Big Red Car here. The weather is just delightful in the ATX. We had the most lovely weather yesterday for the ACL music festival.
The Boss went on his daily tour of Town Lake and saw it all first hand. On Earth as it is in Texas!
Most problems begin as little lizards and, if left unchecked, can become dragons.
This is the typical:
Not urgent, not important
to
Urgent or important
to
Urgent and important.
This happens all the time in business. All the time. Left untended little problems become killers.
Iran and North Korea
Long ago, North Korea was in the same posture as Iran — threatening to develop a nuclear capability while denying it was developing any such nuclear capability.
I know — you’re shocked too — they were lying and we were naive enough to believe them and do nothing. Lots of egg on the collective American chin for sure.
Now we have a nuclear capable North Korea, a very troubled South Korea, a worried Japan and an unstable region which had been relatively stable. Luckily North Korea is being run by a very sharp young mad man who is into social media and has a personal relationship with Dennis Rodman.
Congratulations — doing nothing worked out, well, like a shit sandwich. One more tinderbox created by feckless leadership and inattention to reality.
I have not yet given up on Dennis Rodman’s diplomatic skills but I am getting a bit testy about it all.
Learning from history
Comes now our new man in Iran, Hassan Rouhani, a moderate to be sure? Ooops, turns out he is not much of a moderate after all having served his tutelage directly under the Ayatollahs. The new guy is also a cleric himself.
Here’s the thing, this guy’s been around since the Iranians kidnapped Americans at our embassy in Teheran.
WTF, Big Red Car, are you sure?
Well, yes, Old Sport. Believe it or not, Hassan was one of the “moderate” guys that Bud McFarland (Reagan’s National Security Advisor) met with all those years ago. Google this and understand that the Iranians kidnapped our embassy staff — all of them — while capturing and ransacking the embassy itself. This happened under President Carter and was cleaned up under President Reagan.
President Reagan authorized Bud McFarland to approach the “moderates” and bring them a freakin’ cake in the shape of a key signifying the opening of the locked door between the US and Iran — yeah, I know that’s some very lame shit indeed.
In any event, our boy, Hassan Rouhani, was one of the shmoes that Bud met with. That worked out great, right?
Big Red Car, are you sure?
Yes, Old Sport, the Big Red Car is absolutely certain that Hassan Rouhani is simply jerking us off so that Iran can obtain the time to develop enough weapons grade fissionable material to make a bomb.
Remember how North Korea jerked us off? Same thing except that Rouhani puts a lot better face on it.
He has boasted about how he stalled the Europeans and the US while the Iranians installed high speed centrifuges at Isfahan. He has boasted that he stiffed our President five times when President Obama wanted some face time and some love. Finally, the love birds were able to chat for a few minutes as Rouhani was headed to the airport from the UN General Assembly.
I don’t know who is more pathetic — Hassan Rouhani for his rope a dope Baghdad Bob baloney about how peaceful Iran is or President Obama who gushes with the nonsense of having engaged in phone sex with Rouhani who is laughing in his face.
Know this — Iran is way beyond the enrichment levels justified for nuclear power or medical research and is well on their way to a level of enrichment that can only be used for the development of weapons. Just like North Korea.
Leadership and its shortcomings
Remember the mess in Syria? Remember the strong, effective leadership exerted by our President?
Uhhh, well, neither do I. Sorry.
Do you think the US is even remotely credible in the Middle East or that Iran thinks the US will really act?
Luckily, we have the government slimdown to entertain us just now. About 87% of the government is operating which frankly strikes me as just about normal, you?
You decide.
But, hey, what the Hell do I know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
When you put Iran, North Korea and Syria in the same post it is scary how terrible has been US leadership in those matters. I won’t mention leadership from other countries because I’m still looking for it (ashamed of European politicians!). By the way, if you add the mess in Irak and Afghanistan the picture is even scarier.
.
Luckily President Obama is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate because he is not covering himself in glory with his foreign policy.
The most chaotic, unsuccessful and disorganized foreign policy by an American President perhaps forever. Made Russia and Putin look good by comparison.
It is hard to see what is happening when leading from behind.
BRC
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