Posted on Mar 16, 2015
The U.S. Just Removed Iran, Hezbollah From Its List of Terrorists. Is This Too Far To Go For A Nuke Deal?
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Iran
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Terrorism
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Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 27
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Why don't we just hand them the blue prints next? Or do we give them to North Korea first?
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A few thoughts:
- I thought the purpose of producing a terrorist threat list was more so to document who in the world is using violence to achieve their political purposes and less about who/what is a direct threat to the US. If direct threat to the US is the standard then I guess Boko Haram in Africa are not terrorists.
- Iran has been supporting terrorism since at least 1979. How else to explain Syria and Hezbollah since then?
- Placement on the US terrorism list is not just a list thing. It kicks in specific actions and limitations on the part of the US Government and its citizens. Likewise, taking a country or organization off the list opens up possibilities for the USG and its citizens.
-If the article is correct then the US is essentially turning a blind eye to Iran's terrorist activities in order to enable a nuclear deal that might not be worth the paper it is printed on. Does not sound like great negotiating skills or an understanding of the long game/bigger picture on the part of the USG.
- I thought the purpose of producing a terrorist threat list was more so to document who in the world is using violence to achieve their political purposes and less about who/what is a direct threat to the US. If direct threat to the US is the standard then I guess Boko Haram in Africa are not terrorists.
- Iran has been supporting terrorism since at least 1979. How else to explain Syria and Hezbollah since then?
- Placement on the US terrorism list is not just a list thing. It kicks in specific actions and limitations on the part of the US Government and its citizens. Likewise, taking a country or organization off the list opens up possibilities for the USG and its citizens.
-If the article is correct then the US is essentially turning a blind eye to Iran's terrorist activities in order to enable a nuclear deal that might not be worth the paper it is printed on. Does not sound like great negotiating skills or an understanding of the long game/bigger picture on the part of the USG.
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LTC (Join to see)
Obama protected Hezbollah drug ring to save Iran nukes deal
The Obama administration stymied a sprawling investigation into the terror group Hezbollah — and its highly lucrative drug- trafficking networks — to protect the Iran nuclear deal, according to a b…
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As I write this, 80% of respondents (16/20) believe "the Administration has gone way too far; what can they be thinking?" There are two responses from MSG David Chappell and SFC (Join to see) which contain a link to a Newsweek article which purportedly proves that Iran and Hezbollah were, in fact, removed from the "list." MAJ Tristan M. recanted that the DOS list is meaningless, and I agree that de facto encouraging a black market is not ideal, but the United States do not have a trade relationship with Iran (something that DOS and Dept. of Commerce deal in), and Iran is still under the UN microscope. As far as I can tell, only one respondent here, other than me, SFC Miguel Lopez, disregards this discussion's headline.
"Hizballah" is still designated as a Foreign Terror Organization, and Iran is still designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm; http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm.
Retired Air Force LT GEN and incumbent Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper signed his name to a report that omitted Iran and Hezbollah from a list of terrorist threats to the United States. The National Intelligence Estimate is an independently authored document required by Congress, and is used to advise the President and Congress. That independence can sometimes pull the rug from under presidents, just ask President Bush about the 2007 NIE that stated that Iran was "very unlikely" to have the means of producing nuclear weapons before 2009 and "judge[d] with high confidence that Iran will not be technically capable of producing and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/20071203_release.pdf.
As I have said before in this discussion, Iran or Hezbollah could be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list or the Foreign Terror Organizations list, respectively, but they have not been removed yet.
"Hizballah" is still designated as a Foreign Terror Organization, and Iran is still designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm; http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm.
Retired Air Force LT GEN and incumbent Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper signed his name to a report that omitted Iran and Hezbollah from a list of terrorist threats to the United States. The National Intelligence Estimate is an independently authored document required by Congress, and is used to advise the President and Congress. That independence can sometimes pull the rug from under presidents, just ask President Bush about the 2007 NIE that stated that Iran was "very unlikely" to have the means of producing nuclear weapons before 2009 and "judge[d] with high confidence that Iran will not be technically capable of producing and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/20071203_release.pdf.
As I have said before in this discussion, Iran or Hezbollah could be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list or the Foreign Terror Organizations list, respectively, but they have not been removed yet.
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MAJ (Join to see)
LTC (Join to see), despite being the owner of said headline, and having taken leave of this post based upon our exchange of 19 days ago, you are correct; my headline is poorly phrased, and there is a quantum leap between being dropped from the Clapper Threat Assessment and formally being dropped from the list of nations and organizations recognized as either terrorists or state-sponsors of terrorists.
When I first posted this story, I had a fundamental misunderstanding of the function and purpose of the Clapper Threat Assessment; I believed it to have a more significant role in policy implementation than it actually has. In reality, publication of this document minus Iran and Hezbollah was likely little more than a negotiation ploy; intended to generate the minor media buzz that it did and for the sake of handing over a copy of the latest Clapper Report, sans Iran and their minion, as evidence of serious intent. So, with my flawed prior knowledge on the topic, I ran with the story and posted it. I backed off of it based on our exchange, as you have a decent track record of knowing your stuff. Since the story never materialized any further, I just let it go, until it reappeared again today.
So, you may add me to your list of those who for the time being, disregard this post's headline.
When I first posted this story, I had a fundamental misunderstanding of the function and purpose of the Clapper Threat Assessment; I believed it to have a more significant role in policy implementation than it actually has. In reality, publication of this document minus Iran and Hezbollah was likely little more than a negotiation ploy; intended to generate the minor media buzz that it did and for the sake of handing over a copy of the latest Clapper Report, sans Iran and their minion, as evidence of serious intent. So, with my flawed prior knowledge on the topic, I ran with the story and posted it. I backed off of it based on our exchange, as you have a decent track record of knowing your stuff. Since the story never materialized any further, I just let it go, until it reappeared again today.
So, you may add me to your list of those who for the time being, disregard this post's headline.
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LTC (Join to see)
MAJ (Join to see), thank you for saying so. I hope we keep both of them on the list indefinitely. The nuclear deal, however, may shift politics faster than reality. That would be a bad day for the U.S. and for power checks in the Muslim-Arab world.
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