Iran, Hezbollah not terrorists?

When I first saw this report, I really thought it was an early April Fools' Day joke.

The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, removed Iran and Hezbollah from the list of world terrorist threats.

The report has been sent to the U.S. Senate, where it should be renounced in the strongest terms possible and publicly rejected.

Hezbollah is far and away the largest terrorist group in the world – bigger than ISIS, bigger than al-Qaida. In times past, when it was convenient, it has formed working alliances with al-Qaida – even to the point of sheltering Osama bin Laden. It bombed the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, killing hundreds of U.S Marines.
Iran is probably the second-biggest terrorist-supporting nation in the world, providing arms and money for not only Hezbollah, but for Hamas and other groups. It is also building a nuclear arsenal and has repeatedly and incessantly threatened with annihilation not only the state of Israel ("the little Satan") but the U.S. ("the Great Satan").

So why did Clapper remove Iran and Hezbollah from the watch lists?

The report says it was removed because of Iran's "intentions to dampen sectarianism, build responsive partners, and de-escalate tensions with Saudi Arabia." In addition, the report said, Iran has "overarching strategic goals of enhancing its security, prestige, and regional influence [that] have led it to pursue capabilities to meet its civilian goals."

Now, to be fair, Iran is the No. 2 terrorist-supporting government in the world. No. 1 is Saudi Arabia. And Iran and Saudi Arabia are mortal enemies, despite what the report says. I have no doubts that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to Saudi Arabia. There is no doubt about that in the minds of Saudi Arabia, either.

But, to deny Iran is no longer a terrorist threat to the U.S. and its neighbors is to deny reality.

Sooner or later, Iran is going to develop nuclear weapons unless it is stopped from doing so the same way Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, was stopped by Israel – the same way Iran's ally, Syria, was stopped from doing so by Israel.

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That's not to say Iran and Hezbollah don't serve as a check on the growth and spread of ISIS. They do. But it wasn't that long ago that the Obama administration was seeking permission from Congress to bomb Syria with the intent of toppling the government of Bashar Assad.

Now, magically, there is a détente quietly announced.

While it was idiotic to call for bombing Syria to topple Assad, it is equally idiotic to de-list Iran and Hezbollah, an occupying army in Syria, as terrorist entities.

What's going on here?

It's part of the insane deal Barack Obama and John Kerry are trying to reach with Iran – a deal they contend will set back Iran from going nuclear. It will not. In fact, it will almost certainly ensure Iran achieves its objective sooner rather than later.

That's why it was appropriate for Republican senators to tell Iran that the proposed nuclear deal is worth less than the paper it is written on. And that's why it is appropriate now for the U.S. Senate to reject and renounce this report from the Obama administration.

No deals, no reports, no negotiations based on a lie are worth pursuing. None is worthy as a basis of national security plans.

It's time for the U.S. to get its head out of the political and geo-strategic sand.

Should we welcome Iran's help in battling ISIS? Absolutely. Do we need to make any irrational concessions to Iran to do so? Not at all.

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