Iran Humiliates America, Again

Desperate people do desperate things. Desperate people also say desperate things.

Case in point: yesterday Iran showed us yet again how easy it is to make the Obama administration look like a bunch of fools.

Having made one of the worst deals in history with Iran, the Obama administration is desperately clinging to its narrative: that we scored a great diplomatic victory by giving Iran legitimate access to nuclear weapons. And now we are going to score another great victory by writing Iran a check for over $100 billion.

By the rules of the Obama administration, reality does not matter. What matters is what you say. Saying makes so, reality be damned.

Two days ago, just in time for Obama’s State of the Union message, Iran captured the headlines by capturing a group of American sailors in the Persian Gulf. Clearly, Iran had violate international law After holding them for hours and milking all the propaganda value out of them, it released the prisoners.

Leaders of the Obama administration rushed out to declare it all a great diplomatic victory, a benefit gained by having normalized relations with Iran. (Via John Hinderaker in the Powerline blog.) You have to ask yourself whether anyone is stupid enough to believe what this administration continues to turn out. Surely, no one in the Middle East does.   

Once the sailor/prisoners were released Vice President Biden went on the air to explain that our friends the Iranians were just helping us, as all good friends do. He added that no one apologized:

Biden: The Iranians picked up both boats, as we have picked up Iranian boats that needed to be rescued….They released them, like ordinary nations would do. That’s the way nations should deal with one another. That’s why it’s important to have channels open.

Interviewer: Did we apologize to the Iranians?

Biden: No, there was no apology, there was nothing to apologize for. When you have a problem with the boat, do you apologize that the boat had a problem? And there was no looking for any apology. This was just standard nautical practice.

By now the whole world has seen the video of the American commander apologizing to the Iranians. Will Biden come out and admit his error? Never… being in the Obama administration means never having to admit you were wrong.

And then there is our hapless Secretary of State, who, Hinderaker notes, praised the Iranians “effusively:”

Kerry: … I also want to thank the Iranian authorities for their cooperation and quick response. … I’m appreciative for the quick and appropriate response of the Iranian authorities. All indications suggest, tell us, that our sailors were well taken care of, provided with blankets and food [Ed.: and a headscarf] and assisted with their return to the fleet earlier today.

And I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago. In fact, it is clear that today, this kind of issue is able to be peacefully resolved, and officially resolved, and that is a testament to the critical role diplomacy plays in keeping out country safe, secure and strong.

So desperate is Kerry to find a silver lining in the horror of the Iranian nuclear deal that he heaped an absurd amount of praise on the Iranians for capturing and humiliating our sailors and, by extension, us.

The Iranians saw it differently. After our top diplomats had committed themselves to a narrative, the Iranians released a video showing the commander of one of the vessels apologizing profusely on camera and accepting full responsibility for its error.

By this means Iran is asserting its power and authority in the region and showing the Sunni states, and perhaps even Israel, that America is a weak player, incapable even of defending its own sailors.

Iranian news reports released pictures showing the sailors on their knees, looking like captured prisoners. It wrote this:

In its statement, the [Islamic Revolution Guards Corps] pointed out that its investigations show that the US combat vessels’ illegal entry into the Iranian waters was not the result of a purposeful act.

“Following technical and operational investigations and in interaction with relevant political and national security bodies of the country and after it became clear that the US combat vessels’ illegal entry into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s waters was the result of an unintentional action and a mistake and after they extended an apology, the decision was made to release them,” the statement said.

“The Americans have undertaken not to repeat such mistakes,” it added, and continued, “The captured marines were released in international waters under the supervision of the IRGC Navy moments ago.”
***

Following the capture, two US and French aircraft carriers as well as their accompanying fleets and military choppers started maneuvering near Iranian waters.

The IRGC statement blamed the US flotilla for its “excited and unprofessional moves”, but said the IRGC navy could handle the situation and restored calm to the region through powerful and wise moves.

Senior US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, were in contact with their Iranian counterparts on the fate of the marines since Tuesday, and according to Iranian officials, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had told Kerry that the US should extend a formal apology first.

According to the statement, the Americans have extended an apology.

Yet again, the Iranians have brought the Obama administration, and America to its knees.

Hinderaker adds a photo from The Daily Mail. You can find similar pictures in the Wall Street Journal, but not the New York Times. The latter is devoting its front page to a story that is intended to slime Ted Cruz: