Iran continues to thumb its nose at the United States; threatens to shoot down two American aircraft
Over the weekend, Iran ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East by threatening to shoot down two American reconnaissance aircraft. The two planes — a P-8 Poseidon and an EP-3, carrying a total compliment of 33 officers and men — were flying over international waters thirteen miles off the coast of Iran.
Unfortunately, this sort of behavior has become par for the course. The Islamic Republic has made aggravating the United States something of a national pastime in recent months. August saw Iranian boats “harassing” American vessels on five seperate occasions. There has been a 50% increase in these incidents in 2016 — and the year is far from over. The Iranians continue to thumb their noses at the United States by growing their illegal ballistic missile program, and last month saw the arrest of an American citizen in Iran for the first time since Obama’s nuclear deal was signed. In January, ten Americans sailors were held captive by the Iranians for sixteen hours.
The Iranians did not even offer an apology for the latter incident. The feckless John Kerry, demonstrating all the spine of a jellyfish, instead apologized to them.
Obama’s foreign policy has been defined by a refusal to stand up to international bullying. No wonder, then, that many of our other geopolitical rivals have joined Iran in playing the “poke the Americans” game.
Last week for instance, in a clearly choreographed snub, the Chinese did not prepare a staircase to greet Air Force One, forcing Obama to exit the aircraft unceremoniously through the rear. In 2013, Vladimir Putin famously kept John Kerry sitting in his waiting from for three hours, simply because he could.
And these sort of snubs are nothing compared to the actual policy pushback Obama’s weakness has wrought. Whether it is Syria crossing Obama’s redline (and then working with Russia to circumvent John Kerry’s “deal” to remove their chemical weapons), or Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, or China’s dangerous expansion into the South China sea, respect for the authority of the Untied States is at an all-time low.
