Compare and Contrast: Presidents Obama and Trump on Iran - It's a No Brainer

Remember those high school assignments: “Compare and Contrast?” President Obama’s reaction to Iran’s Green Revolution in 2009 and President Trump’s reaction to the current riots in Iran are a perfect case for compare and contrast. The Iranians, mostly middle class, in 2009 erupted with the Green Revolution after the presidential election was stolen by the mullahs, giving it to their stooge Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. President Obama responded with comments which sounded erudite with his cadence speaking, but were essentially the sounds of silence. He basically hoped the Iranians could work it out. The mullahs used brute, bloody force to suppress the people, reinforcing the corrupt dictatorship of the theocracy. President Obama’s attitude towards Iran are shown by his later acts. He was reported to have threatened Israel with shooting down their jets if they attempted to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities. President Trump has been accused of liking dictators. Ironically, it was President Obama who sidled up to dictators, especially the mullahs, Vladimir Putin and the Castro brothers, and used the Arab Spring to force out Egypt’s Hossain Mubarak, a supporter of the United States. He cheered when Mubarak was replaced by the radical Muslim Brotherhood. He also forced out Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan dictator, who had voluntarily given up his weapons of mass destruction. Then came the Iran Nuclear Agreement. President Obama and his enablers Sally Rice and Ben Rhodes got an accommodating media to accept the naïve argument that the freed money would be used to improve the lives of the Iranian people rather than to support terrorists. Iran was, and remains, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. The Obama people were either incredibly naïve or duplicitous. The Politico also reports that the Obama administration shut down an operation against Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, for smuggling drugs into the United States for fear that a prosecution could upset the ratification of the agreement President Obama further shipped billions of dollars and foreign currency in hard cash in midnight flights by unmarked planes to Teheran; the total amount of payments to Iran has not yet been publicized. The Iranian people, the original supporters of the revolt against the Shah of Iran, have now turned against the current government. The demonstrations that have spread throughout Iran are of the nation’s young and workers. Unemployment is high, especially among the young adults. The people were hit by high unemployment, high inflation, and reduced subsidies. A leaked draft (apparently they leak in Iran as well as the United States) of President Hasan Rouhini’s new budget. He is cutting spending on the people and increasing it on the Revolutionary Guards and religious organizations. The billions of Obama’s largess are continuing to fund Iran’s foreign adventures and loss of life in Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen. Billions have propped up Bashad Assad’s regime in Lebanon. The condition of the Iranian people worsened during the 8 Obama years. He cared about the mullahs and not the people. President Trump’s response to Iran is the polar opposite of President Obama’s. He has refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement and is likely to rescind the agreement. He can’t get the money back, but he can re-impose sanctions on Iran, several organizations and individuals. He can clearly terminate the Airbus and Boeing contracts with Iran. Europe will not be happy, but that won’t deter him. The aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom should be supported. Even if the mullahs suppress this outburst of the people, Iran will remain a pressure cooker, which will blow up in the future. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said: “The people of Iran are crying out for freedom. All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause.” The Iranian government may look into itself, but the Persian people will look to America, the America of Trump and not Obama.