Posted on 12/24/2017 10:46:10 AM PST by MarvinStinson
Earlier this week Politico Magazine published a story by Josh Meyer headlined "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook." This copiously sourced piece relates how, "in its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as Hezbollah was funneling cocaine into the United States."
The law enforcement program in question is called Project Cassandra, which for eight years "used wiretaps, undercover operations, and informants to map Hezbollah's illicit networks, with the help of 30 U.S. and foreign security agencies." However, as investigators came closer to unraveling the globe-spanning conspiracy, "The Justice Department declined requests by Project Cassandra and other authorities to file criminal charges against major players such as Hezbollah's high-profile envoy to Iran, a Lebanese bank that allegedly laundered billions in alleged drug profits, and a central player in a U.S.-based cell of the Iranian paramilitary Quds force."
Meyer cites "dozens" of interviews and documents as evidence. And the reason for this systematic decision, presumably, was to make Hezbollah's Iranian backers more willing to deal with the Obama administration on nukes.
Former Treasury official Katherine Bauer, said last February: "These investigations were tamped down for fear of rocking Iran and jeopardizing the nuclear deal." President Obama, in other words, slow-walked counter-narcotics efforts for the inane "greater good" of paying Iran billions to pretend to shut down its nuclear program for ten years.
In a tactic familiar to opponents of the Iran deal, the Obama camp criticism is aimed not at the facts behind Meyer's article but at Meyer himself.
"Non-fact based anti-Iran Deal propaganda," sneers former deputy national security adviser and creative writing expert Ben Rhodes.
"The story is so manufactured out of thin air that it's hard to push back except to say that it's a figment of the imagination of two very flawed sources," says Tommy Vietor, who has a podcast.
Note that Vietor is obviously wrong: the piece has far more than "two very flawed sources." Note as well that neither Rhodes nor Vietor ever actually bother to challenge those sources or the facts provided to Politico. Vietor went on to tell Meyer over Twitter that Meyer's "on the record sources have undisclosed anti-Iran deal bias."
Ned Price, who worked for Rhodes, called the Politico article an "anti-Iran deal screed" based on sources with "undisclosed anti-Iran deal bias."
So weak was the response to Meyer's scoop that by the end of their Twitter exchange Vietor was wishing him happy holidays and saying it's "not personal just disagree on policy." Vietor missed the memo; we say Merry Christmas in Trump's America.
Besides, Meyer wasn't writing about policy. He was relating information. What former Obama officials were reacting to wasn't some innovative argument against the Iran deal, but damning evidence of Obama's reckless disregard for national security in pursuit of a fantastic rapprochement with Iran.
"The story is so manufactured out of thin air that it's hard to push back except to say that it's a figment of the imagination of two very flawed sources," says Tommy Vietor, who has a podcast.
Note that Vietor is obviously wrong: the piece has far more than "two very flawed sources." Note as well that neither Rhodes nor Vietor ever actually bother to challenge those sources or the facts provided to Politico.
Rhodes needs to be tried as a traitor.
The whole Hezbollah thing is a mess. in late 2013, Obama transferred an entire division’s worth of military equipment to the “Lebanese” military. This includes tanks APC,s Humvees, trucks, artillery, weapons, communications etc. In mid 2016, Reuters had pictures of Hezbollah driving around in these fracks and APC’s. So who did Obama really give the military equipment to? Yeah, he armed Hezbollah. So, tell me again Obama isn’t a Muslim.....
A very crucial, telling point. They know they cannot attack the details as that would draw more attention to them.
Obama adviser Ben Rhodes slammed for tweet joking about GOP leaders' 'obits'
“And alongside the obits for Ryan, McConnell, and Pence.”
Ben needs some tissues for his issues.
Right. That Ben Rhodes. Brother to the president of CBS news.
Li’l Tommy Vietor name pops up again. Wasn’t he some DemonRats Chauffeur? Since he didn’t get into any Limo crashes that was enough of a resume to get promoted into a powerful position in the Party.
Surprise! A muzzie being soft on a muzzie terrorist group.
Have the Republicans talked about it?
Impeach Obama?
Billions of dollars and “legitamacy” to a country that has American blood on its hands pissed a lot of people off. It was an obama designed middle finger to those he wanted to “take down a notch”..
Tell me again that the founders intended to include the children of foreign nationals as eligible to be President.
That was who they were trying to exclude.
Of course they’re angry.
The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook
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