We have a winner!!
The Least Self-Aware Tweet of 2017 Award goes to…
Ben Rhodes – Obama’s “Foreign Policy Advisor”, architect of the spectacularly disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal & failed fiction writer.
Rhodes sent out the following missive after several days of Iranian protests against the ruling Mullahs.
The Iranian people are rightfully demanding dignity, less corruption, more opportunity, and greater control over their lives. In looking at US twitter, it seems lost on too many that this is about what Iranians want for Iran, and not about us.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) December 31, 2017
Words failed me when I saw this tweet.
Rhodes is personally responsible for stabilizing and enabling the very regime the Iranian people are protesting.
This isn’t breathless hyperbole.
If you’re in the mood to anger yourself, I provide details in The Iranian Nuclear Deal Revisited – It’s Even Worse Than We Thought.
The Readers Digest version:
When Obama decided to assume personal leadership of the Iran nuclear negotiations, the Iranian economy was straining under a decades old series of economic sanctions. Rather than support Congressional wishes to further tighten sanctions, thereby maintaining pressure on the ruling Mullahs, Obama decided to loosen economic restrictions as a prelude to his negotiations. The Iranian economy began growing again – and so did Iran’s negotiating power.
Obama signed a deal with Iran that allowed the Iranians to hide much of their nuclear activities, lacked any real semblance of enforcement and penalties, ended all economic sanctions, ended embargoes on ballistic missiles – and begins to expire in ten years. On January 2027, Iran can replace and upgrade its centrifuges. Obama himself admitted that Iran will have full nuclear capability almost immediately after the deal expires.
For this we gave the Iranians access to more than $120 billion.
The $120 billion doesn’t count the $1.7 billion cash payment ostensibly made in relation to a failed 1979 arms sale during the Iranian Revolution.
In practical terms it was a ransom payment for the release of several of our citizens.
The Iranian Nuclear Deal has been called the worst agreement in diplomatic history.
Leading up to – and during – negotiations, Obama and Rhodes did everything in their power to avoid upsetting the ruling Mullahs:
Obama failed to support Iranian protesters during the 2009 Green Movement – a movement the Iranian regime harshly suppressed.
Obama capitulated on Syria precisely because Iran was opposed to our intervention. This resulted in human tragedy on a monstrous scale and helped enable the rise of ISIS.
The Iranian Nuclear Deal was paramount.
Our Foreign Policy became literally captive to the desires of Iran’s ruling Mullahs.
Together, Obama and Rhodes specifically structured the agreement such that Iran was allowed to develop its Ballistic Missile Program:
Prior to the JCPOA, Iran’s ballistic missile activities were barred by a series of UN resolutions backed by American and international sanctions. But the JCPOA was specifically structured with ambiguous language regarding ballistic missiles.
Since the signing of the deal, Iran has significantly strengthened its ballistic missile program.
The agreement specifically provided enough ambiguity to allow Iran to simultaneously develop a Nuclear Ballistic Missile delivery system – while calling it something else.
Ben Rhodes was the architect of the entire mess. And he lied to get the Iran Nuclear Deal pushed through.
2. ‘Obama official says he pushed a ‘narrative’ to media to sell the Iran nuclear deal’ – WaPo, May 6, 2016
That was the article where you were bignoting yourself about misrepresenting the Iran timeline in your ‘narrative’ (aka fiction aka lie) as part of the misinformation.
— Imperator_Rex (@Imperator_Rex3) December 31, 2017
Other reactions to Rhodes’ tweet were fast and equally fierce.
They’re protesting the regime you helped prop up, you simpleton https://t.co/OYovby2Vlp
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 31, 2017
Who enabled the repressive regime, Ben? https://t.co/vSNkomB3Mf
— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) December 31, 2017
It’s like this guy just tweets with zero self-awareness. https://t.co/jYVxlT8VVi
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) December 31, 2017
Everything you and your former boss did regarding Iran was the exact opposite of those things. https://t.co/qfD7Zr7zec
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) December 31, 2017
You cannot support the victims of dictatorship and the dictators at the same time. Making deals with authoritarians for “peacemaker” headlines only punishes their people in the long run. Again and again it has been shown. Consistent, moral policy is the most effective policy.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) December 31, 2017
Iran is “not about us” says guy who – to get deal with regime – dismantled our anti-prolif and anti-terror programs, imperiled our allies, sent over our tax money as ransom, lied to our Congress, & flattened our media.
So actually yes, Iran seems to involve us a little at least. https://t.co/KRaswMJCTS
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) December 31, 2017
There wasn’t a single positive response to Rhodes’ idiocy. Not one.
I’ve never seen that before.
In Ben’s defense, he was probably just following orders:
The echo-chamber line being pushed by Rice, Kerry & Rhodes on the #Iranprotests is pathetic. pic.twitter.com/H0z6XMqWGK
— Nick Short ?? (@PoliticalShort) December 31, 2017
John Kerry:
With humility about how little we know about what’s happening inside Iran, this much is clear: it’s an Iranian moment and not anyone else’s. But the rights of people to protest peacefully and voice their aspirations are universal and governments everywhere should respect that.
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) December 31, 2017
Omri Ceren is a managing director at The Israel Project – a DC-based organization that works with journalists on Middle East issues. He had a few thoughts for Kerry:
Actually there’s at least one more thing is clear:
The people you gave billions of dollars to & dropped sanctions against are shooting people in the streets. https://t.co/K3sQOjJ18J
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) December 31, 2017
Back when Kerry was selling Iran deal he said:
– we know exactly what Iran has done on nukes so don’t need them to disclose past work
– we know Iran will spend deal money on on roads so can shred sanctions & send billions cash
Now says we can’t act bc of “how little we know” https://t.co/K3sQOjJ18J
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) December 31, 2017
Susan Rice added her “expert” perspective:
How Can Trump Help Iran’s Protesters? Be Quiet. https://t.co/w0MNlWMkxG
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) December 31, 2017
And received the types of responses you might expect:
Hard to think of anyone with less moral authority to promote this, but the Obama echo chamber has nonetheless all coalesced around it. https://t.co/SaFhdUqcRz
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) December 31, 2017
Obama alums have found their talking point on #IranianProtests: They oppose US help for protesters whether diplomatic, material, or moral. It’s a repeat of their abandonment of Iranian people in 2009, this time using Trump as their excuse. https://t.co/7oxnUS23D2
— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) December 31, 2017
Obama has remained suspiciously quiet on the Iranian Uprisings. Instead he sent out this bit of thinly-laced fluff:
All across America people chose to get involved, get engaged and stand up. Each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try. So go keep changing the world in 2018.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2017
Ben Shapiro responded as only Ben Shapiro can:
Now go back in time to 2009 and tweet this at the Iranian people rather than bolstering a terrorist regime https://t.co/MbfhV4Gpbr
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 31, 2017
And President Trump started 2018 with another Presidential blast aimed directly at the ruling Iranian Mullahs:
Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
That response makes me proud to be an American.
Happy New Year – and all the best to you and yours!!
Postscript: If by chance, you’re not sufficiently angered over Obama’s Iranian Nuclear Deal, give this highly detailed, highly sourced article from Politico a read. It’s a wild story:
Another cost of Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal https://t.co/3xSAGi9oab
— Jeff Carlson, CFA (@themarketswork) December 18, 2017
newer post Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS Editorial Failure
older post Iran, Papadopoulos & Deceptions From the New York Times