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posted by martyb on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the left-hand-meet-your-right dept.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/24/obama-iran-nuclear-deal-prisoner-release-236966

When President Barack Obama announced the "one-time gesture" of releasing Iranian-born prisoners who "were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses" last year, his administration presented the move as a modest trade-off for the greater good of the Iran nuclear agreement and Tehran's pledge to free five Americans.

[...] But Obama, the senior official and other administration representatives weren't telling the whole story on Jan. 17, 2016, in their highly choreographed rollout of the prisoner swap and simultaneous implementation of the six-party nuclear deal, according to a POLITICO investigation.

[...] The biggest fish, though, was Seyed Abolfazl Shahab Jamili, who had been charged with being part of a conspiracy that from 2005 to 2012 procured thousands of parts with nuclear applications for Iran via China. That included hundreds of U.S.-made sensors for the uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran whose progress had prompted the nuclear deal talks in the first place.

When federal prosecutors and agents learned the true extent of the releases, many were shocked and angry. [...] Through action in some cases and inaction in others, the White House derailed its own much-touted National Counterproliferation Initiative at a time when it was making unprecedented headway in thwarting Iran's proliferation networks. In addition, the POLITICO investigation found that Justice and State Department officials denied or delayed requests from prosecutors and agents to lure some key Iranian fugitives to friendly countries so they could be arrested. Similarly, Justice and State, at times in consultation with the White House, slowed down efforts to extradite some suspects already in custody overseas, according to current and former officials and others involved in the counterproliferation effort.

And as far back as the fall of 2014, Obama administration officials began slow-walking some significant investigations and prosecutions of Iranian procurement networks operating in the U.S. These previously undisclosed findings are based on interviews with key participants at all levels of government and an extensive review of court records and other documents. "Clearly, there was an embargo on any Iranian cases," according to the former federal supervisor. "Of course it pissed people off, but it's more significant that these guys were freed, and that people were killed because of the actions of one of them," the supervisor added, in reference to [Amin] Ravan and the IED network.


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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:45PM (2 children)

    Their leaders speak crazed jihadi like a boss. Nobody's fault but their own if they're believed.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:01PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:01PM (#499624)

    McCain and Hillary have made similar threats back to them. Remember John's little song? USA are hypocrites.

    • (Score: 2, Troll) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:52PM

      You obviously do not even understand what you're talking about. Hypocrisy would be threatening to destroy them simply because we believed them to be sub-human scum like they believe of the Jews. Promising to destroy them if they attack or even seriously threaten an ally is nothing even remotely approaching the same thing.

      One is xenophobic, genocidal madness.

      The other is defense of a friend from xenophobic, genocidal maniacs.

      Learn to think.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.