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Biden’s Security Picks A Worrisome Sign For Iran Policy
First, there should be no doubt that the Iran nuclear deal was an unmitigated failure.
One key failing is the accord’s inability to restrain Iran’s rampant research of ballistic missile technology. Cloaked under the absurd pretense of civilian satellite research, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has spent the past five years steadily improving its means to deliver a nuclear warhead. Considering the severe economic pressure Tehran is suffering, the fact that it continues to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at its ballistic missile program is good evidence for the regime’s desire to be able to wage nuclear war.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s diplomatic masterpiece also retains totally inadequate inspection protocols. Iran has a 30 days’ notice grace period before it must give international inspectors access to a site. Helpfully for Iran’s warhead weaponization research, military sites are off-limits.
Perhaps most important of all, the accord’s so-called “snapback” sanctions mechanisms have been proved impotent. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is now 12 times the level that is allowed under the accord. In addition, Iran has installed new centrifuges and is enriching uranium up to a 4.5% purity, beyond the 3.67% cap imposed under the deal. Iran has accomplished these patent breaches of its pledges in the open, proudly proclaiming its disdain for the remaining members of the accord it once solemnly signed.
Astonishingly, President-elect Joe Biden, his State Department nominee Antony Blinken, and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan don’t seem terribly concerned about this reality. Instead, they present the speedy return to the nuclear accord as an exigent requirement of regional stability and restored confidence with our European allies.
This leads to our second contention: There’s a better path forward.
The Iranian regime is in desperate need of U.S. sanctions relief. Its economy is at rock bottom, suffering soaring inflation and unemployment. Tehran’s foreign capital reserves are all but evaporated. While parts of this economic calamity is a consequence of the government’s mismanagement and the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration’s sanctions also bear significant responsibility. Threatening European companies with a loss of access to U.S. markets if they continued dealing with Iran, the U.S. has overseen a great capital evacuation from Tehran. This economic weakness has depleted the resource pool available for the export of the Islamic revolution. Were Ayatollah Ali Khamenei forced to endure one more year of this pressure, his regime would be forced into choosing between risking an economically precipitated regime collapse and accepting U.S. demands for an improved nuclear accord.
Why not use this leverage?
Why not engage with our allies and underline that the U.S. is ready to rejoin the accord? But that is only if the accord is reformed to do what it is supposed to do: prevent Iran’s accession to a nuclear weapons state.
Biden could make clear that Iran will receive sanctions relief only on the basis of four new understandings. First, Tehran must agree to new restrictions on its ballistic missile program. Second, Tehran must allow for inspections with short notice at all nuclear and ballistic missile-related sites. Third, Tehran must transfer its enriched uranium stockpile, which is above previously agreed limits, abroad. And as an extension, Iran must restrain its future enrichment to the agreed 2015 limits. Fourth, if Tehran reneges on any of these new commitments, U.S. sanctions will be immediately and unilaterally reimposed.
Such a strategy would offer a pathway to doing what the Obama administration didn’t even try to do and what the Trump administration failed to do. That is, it would try to establish a credible nonproliferation structure around Iran. The alternative is to give Iran’s most hard-line elements the financial respite they need to establish quietly and covertly a nuclear strike capability. It would be a policy of American idiocy.
If it prefers appeasement, the Biden administration must be cautious. Asking Iran for little while giving it much, Biden may find a quick arrival of more unpleasant realities. We note, after all, that the apex of a Shiite nuclear weapon is not one that the Saudi Arabian monarchy will quietly tolerate. Nor, for that matter, is Israel likely to accept Iran’s ability to deliver a second Holocaust.
Biden should seek a strong Iran nuclear deal or no deal at all — and certainly not a return to failure.
Author: Washington Examiner,
Source: Washington Examiner : Biden’s security picks a worrisome sign for Iran policy
Senator Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has released several hundred more documents from his committee’s investigation into the origins of the FBI investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign for president. Included in the document dump was the transcript of closed testimony given last June by former Justice Department official Dana J. Boente.
Boente was acting deputy attorney general in charge of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation for several months in 2017 and told the committee that he was briefed on the program at least six times.
“I felt that it was important to know something about it,” said Mr. Boente, according to a transcript. “I don’t know if and when I was told that. I think — I recall being told at some point, maybe not February, between February and April, because thankfully my involvement ended in April, that there was no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign.”
The FBI not only didn’t shut down the probe, they expanded it.
During this time, the FBI also won a judge’s approval for continued wiretapping of campaign volunteer Carter Page. The FBI’s affidavit was based almost exclusively on evidence provided by a Democratic Party-financed dossier prepared by ex-British spy Christopher Steele and sourced to the Kremlin.
The FBI learned in January that Mr. Steele’s main source, Russian-born Igor Danchenko, had told agents his information was unconfirmed hearsay. But the FBI continued to rely on the dossier.
Graham was obviously upset when he spoke of what was in the transcripts.
In a statement, Graham said: “I believe that Crossfire Hurricane was one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and DOJ.”
The senator added the committee had released “as much material as possible” – but said some material had been withheld as it was still “classified”.
Graham slammed the leadership of the FBI under James Comey and Andrew McCabe, saying it was either “grossly incompetent” or they “knowingly allowed tremendous misdeeds”.
Why didn’t the FBI and Justice drop a bogus investigation into a sitting president of the United States? Graham said: “The only logical explanation is that the investigators wanted an outcome because of their bias.”
But the FBI would never let their biases interfere with their professional judgment, right?
Author: Rick Moran
Source: PJ Media : Newly Released Testimony Shows the FBI Knew the Russia Collusion Story Was Bogus
Big changes are only days away
President-elect Joe Biden will sign about a dozen executive orders on his first day in the White House, reversing several key policies enacted by the Trump administration.
Biden’s transition team revealed on Saturday that the incoming administration would sign executive orders regarding climate change, immigration, student loans, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain sent a memo to his staff on Saturday, outlining a 10-day plan of action. Included in the memo to the new White House staff, the Biden administration declared it would address “four overlapping and compounding crises: the Covid-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis.”
“All of these crises demand urgent action,” Klain wrote. “In his first 10 days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world.”
Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday when he will reportedly sign a number of executive orders. On day one, Biden will allegedly sign executive orders to return the United States to the Paris agreement on climate change, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in June 2017.
“The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States,” Trump said at the time of the withdrawal, adding that it provided China and India a competitive advantage.
The incoming administration will also rescind Trump’s controversial travel ban of nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and certain government officials from Venezuela.
Biden will reportedly introduce a “groundbreaking legislative package” addressing immigration reform, and provide a pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States.
The Biden administration will allegedly sign executive actions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that will “change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and safely re-open schools and businesses.”
Biden will purportedly introduce the “100 Day Masking Challenge,” which will implement face mask mandates on federal property and for interstate travel.
The president-elect will reportedly extend the pause on repayment of and interest on student loans, and continue restrictions on nationwide evictions and foreclosures.
“Between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, Biden will sign more executive actions, memoranda and issues additional Cabinet directives, including ones addressing equity and support in communities of color and underserved communities, and criminal justice system reforms,” USA Today reported.
Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and the swearing-in of the 46th president of the United States will feature an unprecedented security presence of up to 25,000 troops. The largest security force at an inauguration in U.S. history stems from the storming of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, and the subsequent threats of violence thereafter.
Author: Paul Sacca
Source: The Blaze : Biden to sign a dozen executive orders on day one in office — reverse Trump’s travel ban, rejoin Paris Agreement
Trump plans to leave town early so he can use call sign “Air Force One” on trip home
President Trump wants to go out in style.
Trump, who has announced he will skip Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president and plans to leave Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning, is reportedly planning an unprecedented farewell event at Joint Base Andrews, an Air Force base in Maryland where Air Force One is hangared.
“Officials are considering an elaborate send-off event reminiscent of the receptions he’s received during state visits abroad, complete with a red carpet, color guard, military band and even a 21-gun salute, according to a person familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement,” The Associated Press reported.
Leaving while he is still president will allow Trump to use the presidential plane and use the call sign “Air Force One” for his flight to Palm Beach, Florida. If Trump were to leave Washington after Biden was sworn in, he would have to ask Biden for permission to use the plane for his trip home.
“Trump told people he did not like the idea of departing Washington for a final time as an ex-president, flying aboard an airplane no longer known as Air Force One,” CNN reported. “He also did not particularly like the thought of requesting the use of the plane from Biden, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
“Final plans for Trump’s departure were still being laid a week ahead of time, but Trump has expressed interest to some in a military-style sendoff and a crowd of supporters, according to a person with whom he has discussed the matter,” CNN reported. “Whether that occurs at the White House, Joint Base Andrews or his final destination — Palm Beach International Airport — wasn’t clear. Trump is expected to be ensconced in his Mar-a-Lago club or his nearby golf course by noon on Inauguration Day, when his term officially ends.”
But Defense One, a military website, said the Pentagon will offer no farewell ceremony for Trump.
“The Pentagon, in a break with recent tradition, will not host an Armed Forces Farewell tribute to President Donald Trump,” Executive Editor Kevin Baron wrote in a commentary piece.
“It’s a shame, but not a surprise. Trump will leave office in disgrace, one week after the House voted a second time for his impeachment, two weeks after his supporters staged a deadly siege in the Capitol Building, six months after he dragged his Joint Chiefs chairman into a political firestorm, and after four years of nonstop assaults on truth. One of those disgraces is how he is ghosting the U.S. troops that he commanded,” Baron wrote.
The city is locked down after the violent riot that broke out at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are in town to make sure violence doesn’t spark again.
Biden’s inaugural parade has been canceled to limit crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers announced the decision earlier this month, saying that a “virtual parade across America” will be held instead.
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Author: Joseph Curl
Source: Daily Wire : Trump Plans Unprecedented Military ‘Farewell Event’ With 21-Gun Salute, Military Band: Report
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