Dissidents Not Welcome at the Flag Raising Ceremony in Cuba

It's what's missing from this scene that's most disturbing, and the cartoonist captures it beautifully. Dissidents are not welcome. 

"In Cuba," writes Armando Valladares in his August 20 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "to ask for a man's basic rights is to ask for intimidation, incarceration, torture, and death." Vallardares would know. He says he spent eight years naked in solitary confinement (he refused to wear a prison uniform) as a conscientious objector to the Castro regime. He witnessed the torture and execution of those he knew, those who dared to protest. 

The American flag was raised at the American embassy in Cuba. But dissidents were not invited. And children of murdered dissidents were not allowed to speak. As was the case of Rosa Maria Payá, whose father Oswaldo Payá was murdered in 2012 by the regime ("official" version--it was a car accident). 

Rosa was at the flag raising. She even had a press pass. But here's the story you won't read in the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times or the Washington Post: Rosa wasn't allowed to ask questions. 

But this is Cuba, you say. Of course she wouldn't be permitted to speak. 

Ah, but it wasn't the Cuban authorities who silenced her. It was the Kerry people. The Kerry people. The American authorities. 

Because it's not about principle. It's not about human rights. It's not about freedom of expression. It's not about freedom at all. It's the show. It's the display. It's the stagecraft. Dissidents? Sorry, you're not welcome. Dissidents? Sorry, can't speak. Dissidents? Sorry, this isn't about you. It's about politicians and their egos, presidents and their legacies. The show must go on. Pictures must be taken for posterity. Dissidents must be silent, invisible, even at the American Embassy in Cuba.

(Mr. Kirby asked me not to ask questions today in John Kerry's press conference or [they would] use force to [remove] me.)

For Further Reading

"In Historic Cuba Visit, Kerry Presides Over Raising of U.S. Flag Over Embassy in Havana" (Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, August 15, 2015)

"To Embrace Cuba's Regime, State Department Doesn't Have ot Behave Like It" (Capitol Hill Cubans) 

More on Rosa Maria Payá's father, Oswaldo Payá here.  

Armando Valladares' article (in Capitol Hill Cubans blog) here.

"Iran's Bitch," or, How We Got Our Butts Kicked in Vienna

Ten . . . No Eleven . . . Make That Thirteen Reasons to Hate this Deal 

1. Any time, anywhere inspections? Not.

2. The deal obligates us to defend Iran against...Israel? 

3. Left and right-wing Jews in Israel are united against the deal, as are Israel's neighbors in the Middle East.

4. This deal makes the region more, not less, dangerous, and will very likely jump-start a nuclear arms race. Way to go, Mr. "Nobel Laureate" Obama!

6. Contrary to the phony indignation of Obama, Clinton, et al, in response to Mike Huckabee's bluntly-worded critique of the deal, a nuclear-armed Iran does, indeed, portend another Holocaust.

7. By lifting sanctions off Iran, the leading sponsor or terror in the Middle East, we are essentially co-sponsoring terrorism. 

8. Iran will be able to inspect itself! What the heck?

9. Four Americans remain jailed in Iran, including journalists and a pastor, but these hostages were never included in the so-called negotiations, even though we let their terrorists off the hook for no apparent reason other than the fact that we're their bitch.  

10. Cliché alert: We not only gave away the farm, we sold the store. 

11. Trust Iran? You've got to be kidding. And even if we could trust them to stick to the terms of the agreement, those terms suggest that the deal will delay Iran from developing nuclear weapons for ten years. Ten years may as well be ten minutes. 

12. The deal also permits the selling of ICBM's to Iran. The "I" and the "C" are pretty significant, don't you think? 

13. "Snap back sanctions?" Already this feature of the deal is being dismissed by the experts. Once Iran has its billions, and once other countries resume trade relations with Iran, there will be no snapping of anything, except maybe our bra strap.

What am I missing? 

The phrase "Iran's Bitch" comes from the podcast I've linked below (listen to it!) and is not my own (anyone who knows me knows I don't use vulgarity very often. In fact, I admit I was a little shocked when the speaker used the phrase). But when he described the way the Iranian negotiators treated John Kerry in the negotiating room (at one point, members of the Secret Service rushed in the room, thinking Kerry was in danger), berating, belittling, shouting, I got the picture. Even after being kicked, Kerry kept crawling back, like a dog to its master. What was his motivation for taking the abuse? Was there pressure from Obama? A deal at any cost? Play your last card? Give them anything, just get me a deal? Was that what was going on? 

One expert I listened to (maybe it was Mr. Rubin in this podcast, or maybe it was another podcast, I can't remember) admitted he was baffled by Obama's motivation. He could only think of two metaphors that might explain the president's behavior: Obama the battered wife, or, Obama the besotted teenager. Ouch. Neither one speaks well of America. 

What's apparent is this president was hell-bent on getting something, anything, in writing. Why? Is this about Valerie Jarrett, our "shadow president," who by the way is Iranian-born? Is she the puppet master here? Or is this about the president's celebrated ego? Is Obama searching for something previous administrations were unable to achieve? If it's really all about his legacy, what if he's wrong and the naysayers are right? His legacy would be destroyed beyond all repair. 

It is this point, above all others, that makes this whole situation so disturbing. That the leader of the world's most powerful nation could be so blinded by his own ambitions that he is literally unable to see the catastrophe looming, like a giant tsunami wave building behind him, while he sits on a sun-drenched beach, blithely basking in a fantasy of his own making. Equally disturbing, to me, are the foolish people who defend, excuse, justify, idolize him. 

KickAss Politics Podcast with Michael Rubin

"The Iran Nuke Deal with Guest Michael Rubin" (KickAss Politics with Ben Mathis, podcast). 

According to the synopsis, Michael Rubin is "a former Pentagon official specializing in Iran and a Middle East scholar with the American Enterprise Institute [who] has written extensively on the subject of rogue regimes and Iran's nuclear ambitions." Here's a link to Rubin's bio, which also includes links to articles he's written.

For Further Reading

"Sixteen Reasons the Iranian Nuke Deal is an Iranian Victory and a Western Catastrophe," by David Horovitz, The Times of Israel (July 14, 2015). 

"The Second Holocaust," by Benny Morris, The New York Sun (January 22, 2007).  Note date of publication.

"Obama Agrees to be Bodyguard for Iran's Nuclear Program," IranTruth Staff, IranTruth (July 15, 2015). 

"Iran Bombshell: It Will Inspect Itself," by Fred Fleitz, IranTruth (July 24, 2015).

"The Obama Whisperer," by Noam Scheiber, The New Republic (November 9, 2014). 

"FBI Files Document Communism in Valerie Jarrett's Family," Judicial Watch (June 22, 2015).