Our partner in patty-cake - today's edition

How stupid was it of The Most Equal Comrade, Secretary Global-Test and Wendy Sherman to push for the "agreement" with Iran?

After the International Atomic Energy Agency certified that Iran had taken certain steps to roll back its nuclear program (a certification the IAEA made in January this year), Resolution 2231 lifted previous Security Council missile sanctions and replaced them with much weaker language “calling” on Iran not to test missiles. According to diplomats cited by Reuters, this new formulation is not legally binding and cannot be enforced under Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter, which deals with sanctions and authorization of military force. The Obama administration made no mention of this in its briefings to Congress on the JCPOA.

For its part, Iran says it never agreed to missile restrictions in the JCPOA and claims its missile tests do not violate Security Council resolutions because they are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. This is absurd. Iran’s missile program is widely believed to be a delivery system for nuclear warheads. If Iran were telling the truth, it would be the only nation in history without a nuclear-weapons program that nonetheless developed missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers or more. Iran is not building long-range missiles to carry warheads full of dynamite or to fire monkeys into space.

How's this for aggressive enabling of regional mischief?

On March 29 . . . the U.S. Navy intercepted an Iranian ship in the Persian Gulf that was transporting 1,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns that were probably en route to Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Washington Post reported Monday that there have been at least two similar seizures over the last two months. 

 Why the hell is Iran getting in the Octogen-production business?

Iran intends to produce the powerful explosive Octogen for use in the warheads of its missiles to improve their “destructive and penetration power,” Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said Wednesday.

Octogen is used as an explosive in penetrating missile warheads and as a solid rocket fuel — but is also employed as part of the detonator in an atomic bomb.

During a ceremony to inaugurate a Octogen production plant, Dehqan stressed Iran’s goal of gaining the know-how to make the explosive material in order to avoid relying on external sources.

“Concurrently with its efforts to increase the precision-striking power of its weapons systems, the Defense Ministry has also paid attention to boosting the destructive and penetration power of different weapons’ warheads and has put on its agenda the acquisition of the technical know-how to produce Octogen explosive materials and Octogen-based weapons,” he said, according to a report from the semi-official FARS news agency.

Brigadier General  Doha's remarks would seem to align with those of Major General Mohammed Ali Jafari:

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari has said Iran is preparing for all-out war with the US and its allies, and has vowed Iran will continue advancing and testing its ballistic missile program.

Speaking at a gathering of senior IRGC commanders in Tehran Tuesday, Jafari declared that the US "would not be able to do a damned thing" in the face of Iranian advances, according to official Tasnim news agency.
"For years, we have been building power on the presumption of a widespread war with the US and its allies, and have developed all our capacities and capabilities for decisive victories over such enemies," Jafari said.
The top Iranian general also blasted neighboring Arab states for what he termed as "stupid behavior," in opting to align with Israel and the United States against Iran.
“Regimes like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and their peers are symbols of modern political underdevelopment, and the IRGC… has made preparations for response to their rudeness and stupid behavior, which stems from (their) reliance on the US power,” he stated.
Jafari expressed confidence that Arabs would defy their governments to "seek revenge" against them for their offensives against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as "for their disgraceful support for Israel."

Please, no more presidents who feel compelled to subject the entire nation to their mad visions driven by all-consuming desires for self-aggrandizement and / or leftist pipe dreams.