Nahash Sefta

I have been meaning to write something about an issue that sort of flew by in early January; the disclosure that the Obama administration had tipped off Iran about Israel's intentions to assassinate the head of the overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani. This story comes on the heels of the Project Cassandra revelations.

The original article runs here in Haaretz.

The article was picked up by Bret Stephens of the New York Times and he got into a twitter tete a tete with Tommy Vietor, another wet behind the ears Doogie Howser talking head for Obama. It is worth reading.

This whole colloquy is very interesting and instructive. Because it shows the delusion of the Obama administration in attempting to persuade itself and the rest of us that the Revolutionary Guard, a ruthless and thuggish bunch of rogues, responsible for perpetrating countless acts of terrorism the world over, including bombing the Beirut barracks of the United States military, were a legitimate political force and capable of moderation.

And I started looking into this story and the fingers all point back to the head of the CIA, John Brennan. Brennan wrote a paper in 2008 that outlined his hopes of incorporating the Iranian proxy Hezbollah into the Lebanese government and establishing an American rapprochement with Iran.

But Brennan was not the only Obamaite with a soft spot for terrorists. John Kerry led the fight to keep funding a martyrs fund, to reward the families of Palestinians who murdered Israelis. Jen Psaki refused to call them terrorists at all, preferring the terms "freedom fighters." Chuck Hagel had a similar world view.

There are several stories of Obama leaking Israeli intelligence information to thwart their plans, I don't have time to revisit the issue right now but it is easily found on line.

In 2012, the Obama administration leaked damaging information that inexplicably sought to sabotage a burgeoning strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan. Such an alliance would have enabled Israel to seek alternate bases in close proximity to Iran from which it could conduct military operations including surveillance and rescue missions, refueling and maintenance and even direct military strikes. The embarrassing disclosure shed unwanted light on a covert military alliance that would have greatly enhanced Israel’s strategic capabilities vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic.
Then again in 2013, Israeli officials bitterly complained to the Obama administration over leaks sourced to administration officials that the Israeli Air Force had struck a military base near the Syrian port city of Latakia. The Israelis termed the leak “scandalous” and bitterly noted that it was not the first time that administration officials had publicly linked Israel to attacks aimed at preventing arms from falling into the hands of Hezbollah terrorists. At the time, the Israelis were attempting to keep a low profile but the administration’s leaks blew everything and Israel’s involvement could no longer be concealed.

Obama likes to say that he was the best friend Israel ever had but I find the argument laughable at best. He always had a thumb on the scale favoring the Persians. And his IRS targeted and harassed pro Israel organizations.

What he also did was allow the Iranians to get access to a tremendous amount of currency and further their intentions to promote and foment terrorism around the globe. And at times he walked hand in hand with them.

Today an Iranian drone entered Israel. An Israeli jet was shot down with Iranian munitions. Will this be the first salvo in a deadly conflagration that torches the entire region?

I am not a fan of Netanyahu whatsoever. I think that the Israeli settlement policy has been duplicitous at best. But the country is surrounded by enemies that to this day have sworn to annihilate them. I stand with Israel and stand for their survival.

Barack Obama has made the problems in the middle east worse.