Posted on 05/21/2020 6:50:49 AM PDT by billorites
The Obama-Corker Iran deal was supported by the GOP, too. The GOP was insensed with Trump’s unorthdox campaign season views on NATO and Russia. Long after it was clear the FIB was lying about spygate and the Mueller coup was a police state witch hunt the GOP establishment fully supported it.
The hit on Flynn was without a doubt bipartisan in nature. So I have to chuckle at all this blame obama campaign season red meat for the GOP base we see now.
Lee Smith bump.
Smith does good stuff. Boeing and the GOP donor class were a big fans of the Obama-Corker Iran deal, too. I’m disappointed he doesn’t mention the bipartisan support of the catastrophic Iran deal here.
A team at the Drug Enforcement Administration had been working for almost a decade to bring down the Iran-backed militant organization’s sophisticated $1 billion-a-year drug ring, which laundered money and smuggled cocaine into the United States, Politico reported.
But the departments of Justice and Treasury repeatedly undermined agents’ efforts to arrest and prosecute key members of the criminal network — because the Obama White House feared upsetting Tehran ahead of the nuclear agreement, according to Politico.
Former Treasury official Katherine Bauer even admitted in little-noticed testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs last February that “under the Obama administration . . . these [Hezbollah-related] investigations were tamped down for fear of rocking the boat with Iran and jeopardizing the nuclear deal.”
When the Iran agreement took effect in January 2016, the investigation — dubbed Project Cassandra — was effectively dismantled.
“This was a policy decision, it was a systematic decision,” said David Asher, an expert in illicit finance who helped found the project. “They serially ripped apart this entire effort that was very well supported and resourced, and it was done from the top down.”
The task force worked for eight years out of a top-secret facility in Virginia, with the help of 30 American and foreign security agencies, to unravel the global crime syndicate that was funding Hezbollah’s jihadist operations.
Politico also reported that late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in cahoots with then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah in cocaine trafficking and other activities meant to undermine US influence.
In 2007, Venezuela’s state-run Conviasa airline was ferrying drugs and cash from Caracas to Tehran via Syria each week, according to Politico.
DEA agents nicknamed the airline “Aeroterror” because the planes would come back carrying weapons, along with Hezbollah and Iranian operatives.
But the Obama administration never fought to have two major players in the scheme extradited to the United States to face charges when it had the opportunity, task force members charged.
Others the team sought to bring to justice were Abdallah Safieddine, Hezzbollah’s envoy to Tehran, and a shadowy operative nicknamed “Ghost,” whom it considered one of the biggest cocaine smugglers in the world.
“Hezbollah operates like the Gambino crime family on steroids, and [Safieddine] is its John Gotti,” ex-DEA agent Jack Kelly, who created the task force, told Politico. “Whatever Iran needs, Safieddine is in charge of getting it for them.”
Safieddine was ultimately linked to a massive drug-smuggling and money-laundering network allegedly led by Lebanese businessman Ayman Joumaa.
Agents discovered Joumaa had smuggled tons of cocaine into the States — then laundered $200 million a month by buying used cars from American dealers.
The cars were sent to Benin in West Africa, where satellite photos taken in 2015 showed rows upon rows of used cars in a lot.
But the Obama administration repeatedly thwarted efforts to prosecute Safieddine, Politico reported.
An Obama spokesman denied the operation was derailed for political reasons, noting several Hezbollah members were arrested.
Other administration officials suggested those involved were blind to the bigger picture.
“The world is a lot more complicated than viewed through the narrow lens of drug trafficking,” one official said. “So you’re not going to let CIA rule the roost, but you’re also certainly not going to let DEA do it either.”
Golly, I have no idea why he would do that.
He sees it as plain fact that O, his own little self, was the leaker.
Thanks for posting this. It is a very long but important read that fills in a lot of the “why” about Flynn and the corrupt practices of the prior administration. It also captures the environment that hatched the Russian collusion delusion.
This is real journalism.
Flynn was right about that part of the world.
Bump
Excellent article. I think a lot of this reflects Obama’s character, particularly his hubris and laziness. He sought to remake not only the US but also the world in his own image but he couldn’t be bothered to put together coalitions or bring the people along with him. He was the little piggy who preferred executive orders, secret deals and deception. Consequently his house was made of straw and Trump was the big, bad wolf who could blow down his house with his own executive orders, disavowal of bad deals and sunlight on lies.
‘...Obama did not hide his larger goal...he was establishing a geopolitical equilibrium “between Sunni, or predominantly Sunni, Gulf states and Iran.” ...realignment was a “great strategic opportunity” for a “a new regional framework that accommodates the security needs of Iranians, Saudis, Israelis, Russians and Americans.” ‘
IOW, Obama wanted a strategic situation that gradually pushed the US out of the Middle East. That would attenuate US motives and ability to support Israel. End game: Muslim elimination of Israel; Middle East free of US interference.. That’s the legacy Obama craved.
If Obama wanted Trump to back the Iran deal, why simplistically target Flynn without giving reasons? Wouldn’t it make more sense to explain WHY he felt the Iran deal was so important to US strategic interests? That’s because Obama knew it wasn’t.
Obama is an anti-imperialist, just like his runaway daddy. US presence in the ME is a legacy of imperialism, and Obama sees his mission as unwinding imperialism.
Wow. The cards stack up. The internal logic makes sense, given Obama’s hierarchy of hatred against Israel.
A long detailed discussion. A valuable one.
Thanks Robert A Cook PE.
A great article, with a comprehensive treatment of the true origins of the disastrous civil war begun by one president to destroy his successor. Should get much wider distribution here.
Clapper may be telling the truth. The unmasking list shows that Obama officials were listening in on Flynn’s conversations in real time. It’s possible Obama didn’t need Clapper to tell him about the call. According to former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, Obama knew about the Flynn-Kislyak call no later than Jan. 5, when he was discussing it in an Oval Office meeting. She says Comey was the only other official present—which contradicts Susan Rice’s account. Obama’s former National Security Advisor said she and Vice President Joe Biden were also there.
Maybe Clapper's flipped... Also, some really interesting background information here on the Iran deal and how that deal was was connected to the Obama Administration wanting Flynn out...
You’ll like this - lots of dots connected...
ping
That was excellent (I have read a bunch of stuff by Lee Smith, and his work is stellar)
Another bookmarked article-thank you. And it is a valuable reference and cross reference.
By the way, I am putting together a timeline regarding Flynn that I am compiling from a bunch of sources, and am figuring out the best way to post it on FR. I guess table format, as I have it in an Excel spreadsheet right now.
I plan to ping a bunch of Freepers, including everyone on the thread I started.
If I'm not on that ping list, please add me... thanks.
Will do...I’ve not done a table, but figuring it out. I have sorted it by date and added events with links to sources as well as commentary from myself and various authors.
I think it is the best way to get a handle on it!
wow! ping!
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