Sunday, June 7, 2015

United States President Barack Obama Legitimatizes the Iranian and Cuban Dictatorships


Iran
            The many flaws and omissions of the preliminary deal between the United States and the terrorist-sponsoring Islamist regime of Iran to curb the Iranian nuclear weapons program that leave the results of the deal far short of what President Barack Obama promised have been pointed out by numerous critics.  In addition, there was immediately afterwards a disagreement between Iran and the U.S. on the basic framework of the deal.  In earlier posts, I have questioned even the premise of negotiating in good faith with such a regime with an open policy of promoting Islamism by unscrupulous means, including deception, and a poor human rights record. 

            The U.S. is, however, robustly supporting the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting pro-Iranian rebels in Yemen.

Cuba
            President Barack Obama has removed Iran from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, despite its continued harboring of terrorists.  In addition, Cuba aids Venezuela, which, in turn, aids terrorists.  In fact, Cuba did nothing to deserve being removed from the state sponsor of terrorism list, just as it did little to merit American relaxation of certain economic sanctions and diplomatic recognition in terms of improvement of human rights.

            I have called for Venezuela to be added to the State Department’s state sponsor of terrorism list (Designate Venezuela a State Sponsor of Terrorism, from February of 2012, http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2012/02/designate-venezuela-state-sponsor-of.html) and North Korea to be placed back onto it (A Consideration of Recent Alleged Instances of “Terrorism” and Related Observations, from January of this year, http://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-consideration-of-recent-alleged.html).  The de-listing of Cuba now leaves only Muslim states on the list: Iran, Syria and Sudan, which is out of step with Obama’s policy of going out of his way not to have the War on Terrorism be seen in the slightest way whatsoever as a war on Islam or at least on Muslims. 

           The direct negotiations by the Obama Administration with the Islamist Iranian and Communist Cuban dictatorships which sponsor terrorism legitimatize those regimes, as American negotiations with them are propaganda victories over the freedom-loving dissidents they oppress and are discouragements of their fellow countrymen to resist tyranny as the message sent by the President of the United States is that even the leader of the free world respects the dictators’ right to rule over their people.  Direct negotiations also further reward the tyrants’ bad behavior by being interpreted as forcing the U.S. to the negotiation table, as if brutal dictatorships are on equal terms of legitimacy with free states.  In the case of Cuba, it was the kidnapping of an American aid worker, and in the case of Iran, it has been its development of a nuclear weapon program that forced the Obama Administration to direct negotiations.  In addition to the propaganda gifts to these dictatorships, Obama has rewarded them with decreases in economic sanctions.  Moreover, direct negotiations with brutal despots are inherently ineffective, as tyrants do not usually negotiate in good faith. 

           Alas, the beacon of liberty, of which America has always been seen, has been dimmed by Obama.  

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