U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed - WSJ

 

I thought this was actually against the law.:popcorn:

And the Obama disaster continues to grow!! Unfortunately the effects will be longer lasting than his tenure; and the American sheep continue to graze on the grass of government pittances. Hard to reverse!

 

Great idea--Maybe the Iranians will give some back to the Clinton Foundation to continue their fine work??

Where did he get the money?

 

Him and Valerie might as well just send them a bomb.......

Wow..it continues. The worst foreign policy precedents ever.

Hey if your brother,mom, dad or sister gets kidnapped in a foreign country you can't pay ransom. American policy, just saying.

While I agree with all of you that this is a bad mistake and poor policy, it reminds me of Reagan and the Iran Contra deal. I hated that deal as well.

Hey if your brother,mom, dad or sister gets kidnapped in a foreign country you can't pay ransom. American policy, just saying.

 

And if those hostages hadn't gotten back safely, I'm pretty sure Obama would be getting shredded for not getting them home.

And if those hostages hadn't gotten back safely, I'm pretty sure Obama would be getting shredded for not getting them home.

 

Did Obama get ripped by the media over the American girl that got raped and killed in Syria? I think her name was Kayla, I think her parents were working on getting the cash to pay the ransom and we're told not to do that.

How I miss Ron Reagan.

Against the law ? Ha freakin ha . Current admin doesnt give 2 :poop: 's about law . Laws are the little people .

He's just put every American overseas in that much more danger. Change we can believe in.

How I miss Ron Reagan.

 

You do realize he did the exact same thing, don't you?

You do realize he did the exact same thing, don't you?

 

I guess we have a different understanding of the word "exact"

For those who are unaware, either willfully or unintentionally, The Iran-Contra deal revolved around the US government convincing Israel to sell weapons to Iran. The US then restock Israel with weapons, and received payment from Israel for doing so. In return, the Iranian government would "do what they could" to have the US hostages released from Hezbollah's control. Hezbollah was a paramilitary group, with Iranian ties, but not officially a part of the Iranian government.

 

So, not only did the US not directly pay Iran, as they did in this most recent instance, our hostages were also not being held by the Iranian government. So we can stop with the loose Iran-Contra Deal comparisons.

For those who are unaware, either willfully or unintentionally, The Iran-Contra deal revolved around the US government convincing Israel to sell weapons to Iran. The US then restock Israel with weapons, and received payment from Israel for doing so. In return, the Iranian government would "do what they could" to have the US hostages released from Hezbollah's control. Hezbollah was a paramilitary group, with Iranian ties, but not officially a part of the Iranian government.

 

So, not only did the US not directly pay Iran, as they did in this most recent instance, our hostages were also not being held by the Iranian government. So we can stop with the loose Iran-Contra Deal comparisons.

 

You are the one looking at it through a different lens.

 

Reagan Administration people stated that the reason for the sale of weapons to Iran was in order for the Iranian Government to "influence" the terrorist groups that held 7 Americans hostage in Lebanon.

 

The scandal began as an operation to free the seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. It was planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the United States would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment. The Iranian recipients promised to do everything in their power to achieve the release of the U.S. hostages.[4][5] Large modifications to the plan were devised by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council in late 1985, in which a portion of the proceeds from the weapon sales was diverted to fund anti-Sandinista and anti-communist rebels, or Contras, in Nicaragua.

 

Iran–Contra affair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Iran-Contra Affair was a clandestine action not approved of by the United States Congress. It began in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan's administration supplied weapons to Iran¹ — a sworn enemy — in hopes of securing the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's leader.

 

Iran-Contra Affair

 

Even a more conservative source reminds us that even if it was "said" it was not a ransom scenario, Reagan later admitted that that was what it became.

 

The foreign-policy scandal known as the Iran-contra affair came to light in November 1986 when President Ronald Reagan confirmed reports that the United States had secretly sold arms to Iran. He stated that the goal was to improve relations with Iran, not to obtain release of U.S. hostages held in the Middle East by terrorists (although he later acknowledged that the arrangement had in fact turned into an arms-for-hostages swap).

 

The Iran-Contra Affair

 

 

Here is Reagan's address to the nation about the events. It is his willingness to take responsibility that burns his legacy in my mind as a great leader who refuses to pass the buck of blame along to others.

 

Reagan expressed regret regarding the situation during a nationally televised address from the Oval Office on March 4, 1987, and two other speeches;[60] Reagan had not spoken to the American people directly for three months amidst the scandal.[61] President Reagan told the American people the reason he did not update them on the scandal:

 

The reason I haven't spoken to you before now is this: You deserve the truth. And as frustrating as the waiting has been, I felt it was improper to come to you with sketchy reports, or possibly even erroneous statements, which would then have to be corrected, creating even more doubt and confusion. There's been enough of that.

 

He then took full responsibility for the acts committed:

 

First, let me say I take full responsibility for my own actions and for those of my administration. As angry as I may be about activities undertaken without my knowledge, I am still accountable for those activities. As disappointed as I may be in some who served me, I'm still the one who must answer to the American people for this behavior.

 

Finally, the president stated that his previous assertions that the U.S. did not trade arms for hostages were incorrect:

 

A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not. As the Tower board reported, what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages. This runs counter to my own beliefs, to administration policy, and to the original strategy we had in mind.