By Tom Toth
It happened—Congressional Democrats have reached unanimous agreement with Republicans that President Obama cannot be trusted to make the most common sense leadership decisions, at least in relationship to foreign policy and American diplomacy.
The Ted Cruz-authored bill banning a known Iranian terrorist—and champion of the Iranian hostage crisis—from the United States, and therefore appointment as the American ambassador from Iran, is likely to make it to Barack Obama’s desk after unanimous passage through the House and Senate.
Hamid Aboutalebi was an active participant in the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The decision to appoint Aboutalebi to a diplomatic post is seemingly a thumb in the eye of the United States, given his hostile takeover of sovereign American diplomatic territory—expecting diplomatic rights that he denied to innocent American diplomats for 444 days in 1979.
A year ago, Democrats probably would not have necessarily backed this bill: Sanctions were crippling the economy of the Iranian Ayatollah hell-bent on building a nuclear weapon and wiping the Hebrew nation of Israel off the map. There existed a seemingly viable “red line” drawn by the White House hovering over a Syrian civil war that was yet to see the introduction of chemical and biological weapons and Vladimir Putin had not yet embarrassed Barack Obama on the international stage. Japan’s oceanic territory was still controlled by the American-backed Japanese navy. And Russia was peacefully preparing for the Olympics, not a Russian boot to be found marching unopposed to occupy a bordering nation.
The surprisingly nostalgic good ‘ol days of American diplomacy.
Today, Congress took it upon itself to unanimously pass this, the most common sense statement in defense of American ideals in the face of a belligerently anti-American tyrant seeking to disrespect the American people. Republicans and Democrats now agree that President Obama cannot be trusted to protect American interests.
Tom Toth (@TomToth3) is the Social Media Director for Americans for Limited Government
