According to a recent report from Iran’s Mashregh News agency, the country’s leadership – pleased about the success of last year’s hostage exchange with the Obama administration – is ready to exploit the soft U.S. president for another billion dollars or two before Barack leaves office in January.
“We should wait and see, the U.S. will offer many billions of dollars to release those citizens still being detained,” say officials in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Among those citizens: Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Americans who have been abducted and sentenced to prison by the Iranian government. This abduction occurred after the administration paid Iran $1.7 billion to recover Americans unjustly imprisoned by Tehran on trumped-up charges.
Obama’s critics called the payment a “ransom,” and they warned that it set a dangerous precedent that would endanger any Westerners caught behind the Islamic curtain. The Obama administration waved away concerns, insisting that – even though the payment was contingent on the prisoner release – it did not qualify as ransom since the money was already Iran’s.
That excuse makes no logical sense, of course. If the money was Iran’s, Iran would have already had the money. There’s a reason why they didn’t. And if the only way to get it back was to release the U.S. prisoners, that’s the very definition of a ransom payment. If you owe your friend money, but you’ll only give it to him if he mows your lawn…well, you are paying him to mow your lawn, no matter how you might work it out in your head. Don’t be surprised when he comes back next week with his lawnmower, ready to make some more money.
Of course, that’s an innocent example. Only blades of grass will be hurt. With American and Iran, real people could be – will be – hurt or killed due to Obama’s reckless leadership.
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