Otherwise, they’re available to extort and blackmail the United States as far as the eye can see,” said Bolton.

In neighboring Iraq, the news is better at least for the moment.  On Tuesday, U.S.-backed militias said they had routed ISIS in its home base of Raqqa, Syria.  U.S. officials indicated there is still work to do but that the vast majority of Raqqa had fallen.

Bolton says the speed of military success against ISIS is a big change from the previous administration.

“The president is right to say that he significantly speeded up  the end of the ISIS caliphate.  I think we are at the point where there may still be resistance here and there, but functionally the caliphate is over,” he said, while being quick to point out many ISIS figures fled to other hostile nations, so the ISIS threat itself lives on.

However, Bolton is worried that the Iraqi forces and the Shia militias backed by the U.S. and Iran are now taking aim at the Kurdish forces in the north, already wresting control of Kirkuk away from the Kurds who saved the city from ISIS.

Bolton says the Iraqis and militias are now moving on the Kurdish capital of Irbil and they’re doing it with American weapons.  He says the Trump administration ought to respond in two ways, help the Kurds now and depose the Iranian government in the long term.

“The safety of the United States depends upon the ayatollahs being overthrown.  I’ve believed that ever since the Ayatollah Khomeini took over in 1979.

“In the near term, I think we need to provide the Kurds with the armor and the artillery that, ironically, we’ve provided the forces of the Baghdad Iraqi government and the Shia militias.  The Kurds are now being attacked with American weapons,” said Bolton, noting the Kurds have not been given such weapons.

Finally, Bolton says only President Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson know the true state of their relationship, but he says it is vital that they get on the same page fast as these two men are at the center of executing American foreign policy.

“It’s not something you can let drift on and paralyze our decision making.  It’s just too important of a combination not to have both ends of it working effectively,” said Bolton.

Bolton has some criticism of Trump on the personnel front.  Unlike Trump, he believes it is vital for Trump to nominate good people to fill a myriad of vacancies at the assistant and deputy level in the State Department.  He says Trump can’t bring about the change in bureaucracy and policy he’s promised without putting the right people in critical positions.

“The bureaucracy is like a big aircraft carrier.  The way it was sailing when the president took office on January 20th is the direction it’s going to sail in until somebody says to turn it around.  If you don’t have people around, your ability to turn it around is greatly reduced.  I think that harms the president, ultimately,” said Bolton.

Standard Podcast [ 12:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Iraqis, Kurds Clash in Iraq

by

While ISIS is pushed to the brink of extinction, the Shia militias and Kurdish fighters who drove the purported caliphate out of Iraq are now fighting each other over control of key areas in northern Iraq and a decorated U.S. general says the ones who benefit are the mullahs in Iran.

NBC News reports Monday that Shia militias are launching a “major, multi-pronged attack” aimed at taking away the critically important city of Kirkuk from Kurdish control.  The Kurdish peshmerga successfully defended Kirkuk from ISIS three years ago as the Islamists were sweeping through northern and western Iraq and prompting the official Iraqi forces to throw down their weapons and flee from the invaders.

Further complicating matters is the non-binding Kurdish referendum on independence last month.  The vote passed easily but was seen by the Iraqi government and other anti-Kurdish elements as inflammatory.

When ISIS was routed out of Mosul earlier this year, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. General Tom McInerney was sobered by the key role of Shia militias loyal to Iran in that victory.  He says the same groups are now turning on the Kurds.

“The people attacking them are primarily Shi’ite organizations that the Iranians set up for the Iraqi military.  So I think we’ve got to get our hands on it very quickly and not let it get out of control,” said McInerney.

When asked if any U.S. sympathy for the Kurdish position would drive the Iraqi government even closer to their Shia brethren in Iran, McInerney says that ship has already sailed.

“Let’s not kid ourselves.  The Iraqi government is already in the hands of Iran.  Whether they can go further or not is another question

“We’re having out own challenge with the Iranian government on the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement.  I think you can see this is only going to get worse because of the expansive nature of Iran,” said McInerney.

While acknowledging this is a complicated and delicate diplomatic dance for the U.S., McInerney says the sacrifices of the Kurds over the years need to be recognized.

“This is very complex.  My gut feel is clearly that we should be supporting the Kurds.  They resurrected Kirkuk when ISIS tries to take it over an d the Iraqi government fled.  So they should be given credit for that.

“I’m not sure where our government’s going to go, but I do believe that we ought to make it so that since the Kurds saved Kirkuk from ISIS that they ought to be given credit for that,” said McInerney.

McInerney is quite sympathetic towards the creation of an independent Kurdish nation, known as Kurdistan, but also points out that creating that state is contrary to the interests of several nations in the region, since the Kurdish population centers would lead to a nation carved out of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

While admitting the issue is so thorny that he does not have any specific proposals to solve the sectarian schism that’s now turning deadly, he says decisive U.S. leadership could well play a key role in preventing the escalation of these renewed tensions.

“It’s going to take State Department and Defense working closely together with all parties to create a solution that is satisfactory.  But it will take U.S. leadership, strong leadership to do that.

“I’m delighted that we’ve got President Trump who’d be willing to make some of the hard decisions on what transpires over there right now.  No clear, easy answer,” said McInerney.

Ultimately, McInerney believes any long term stability will require dealing with the Iranian regime.  McInerney says Iran will likely work behind the scenes to kill any agreement that the U.S. finds palatable.  He says as long as the mullahs are pulling the strings there and in their own nation, peace will be elusive.

“Iran is on a path that we need a regime change with the mullahs.  We ought to admit it and there are so many allies over there that will help us change that regime and create a different calculus over there.  We need to be looking at that very seriously,” said McInerney.

Standard Podcast [ 8:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Bolton Cheers Trump’s UN Performance

by

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton is cheering President Trump for a strong address to the United Nations this week and for perhaps already reaping critical results in his effort to isolate North Korea.

On Thursday, Trump announced a new round of U.S. sanctions aimed at North Korea and also reported that China is vowing to deal a major financial blow to the communist regime in Pyongyang.

“Today I’m announcing a new executive order I just signed that significantly expands our authorities to target individuals, companies, financial institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea,” said Trump.

Bolton says this could be a very significant move.

“It’s potentially significant because if we were to sanction companies or banks doing business with North Korea, that could have a knock-on effect to other countries doing the same and could effect their ability to do transactions in the United States,” said Bolton.

He says it leaves those banks and corporations with a stark choice.

“Do you want to do business with us or do you want to do business with North Korea?  Your choice entirely, but it’s going to be one or the other,” said Bolton.

Bolton likes the aggressive nature of the sanctions.

“Why didn’t we do this about eight or ten years ago?  Why is it that we’ve waited this long?  I think we have the answer.  I think President Trump is determined to do something about North Korea and Iran and their nuclear programs,” said Bolton.

Bolton served as ambassador to the United Nations for President George W. Bush.  So why didn’t these sanctions come then?

“There was a lot of discussion in the Bush administration about sanctions but (there was) a lot of opposition to really squeezing North Korea.  Ultimately, I don’t think we did really anywhere near what we could have,” said Bolton.

He says there was virtually no chance for stiff penalties in the Obama years.

“There was no appetite for sanctions against North Korea.  They were exercising what they called ‘strategic patience’ in the Obama administration.  That’s a synonym for doing nothing and the North Koreans took advantage of it,” said Bolton.

Just as importantly, Bolton says the new sanctions turn the screws on China as well.

“The vast bulk of the institutions doing business with North Korea – financial, commodities, machinery, you name it – are Chinese.  China, for 25 years, frankly, has two-timed us on their concern about the North Korean nuclear program.  So this gives the president some bite,” said Bolton.

That may have already paid off Thursday, as, Trump announced news that seemed to surprise even him, as China appears ready to play hardball with Kim Jong-Un as well.

“China, their central bank has told other banks – and it’s a massive banking system –  to immediately stop doing business with North Korea,” said Trump.

Bolton says if China is serious about taking this step it could have a huge impact on North Korea.   However, he says it is very tough to determine if China is making good on such a policy.

“I think that’s difficult from the outside.  God knows how many banks there are and how many new banks can be created that might be able to facilitate North Korean trade, for example with Iran,” said Bolton.

Trump made major headlines with his blunt talk about North Korea in his speech on Tuesday.

“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.  Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.  The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary,” said Trump.

Bolton says Trump struck exactly the right tone.

“I thought it was entirely appropriate.  Some of these people who talk about what’s becoming or unbecoming to say at the UN.  Honestly, the United Nations is not a church.  You’re not supposed to be reverential towards threats to international peace and security and innocent American civilians,” said Bolton, who thought the Trump approach was refreshing after the past eight years.

“After eight years of global governance kind of rhetoric from Obama and the weakness that he projected, maybe some people are shocked when they hear what a real American president has to say.  All in all, I think it’s the right thing for the president to do.  In America, plain speaking is a virtue and it’s important that these other countries hear it,” said Bolton.

Bolton also lauded Trump for labeling the Iran nuclear deal an “embarrassment” and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”  He says that puts the onus on Trump to get out of the deal soon.

“If you don’t certify but stay in the deal that you’ve described already as embarrassing, I think that’s unpresidential.  It’s sort of a one shoe on, one shoe off foreign policy.  He needs to lead with moral and political clarity.  I think the way you do that is to say this deal is a disaster for the United States and its friends and allies and we’re getting out of it,” said Bolton.

Standard Podcast [ 10:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share