Obama's Buddy Erdogan, The Muslim Brotherhood
sympathizer.
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I inquired of a long time friend and fellow memo reader, who lives in Indiana, his thoughts regarding Pence.
This was his reply:
" Nice to hear from you. We are all doing fine and enjoying our few months of nice weather. Still thinking some day I'll get down your way...
As far as our governor is concerned, it appears he will be the VP pick but given Trump's always doing the unexpected, it would not surprise me if he changes his mind at the last minute.
My feelings about Governor Pence are more negative than positive as he has been a polarizing figure in Indiana for a variety of reasons. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Indiana the Secretary of Education is an elected position and when Governor Pence was elected, the Secretary of Education elected that year happened to be a Democrat. I believe that many of the state held elected offices should be appointments as whoever the sitting governor is should be able to surround him or herself with people he can work with. It doesn't work that way in Indiana and in this case the governor and his Secretary of Education clashed multiple times and it appeared that the governor was trying to force her out or at the very least make her time as Secretary miserable.
I know there are two sides to every story, but it seemed that he went out of his way to antagonize her. I also didn't particularly like his support for both the so called Freedom of Religion bill that the state ultimately had to back down from, and most recently his signature on a bill that would ban abortions if the fetus had a genetic anomaly and also require fetal tissue to be buried or cremated. That bill was opposed by many in his own party and was ultimately struck down by a court of appeals. I've never been that comfortable with evangelicals or anyone else for that matter who wear religion on their sleeves, so I must admit that my bias in that regard probably clouds my perspective somewhat
On a more positive note, the economy in Indiana, our tax rates, and our "business" friendly environment is better than most of our neighboring states, so if we blame our political leaders for these failures, we should credit them at least somewhat for successes. I think he would be a good pick for Trump as he has a lot of credibility with the evangelical base and could energize those who are skeptical of Trump.
As far as Obama is concerned, clearly I'm not as negative as you and those on the right are. I think he missed many opportunities and probably hasn't been a very effective leader but history will judge him far better than I ever could. Heard something Richard Haas said that George Bush overreached in thinking he could reshape the Middle East, and Obama as a reaction hasn't done enough and that both foreign policies have been failures that will have long lasting effects.
Probably more than you wanted to read, hope you and yours are well and have a good rest of the summer."
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As I write, a military coup is taking place in Turkey because the military, which has historically been the protector of secular Turkey and the insurer that it remain aligned with The West, has had enough of Obama's closest buddy, Erdogan, a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer and fundamentalist.
I would hope The Pentagon would do the same over here and throw Obama and his crowd out of office and allow our Republic to return to a Constitutional form of government which we had before he was elected.
Obama stated early on that Erdogan was his closest friend and Turkey was one of America's most reliable NATO nations. Then Erdogan began to turn Turkey into a radical fundamentalist country, broke relations with Israel and began to create problems in the region. Another wrong call by Obama.
Meanwhile, the truth about Obama's Iran deal is beginning to surface. (See 1 and 1a below.)
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Carr on Obama. (See 2 below.)
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Another colossal security failure in France. (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1). Truth Catches the Iran Deal
Obama trumpets an agreement that Tehran violates at every turn.
By Bret Stephens
What diplomats call the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—known to the rest of us as the Disastrous Iran Deal—was agreed in Vienna a year ago this week. Now comes a status update, courtesy of our friends at the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, or BfV.
In its fascinating 2015 annual report, published late last month, the German domestic intelligence service reports a “particularly strong increase” in the number of Salafists, describes the reach of Russian and Chinese espionage efforts in Germany, and notes a growing number of right-wing extremists.
Then there’s this:
“The illegal proliferation-sensitive procurement activities [by Iran] in Germany registered by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution persisted in 2015 at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level. This holds true in particular with regard to items which can be used in the field of nuclear technology.”
The report also notes “a further increase in the already considerable procurement efforts in connection with Iran’s ambitious missile technology program which could among other things potentially serve to deliver nuclear weapons. Against this backdrop it is safe to expect that Iran will continue its intensive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives.”
The BfV report arrived days before Germany arrested a Pakistani national, identified asSyed Mustufa H., accused of spying for Iran. It also corroborates another German report, this one from the intelligence service of North Rhine-Westphalia, that Iran’s nuclear procurement efforts have increased dramatically in recent years, from 48 known attempts in 2010 to 141 in 2015. Seven other German states have reported similar Iranian procurement efforts. This violates Iran’s explicit commitment to go through an official “procurement channel” to purchase nuclear- and missile-related materials.
All this was enough to prompt Angela Merkel to warn the Bundestag last week that Iran “continued to develop its rocket program in conflict with relevant provisions of the U.N. Security Council.” Don’t expect German sanctions, but at least the chancellor is living in the reality zone.
As for the Obama administration, not so much. For the past year it has developed a narrative—spoon-fed to the reporters and editorial writers Ben Rhodes publicly mocks as dopes and dupes—that Iran has met all its obligations under the deal, and now deserves extra cookies in the form of access to U.S. dollars, Boeing jets, U.S. purchases of Iranian heavy water (thereby subsidizing its nuclear program), and other concessions the administration last year promised Congress it would never grant.
“We still have sanctions on Iran for its violations of human rights, for its support for terrorism, and for its ballistic-missile program, and we will continue to enforce those sanctions vigorously,” Mr. Obama said in January. Whatever.
The administration is now weighing whether to support Iran’s membership in the World Trade Organization. That would neutralize a future president’s ability to impose sanctions on Iran, since WTO rules would allow Tehran to sue Washington for interfering with trade. The administration has also pushed the Financial Action Task Force, an international body that enforces anti-money-laundering standards, to ease pressure on Iran, which FATF did last month by suspending some restrictions for the next year.
And then there’s the Boeing deal to sell $17.6 billion worth of jets to Iran, which congressional Republicans led by Illinois’s Pete Roskam are trying to stop. Iran uses its civilian fleet to ferry weapons and fighters to its terrorist clients in Syria and Lebanon.
“The administration is trying to lock in the Iran deal and prevent a future president from doing anything, including pushing back on Iran’s malign behavior,” says the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Mark Dubowitz, who knows more about Iran sanctions than anyone in Washington. “Instead of curbing Iran’s worst behavior, the administration effectively facilitates it.”
So let’s recap. Mr. Obama says Iran is honoring the nuclear deal, but German intelligence tells us Tehran is violating it more aggressively than ever. He promised “snapback” sanctions in the event of such violations, but the U.S. is operating as Iran’s trade-promotion agent. He promised “unprecedented” inspections, but we’re not permitted to inspect sites where uranium was found. He promised an eight-year ban on Iran’s testing of ballistic missiles, but Tehran violated that ban immediately and repeatedly with only mild pushback from the West. He promised that the nuclear deal was not about “normalizing” relations with a rogue regime. But he wants it in the WTO.One last detail: In June, the Journal’s Jay Solomon reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency had discovered “traces of man-made uranium” at Iran’s military facility at Parchin. The agency reported this finding in a footnote to a report in December, but the administration made no comment then and now dismisses it as old news. The IAEA is no longer allowed to inspect Parchin, or any other military installation, under the deal.
Is Mr. Obama rationalizing a failed agreement or did he mean to mislead the American public? Either way, truth is catching up with the Iran deal
Iran test-fired a new kind of ballistic missile using North Korean technology on the night of July 11-12, Fox News reported on Friday, citing multiple intelligence officials. The latest test, theninth Iran carried out since it signed a nuclear deal with global powers last year, was held two days before the one-year anniversary of the deal’s announcement.
The missile was fired from the city of Saman in western Iran and was a modified version of North Korea’s Musudan ballistic missile, which has a range of 2,500 miles — putting nearly all of the Middle East (including Israel) and much of mainland Europe within reach. Iran’s previous launch, in May, featured a missile with an estimated range of around 1,250 miles. Another launch, in March, included a missile with a range of around 870 miles that had the phrase “Israel must be wiped from the face of the earth” inscribed on it in Hebrew.
Iran’s continued ballistic missile tests are being carried out in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which codified last year’s nuclear deal and calls on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.” The resolution also says that Iran must abide by previous Security Council resolutions, which placed restrictions on ballistic missile work until 2023.
NATO leaders said in a joint communique last week that they were “seriously concerned by the development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme and continuing missile tests that are inconsistent with [Resolution] 2231.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi replied on Monday that NATO’s statement was “a repetition of past baseless allegations.” Iran launched its missile that night.
An Iranian missile launch in October was officially found by the Security Council to be in violation of the resolutions, but the United States and the European Union have stopped short of classifying subsequent launches as violations. The Washington Posteditorial board wrote in April that the Obama administration should work harder at penalizing Iran for its ballistic missile violations. (via TheTower.org)
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Another day, another terrorist attack, another feckless U.S. response.Has the president said yet that, “We may never know the motivations of these individuals?”Shhhh — none dare call it jihad. At least at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Because “that’s not who we are,” as Obama likes to say.He told us Fort Hood was “workplace violence.” Orlando was “gun violence.” So is this going to be dismissed as simple road rage?Who committed this latest atrocity? Let me guess — “a Nice man.” A nice Nice man. Who had recently grown a beard and become “more devout.”Hey Obama, how’s that “junior varsity” team called ISIS doing?All the Beautiful People quickly tweeted out their condolences last night — “#Nicestrong.” Or “Je suis Nice.” But they too dare not call it what it is, just as in Orlando, Obama’s Thought Police edited the 911 transcripts of the Muslim killer chanting “Allahu Akhbar!” to “God is great!”Maybe we need another march of world leaders, arm-in-arm, with some candlelight vigils, and Teddy bears quietly left at the site of the atrocities.This is one they can’t blame on the National Rifle Association. So is it the fault of the National Truck Association? Can we finally close the truck show loophole?Hey, Hillary, can you get Sen. Elizabeth Warren to lead a sit-in in the House chambers until we get a vote on Sen. Dick Durbin’s proposal for a seven-day waiting period for truck purchases?Yes, of course what happened in Nice is horrific, but we must understand their rage — look what happened during the Crusades.More terrorists must be released from Gitmo — that will convince the “migrants” that we are people of good will.Long lines at the airport security gates this weekend — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will order the TSA to take stern measures against the likely proponents of the next attack, Hindus and 95-year-old grandmothers from Kansas in wheelchairs.Hillary Clinton will issue a statement: “Once again our thoughts and prayers are with the people of France blah blah blah ...”James Taylor has already received an invitation to join Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris at this weekend’s “You’ve Got a Friend” hootenanny, after which Kerry will fly back to the U.S. for the ribbon-cutting at a new municipal pool in Lowell for some of those wonderful new Arab refugees — “Serious Refugees,” as he called them this week.FBI Director James Comey will assure the population there is “no credible threat.”Attorney General Loretta Lynch will caution against a “rush to judgment.”The so-called intelligence community will tell congressmen at a closed-door hearing that the heinous nature of the carnage indicates that ISIS — er, ISIL, because this is the Obama administration — is actually losing the war.No bombs, not a single one, will fall today on the ISIS capital of Raqqa. Their power grids will not be destroyed. Their internet service will not be interrupted. Their TV and radio stations will not be bombed. Because we have to forge a “collective” response, you know, and be “smart.”NPR will run story after story on the background of the “Nice man,” saying that the tousle-haired youth was embittered by the racist taunts he had to endure in grade school, not to mention the “jingoistic” national celebrations like Bastille Day.Local Protestant clerics will sternly preach in their empty churches that it is time for Christians to “look inward.”And Donald Trump will continue to widen his lead in the polls, because no one else dares say, “When will we ever learn?”
3) Aaron Cohen, a counterterrorism expert and former member of the elite Israeli special forces unit, said on CNN early Friday that the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, was a "colossal" security failure that could have been stopped. At least 80 people were killed on Thursday when a truck barreled through a crowd of people celebrating on Nice's Promenade des Anglais.
Cohen said, "This is a security failure on a colossal level. This is a colossal failure on a basic security level for event planning. There should have been some kind of physical barrier, where armed, present, properly trained, heavily-armed police officers were checking vehicles. There were grenades in the car. There was an AK-47 in the car. There was somebody who was about to commit an act of of murder."
He said that if the vehicle had been checked and the driver screened, "with a proper physical barricade in place, they would have been stopped."
"Israelis deploy a Triple-D system, which stands for deter, detect, and deny." He said if a similar event had been held in Israel, cars would have had limited access to the street. "The deterrence would also involve heavier armed security personnel."
"There is already a heavy military feel to feel to France, I don't know how much more you can get," he said. But he suggested that assault weapon-carrying police officers should be placed anywhere you have massive crowds. "That's where terrorists go."
He said the final step of the Israeli layering system is "denial," which is an important part of training for law enforcement. "If you look what happened recently in Turkey, in Istanbul, a Turkish police officer ended up firing at that terrorist who went in with an AK-47 who was firing openly in the center-mass, the thoracic area. The terrorist went down." Cohen said Israeli police are trained to fire a round into the center of the head. "It's not personal, we're not trying to kill the terrorist, we're trying to keep his hands from moving. Had [the Turkish police officer] shot that terrorist in the head, that explosion we saw moments afterwards wouldn't have been able to happen because they wouldn't have hit the button."
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