Radio America Online News Bureau

Iran

The Embassy Is Seized, Iran Hostage Crisis Part 2

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This coming Monday marks the start of a very dark chapter in American history.  On November 4, 1979, Iranians took over the U.S. embassy in Iran.  Then a 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at the embassy, Kevin Hermening became the youngest American hostage held captive for the next 444 days.

In the second installment of his three-part interview with Greg Corombos, Hermening walks us moment by moment as the Americans lost control of the embassy and were taken captive.

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Trouble Is Coming, Iran Hostage Crisis Part 1

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This coming Monday marks the start of a very dark chapter in American history.  On November 4, 1979, Iranians took over the U.S. embassy in Iran.  Then a 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed at the embassy, Kevin Hermening became the youngest American hostage held captive for the next 444 days.

In the first installment of his three-part interview with Greg Corombos, Hermening details his military journey to Iran and how things there were obviously deteriorating in the days leading up to the attack on the embassy.

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Allies Blame Iran Too, Impeachment Insanity Looms, Bernie’s Wealth Tax

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see France, Germany, and the UK conclude that Iran attacked Saudi Arabia earlier this month and that there is no other plausible explanation.  They also groan over the political circus about to begin as House Democrats appear to be moving en masse towards impeachment and even President Trump seems to like the idea of getting impeached because it would help him win re-election.  And they discuss the dystopian world Bernie Sanders wants us all to live in as he proposes a ludicrous wealth tax to pay for the massive expansion of government that he envisions.

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Beto Foils Dem Gun Narrative, Iran Gets Aggressive, More Kavanaugh Craziness

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy watching some Democrats fret that Beto O’Rourke’s vow to take everyone’s AR-15 and AK-47 might convince voters that Democrats are after our guns.  They also shudder as Iranian-funded and armed rebels in Yemen attack Saudi oil production facilities, leading to much higher tensions in the region.  And they hammer the New York Times for publishing a new, salacious allegation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh while omitting the fact the alleged victim has no memory of the incident.

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GOP Wins in Carolina, Iran Loves Bolton Exit, Trump Dynasty?

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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see Republicans hold on to a pair of North Carolina congressional seats, including one that Democrats were hoping would be a harbinger of 2020.  They also shudder as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cheers the exit of National Security Adviser John Bolton and now urges President Trump to end the maximum pressure campaign.  And they groan as Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale openly forecasts a Trump political dynasty.

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Bolton Out as National Security Adviser

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President Trump is looking for his fourth National Security Adviser in less than three years following the departure of John Bolton on Tuesday, just 18 months after taking the job.

The debate continues as to whether Bolton resigned (as he claims) or whether he was fired, as Trump insists.  More importantly, what impact did Bolton have on the Trump administration?  Why was the proposed meeting with the Taliban at Camp David the final straw?

Former Pentagon official Jed Babbin believes Bolton was trying to influence Trump in the right direction.

“He was a hard liner and trying to restrain Mr. Trump’s straying off of America’s best interests,” said Babbin, who served as a deputy undersecretary of defense in the George H.W. Bush administration.

“I would think that a lot of the things you saw, in respect to Iran in particular, with Mr. Trump going ahead with a very hard line against Iran is certainly due to Bolton,” added Babbin.

As mentioned in Trump’s tweets announcing Bolton’s departure, the president and Bolton disagreed about many policies, most recently whether to hold a summit with the Taliban at Camp David.  Trump scuttled the meeting after a terrorist attack killed an American service member, but seemed very much in favor of the idea while reports show Bolton adamantly opposed it.

Babbin says the meeting was a “horrid” idea.

“First off, we did not have an agreement.  You don’t bring the president in to sign the outline of an agreement, which was apparently Mr. Trump’s idea that he would get together with the Taliban to do,” said Babbin, who also blasted the negotiations with the Taliban to this point.

“Number two, you have to have preconditions to any negotiation really.  When (lead U.S. negotiator) Zalmay Khalilzad went in there without first demanding a cease-fire in Afghanistan that lasted more than ten minutes, that was a huge mistake,” said Babbin.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Babbin’s assessment of Trump’s approach to North Korea and what kind of successor to Bolton is likely to emerge.  Babbin also explains why it “beats the snot out of me” what the Trump approach to foreign policy actually is.

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AOC vs. Pelosi, Iran Attacks British Tanker, McGrath’s Kavanaugh Flip-Flop

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Listen to “AOC vs. Pelosi, Iran Attacks British Tanker, McGrath’s Kavanaugh Flip-Flop” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of National Review discuss the brewing Democratic civil war with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez choosing to play the race card on Nancy Pelosi. They react to Iran’s failed attempt to storm a British tanker and the escalating situation in the Middle East. And they chuckle at Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath’s quick flip-flop on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

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Grisham Fights for Free Press, Iran Violates Deal, Dems Bringing Busing Back

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Listen to “Grisham Fights for Free Press, Iran Violates Deal, Dems Bringing Busing Back 7-01-19” on Spreaker.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and guest host Gregory Knapp praise White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham’s actions to protect the press from North Korean interference. They cover the announcement from Iran that they have resumed enriching uranium. And they discuss the Democratic Party’s sudden embrace of busing to resolve racial disparities.

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What to Expect from the New Sanctions on Iran

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President Trump opted for additional sanctions against Iran in response to the shooting down of a U.S. drone last week, and one expert says the new economic penalties will make Iran leaders even less popular among its own people.

The new sanctions are aimed at key individuals inside the regime, including Supreme Leader Ali Khameini as well as military officials and even Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

“This is an attempt by the administration to hit back at Iran for its escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf but do so in a non-military fashion.  There’s been a lot of ink spilled in the media about how President Trump is rushing to war, but it’s very clear that he doesn’t prefer military confrontation,” said American Foreign Policy Council Vice President Ilan Berman.

“He wants Iran to pay but he wants Iran to pay in a way that doesn’t escalate actual physical hostilities,” added Berman.

But while Iran avoided military strikes, Berman believes the sanctions could do even greater damage for the long-term health of the regime.

“This is a very shrewd move by the administration because it plays on a fault line that is very visible within Iran but much less so outside.  Ordinary Iranians understand very well that the supreme leader and the unelected clergy that run Iran have enriched themselves tremendously at the expense of ordinary people,” said Berman.

“The administration is trying to widen that rift that exists between the Iranian people and the Iranian leadership by highlighting just how corrupt that leadership is,” he said.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Berman explain why he thinks the sanctions will force Iran back to the bargaining table and why he believes Trump’s decision to pull back military strikes sent the wrong message.

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Iran Provoking U.S. to Distract from Domestic Crisis

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A leading Iranian resistance group urges President Trump to demonstrate strength and resolve in confronting Iran over its provocative actions against the U.S. and others in the region, insisting that such pressure will assist the Iranian people in toppling their own government.

Alireza Jafarzadeh is deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is the Iranian parliament in exile.  He urges Trump to keep the pressure on Tehran.

“The last thing you want to show is indecisiveness, to give them concessions, to give the ayatollahs what they want,” said Jafarzadeh, who says he is not suggesting Trump’s decision to call off an attack qualifies as indecisive.

Critics of a hawkish policy towards Iran suggest it could spark a brutal war in the region.  Jafarzadeh says those people are too late because Iran has been waging war for the past four decades.

“The rest of the world looks at 40 years of the regime’s terror and hostage-taking and creating proxies in the whole Middle East,” said Jafarzadeh, pointing to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran sponsoring deadly aggression in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

He says Iran’s unrelenting aggression in the region is now seen as “part and parcel” of the reality in the Middle East but it doesn’t have to be that way.

So why is Iran continuing to provoke the United States by attacking tankers, flouting uranium enrichment limits and even shooting down an American drone?  Jafarzadeh says the mullahs in Iran are desperate to change the subject with their own people.

“The Iranian regime is facing a lot of domestic problems, first in terms of the uprisings that began a year-and-a-half ago that has continued.  There is a huge amount of corruption going on that has translated to political unrest because the people of Iran hold the people responsible for their misery and hardship for the mismanagement and how the resources of the country are being plundered,” said Jafarzadeh.

Listen to the full podcast to hear Jafarzadeh detail the depth of the frustration by the Iranian people toward their own government and what the U.S. can do to best facilitate the people taking back the power in Tehran.

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