The story of the Bidenites’ insufficient response to Iran’s continued march toward enriching uranium to the weapons-grade level of 90% purity is here: “Biden fiddles around while Iran builds a bomb and hegemony,” by Mitchell Bard, Israel Hayom, December 2, 2021:
According to The New York Times, American officials have warned Israel that repeated attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities are counterproductive; meanwhile, the Biden administration has twiddled its thumbs as Iran advances closer to the nuclear threshold. Reports now indicate Iran could produce enough fissile fuel in a month to build a weapon, and the Iranians have repeatedly said they will not discuss a stronger agreement that as a candidate, US President Joe Biden said he would negotiate. Nevertheless, he has not been dissuaded from appeasing the mullahs in the hope they will return to the old deal they never complied with.
It is of course intolerable for the Bidenites to warn Israel away from doing what it must to slow down Iran’s nuclear progress; there is no reason to believe that these attacks have been, as the Americans claim, “counterproductive”: they have done exactly what they were supposed to do, to set back Iran’s nuclear program, and the Israel’s leaders believe these attacks have delayed Iran’s progress by as much as a year. It is Israel, not the U.S., that is Iran’s main target, and the Jewish state has a right to defend itself as it sees fit, even if that makes Iran less amenable to negotiations in Vienna. While Iran delayed a return to those negotiations by five months, all that while working on enriching uranium, the Bidenites continued to appease Iran, hoping to lure it back to the talks in Vienna. When Iran did return to negotiations, it made maximalist demands, insisting that all sanctions should be lifted before the talks would resume. Even Secretary Blinken said on Dec. 2 that the Iranians were not “serious” about negotiations, and again warned that “other options” would have to be considered.
Unfortunately, former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign failed (maybe four more years would have made a difference, but that was unlikely given the lack of international cooperation). Now, following precedents set by presidents Obama and Trump, Biden is allowing Iran and its proxies to attack US forces and allies with impunity.
The Iranians In mid-October attacked U.S. forces stationed at the Tanf base in Syria with a drone strike; the Americans did not retaliate for what some claim was Iran’s response to a previous Israeli attack on an Iranian base in Syria. The Bidenites did not respond to that attack by Iran for fear of derailing the talks which they have been so intent on resuming.
Iran has no incentive to change its policies given the display of US weakness highlighted by the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that emboldened jihadis everywhere (and the mullahs in Iran) by demonstrating their commitment to their faith is stronger than America’s loyalty to its allies.
The withdrawal from Afghanistan and that country’s takeover by the Taliban marked the American defeat in its longest war. To make matters worse, the “chaotic withdrawal” from the country led to tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked with the Americans being left stranded in the country; even some American citizens, four months after the American withdrawal, are still in Afghanistan trying to get out. The whole spectacle did not inspire confidence among America’s Middle East allies, who are also well aware that the Administration wants to cut back its forces in the Middle East and to pivot toward Asia, to counter the looming threat, economic and military, of China.
Consider a few other responses to Iranian aggression:
Biden withdrew support for Saudi Arabia’s attempt to stop Iranian-backed Houthi forces from overrunning the country. Subsequently, the Houthis stormed the US Embassy in Yemen and are now threatening a strategic, oil-rich city near the Saudi border.
The Bidenites were more concerned about the Saudi role in creating a “humanitarian crisis” in Yemen than they were about the Houthi threat – the Houthis, of course, were just as responsible as the Saudis for that “humanitarian crisis” – and the devastating effects of Yemen’s seven-year civil war on its people. After the Bidenites had scolded the Saudis, the Houthis expressed their “gratitude” by storming the American Embassy and, heartened by Washington’s public dressing-down of Riyadh, the Houthis are now laying siege to the city of Marib.
Biden wants to transfer weapons to the Lebanese army despite Israeli warnings that they will end up in the hands of Hezbollah and strengthen Iran’s control over Lebanon.
The Israelis know that in the past Hezbollah has been able to seize weapons from the Lebanese Army’s arsenal; why should the situation be any different now? If anything, Hezbollah is much stronger than before, and the Lebanese Army weaker. Hezbollah is not to be dissuaded by the West or Gulf Arabs giving more arms to the Lebanese Army, which have been, and can again be taken by Hezbollah. Only a popular uprising by the economically devastated population of Lebanon, demanding that Hezbollah voluntarily disarm and cease to act as Iran’s viceroy in the country, has a chance of succeeding in ending Hezbollah’s rule.
Biden has not responded to numerous provocations at sea, including Iranian forces nearing US naval vessels, seizing allies’ ships and attacking Israeli-owned vessels.
There have been several incidents where Iranian small craft have harassed, in groups, American ships in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian navy has seized the ships of our allies, including one tanker belonging to the UK. Others have been taken, too, such as the Liberian-flagged Gulf Sky, and taken back to Iran. The Americans could have destroyed one or more of the small craft harassing their ships; it would have been a salutary warning to the Iranians. But so far the Bidenites have refrained from any such response. One assumes this was prompted by the eagerness of Washington to make sure Iran would return to the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.
Biden has allowed Iranian-backed attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq to go unpunished.
The latest attacks on the American military stationed at the Tanf Base in Syria, and the attacks by Iranian-backed militias on American soldiers in northern Iraq, were both allowed to pass without a military response. In fact, only twice since becoming President has Biden ordered very modest strikes on Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. And while the negotiations have renewed in Vienna, he is unlikely to.do anything that Iran might seize upon as a “provocation” leading it to once again walk away from those negotiations.
The only good news is that Biden has not eased sanctions. In addition to maintaining Trump’s sanctions, he did impose a few others, notably on individuals and companies involved in the production of drones (ironic given his criticism of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign and its failure), which was apparently his idea of a tough response to the Iranian attack on our base in Syria. Still, as talks resume in Vienna, the Iranians made clear they will not return to the old deal and will not do anything without sanctions relief. Fears remain that Biden so desperately wants an agreement that he will relent.
These fears were enhanced by reports of a supposed interim deal floated by Robert Malley, one of the people who helped put the world in the dangerous position it is now in by promoting the original Iran deal. Under this crazy idea, the United States would release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, which, like the payoff to get the original deal, will give Iran more funds for its nefarious activities. In exchange, Iran would only be expected to suspend, not reverse, the enrichment activities that have brought it closer to the purity needed for a bomb. Not surprisingly, Israel opposed this idea.
Fortunately, the Iranians have not accepted Malley’s proposal, but are insisting on a complete lifting of the sanctions – and not just the unfreezing of Iranian assets – before they will return to any deal on their uranium enrichment program. And that has proved to be, even for the Bidenites, impossible to accept.
PMK says
Joe Biden is just the latest president to fiddle while Iran continues its nuclear weapons development program. The first to avoid it was Bush 43 back in 2004. Iran, while officially a party to the NPT, has been in violation of it for over a decade. Bush’s successors continued the policy of ‘containment’, or whatever, ever since. Despite his best efforts, not even Trump could stop it. The US cannot do anything about Iran all by itself. The Europeans (and most of the world) prefer to avert their eyes to the threat Iran represents, rather than do anything meaningful to stop it.
https://iranprimer.usip.org/index.php/blog/2020/jan/22/iran-and-npt
gravenimage says
True–but this is worse because Trump actually tried to do something about it, and Biden has backpedaled. Plus, Bush wasn’t handing boatloads of cash to the Mullahs.
Don McKellar says
Trump had Iran on the ropes, the regime about to collapse.
Expect three theaters of war right after the Olympics: Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, Iran and Israel. And whatever he does, one royal screw up after another by His Fraudulency.
Keys says
Don, if those three theaters of war open simultaneously, the likelihood of home-front attacks in the US by already embedded terrorist cells (jihadi and leftist-anarchist) will be high.
And the likelihood of the CIA, FBI, Justice Department, etc. continuing to spend resources going after “white supremacists” instead of the real threats will probably continue as usual.
Don McKellar says
I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. With all that happening, there’s almost an irresistible opportunity to strike terror while this incompetent fraud presidency is in the White House. I fear it may be a four theaters of war before the first half of 2022 is over.
All the elements are in place right now, ready to happen, no silly conspiracy theories required.
libertyORdeath says
Despite the historically disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the 85 billion in high tech weaponry that we left for the Taliban, I still think that this may turn out to be the biggest disaster that the Biden forign policy team has facilitated. A nuclear Iran is a recipe for WWIII, and although Iran has NEVER complied with the terms, these geniuses just keep pushing us back in.
The question is WHY?
Do they really not understand the risks? I highly doubt that Israel has neglected to mention just how dangerous this is.
Do they WANT Iran to have nukes? Maybe. It sure would help to produce more “equity” between the muslim world and the West.
Do they actually want Iran to attack Israel?
It’s a small possibility, but with the people Biden has surrounded himself with you just can’t rule it out.
Keys says
No you can not rule it out, especially since Biden is not calling the shots.
john smith says
We all know that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, but it’s only the political elites of our governments that actually know how far they are in their developments.
If they get a nuclear bomb, you can be 100% certain they will use it.
Walter Sieruk says
That ignorant incompetent feeble-minded and worse yet treasonous Joe Biden is completely and totally useless in stopping that “mullah regime’ of Iran from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. [W.M..D.]
Walter Sieruk says
Those demonically ambitious and sinister jihad –minded Muslims who have all the power in that hostile and menacing Islamic regime of Iran will continue in the unreasoning Islamic quest in the manufacture and construction of nuclear weapons.
Furthermore, that fiendish President of Iran ,Raisi in power in that tyrannical Islamic regime of Iran it’s now a rather appropriate time to bring out the fact that if the founder of the current Islamic tyranny ,Ayatollah Khomeini would still be alive today ,he would spit on Joe Biden.
The reason is that Biden had publicly declared and claimed, “Islam is a non-violent religion” In other words he said that “Islam is not a religion of violence.”
Pseudo President Biden is a liar and the Muslim clerics of Iran know that.
For as Ayatollah Khomeini had clearly announced that “Those who know nothing about Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war….There are hundreds psalms and hadiths urging of Muslims to value war and to fight. …I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.” [1]
There are also many places in the Qu‘ran that instruct in violence and killing for the cause of Islam.
As found in ,for example Surah 2:191. 4:89.. 5:33. 9:5, 111,112 ,123. 47:4.
Therefore if Khomeini alive and well in this year of 2021 he would spit upon Joe Biden.
[1] THE ISLAM IN ISLAMIC TERRORISM by Ibn Warraq page 339.
nicholas tesdorf says
With a half-wit in charge of the White House, it is up to the Israelis to work out how to keep the Lunatics in Tehran under control.
Daniel Triplett says
The only thing that will stop the Iranian nuke program is the total kinetic destruction of all nuke production facilities, both above ground and subterranean, along with any existing nuke weapons. This would require a massive, coordinated, multilateral allied conventional campaign involving airstrikes and the thousands of elements of support that are required for such operations. Or, the same objective could more affordably, safely, quickly, and effectively be achieved with localized nuclear strikes on the production infrastructure and weapons caches, which is how I would advise the CINC.
What the Mossad is doing with assassinations and tactical harassment/sabotage of computer systems and centrifuges is some seriously impressive and courageous espionage, but it’s really just a stopgap measure to buy time until the more permanent solution can be conducted.
We should’ve done this while Trump and Netanyahu were in power. I don’t think either one of them thought they’d lose power, but now they have and the opportunity has passed. We’ll all be lucky to make it through another 3 years of Biden without Iran building 20 – 30 nuke weapon devices, which is all they really need.
I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt Israel’s current PM Naftali Bennett would unilaterally conduct the kind of wholesale complete and conclusive kinetic strike that’s required here without US support.
OLD GUY says
Maybe we can count on the small country of Israel to stand up against Iran for us. Makes one wonder just how much the Middle East, Muslim MONEY controls our Government Officials.