After years of servile bowing and seemingly paralyzed in the face of   Iranian Regime  provocations, the State Department, to my amazement, issued a tough posting on Facebook,  (excerpt at the end of post) correctly identifying the venal corrupt Iranian mullah theocracy.  After it was issued, and the the inevitable vociferous Iranian reaction and orchestrated Iraqi criticism, I expected a meek State department apology blaming the FB entry of some disgruntled  employee, but so far Sec State Pompeo has not allowed that to happen. I hope that gradually all the massive benefits that accrued to Iran  during the Obama administration are abolished, and Iran,  as the  premier sponsor of state sponsored  (State Dept statistics) terrorism in the world is whittled down to the diminutive stature  it deserves.

I know this contradicts most of all the Middle East gurus, who in guarding their credentials as “serious” analysts have to ensure they do not violate standing orders of the PC crowd. In order to get published in our increasingly strait jacketed elitist periodicals one must toe the line. One of the basic tenets of the new “approved analysis”  is that the Iran “nuclear  deal” has been a success. In negotiating with the US.,  the rug merchants of Persia agreed to set aside the more obvious aspects of their inevitable drive to nuclearization in exchange for  being allowed to do  pretty much whatever they wanted in the Middle East….but using conventional weapons!! This deal is very popular among the international set in Western Europe,  as well.  They have to maintain  their economic well being.  which is increasingly tied to despotic Middle Eastern regimes and their Russian pals.  The increasing  Muslim populations in Europe must be appeased as well, as the Europeans  continue to depopulate themselves and young migrant workers are needed to keep the furnaces burning.

The State Department followed up this with another tweet condemning Iran’s execution of two 17  year old boys, probably in line with their previous history, the boys were accused of homosexuality. It is a facet of the liberal racism that these things go mostly unreported in the Western press, or greeted with a shrug of shoulders. The liberal racism is based on the premise that the third world culture is just as good or better than Western,    and if they execute children. abuse women, drive minorities out of their homes…… well…. Who are we to tell them that is wrong?

I did a  review on William Burn;s book, Back Channel ”  as I read all the rave reviews and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Overall it was mildly interesting, certainly nothing earth shattering, sprinkled with the usual anti-trumpisms, ( how else  can one get good reviews from the NY Times and Washington Post?),  but when I noticed how he gushed  over John Kerry, the SecState at the time, I turned green with nausea. John Kerry, the war hero ,who garnered three purple hearts without every spending a day in the hospital,  was sent home after only four months  in Vietnam, so he could run for Congress, and then, when crapping on Vietnam veterans became the rage, he suddenly went contrite before congress and accused his fellow soldiers  of rape, pillaging, and murder. My vocabulary is inadequate to fully describe  my thoughts about Kerry.

Moreover I noticed that  Ambassador Burns waxed rhapsodically over his part in the the “secret” Nuc Deal with Iran, ( Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and all the covert comings and goings to places like Oman to meet with Iranian negotiators, yet in the conclusion he admonishes future diplomats that they must deal with transparency.! You don’t want those Joe the Plumbers  screwing up those neat little deals to Secure Peace in Our Time.

So in the end I decided that Burns, who is acclaimed as an accomplished diplomat,  is like  too many of the Washington circle who have spent their careers in the Nation’s capitol or abroad.  They lose contact with middle America

Anyway I dumped the review. I was too biased at that point to write further.

Excepts of the Iraqi response and the US Embassy FB post is as follows.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry acting as a “proxy” for the Mullahs of Tehran issues an antagonizing statement against the United States that read :“The deployment of a diplomatic mission in Iraq to publish statements targeting one of Iraq’s neighbors and its religious or political symbols is contrary to the principles of the Iraqi constitution and Iraqi foreign policy, particularly the principles of good neighborliness, the policy of exclusion from bias in external relations, and non-interference in the internal affairs of all countries .” The above was in response to the US embassy in Baghdad posting on its page on 
Facebook Poster of Khamenei with the following caption: “Corruption is rife in all parts of the #Iranian Regime, starting at the top. The possessions of the current supreme leader Ali #Khamenei alone are estimated at $200 billion, while many people languish in poverty because of the dire economic situation in #Iran”.

The Iraqi Government is acting on behalf of the rogue Iranian regime to defend a brutal dictator, the US therefore must have no illusions, the Government in Baghdad is not an ally and it must hold PM Adil Abdul Mahdi accountable.