Barack Obama’s $400 Million Ransom Payment to Iran to Free Hostages

WHAT, YOU THOUGHT IRAN RELEASED THE AMERICAN HOSTAGES BECAUSE THEY RESPECTED AND FEARED OBAMA?

The WSJ is reporting that the Obama administration sent $400 million to Iran as Americans were freed from the terror state. However, Barack Hussein Obama claims that there was no quid pro quo, and it was not a ransom as critics have charged. Oh, of course it was just a coincidence. REALLY? And if you believe that one I have a private email server to sell you from Hillary Clinton’s bathroom that did not contain top secret emails. Interestingly enough, the Iranian press reports have quoted senior Iranian defense officials describing the cash as a ransom payment. How sad has it become in America when one believes the Iranian media over the President of the United States?

The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward.

Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said.

The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange. They say the way the various strands came together simultaneously was coincidental, not the result of any quid pro quo.

“As we’ve made clear, the negotiations over the settlement of an outstanding claim…were completely separate from the discussions about returning our American citizens home,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said. “Not only were the two negotiations separate, they were conducted by different teams on each side, including, in the case of The Hague claims, by technical experts involved in these negotiations for many years.”

But U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible.

Powerline points out some of the specifics of the Obama ransom for hostages deal with Iran.

(1) It was indeed a ransom payment – negotiators originally established a formula of people for people: American nationals held by Iran for Iranian nationals held by America. But then the Iranians started demanding billions of dollars as well. Iranian officials later bragged they coerced the ransom out of U.S. diplomates —

The U.S. and Iran entered into secret negotiations to secure the release of Americans imprisoned in Iran in November 2014… The discussions… initially focused solely on a formula whereby Iran would swap the Americans detained in Tehran for Iranian nationals held in U.S. jails… But around Christmas, the discussions dovetailed with… the old arms deal. The Iranians were demanding the return of $400 million… They also wanted billions of dollars as interest accrued since then… a report by an Iranian news site close to the Revolutionary Guard, the Tasnim agency, said the cash arrived in Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on the same day the Americans departed. Revolutionary Guard commanders boasted at the time that the Americans had succumbed to Iranian pressure. “Taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies,” said Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, commander of the Guard’s Basij militia, on state media.

(2) The administration hid the details from Congress – Lawmakers have been pressing the administration for six months to provide more details about how and where the money went, among other things because Iran has been transferring money for military purposes. They’ve made little progress —

The Obama administration has refused to disclose how it paid any of the $1.7 billion, despite congressional queries, outside of saying that it wasn’t paid in dollars. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the cash would be used by Iran to fund regional allies, including the Assad regime in Syria and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The U.S. and United Nations believe Tehran is subsidizing the Assad regime’s war in Syria through cash and energy shipments. Iran has acknowledged providing both financial and military aid to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and deploying Iranian soldiers there.

Thousands of German Protesters Take to the Streets Saying Chancellor Merkel ‘Must Go’ and Her Open Borders Immigration Policies

GERMAN PEOPLE RISE UP AGAINST CHANCELLOR MERKEL AND HER OPEN BORDERS IMMIGRATION POLICIES …

Chancellor Angela Merkel finds herself in a precarious situation as the German people march in the streets and demand that “SHE MUST GO.”  This is in response to her ‘open-door’ policy that many have blamed for four brutal terrorist attacks that left 13 dead over the last month. Three of the attackers were among 1.1 million who entered as refugees as part of Merkel’s open door policy. But what does Merkel do, defends her policy as innocent Germans are murdered.  This is what happens when you have open borders and let not only terrorists into your country, but also individuals who have no intention of ever assimilating to your culture.

1. Suicide bomber in Germany pledged allegiance to ISIS leader.
2. 21year old Syrian refugee hacks PREGNANT woman to death with machete and injures two others before hero BMW driver runs him over in yet another attack in Germany.
3. ISIL flag found in room of German train attacker.

Guess what America, this is what is in sore for the United States as well as Barack Hussein Obama and Hillary Clinton want to do the same and bring in unvetted refugees from parts of the world that hate the US and where ISIS has stated that they will infiltrate the refugee population.

Merkel on the ropes: Thousands of German protesters take to the streets saying she ‘Must Go’ and a key coalition ally withdraws support to open-door immigration policy after terror attacks

• Thousands to gather in towns and cities across Germany today at 3pm
• They are calling for her resignation over open door immigration policy
• Comes after four brutal attacks leaving nearly a dozen dead in one week
• Three of the attackers were among 1.1million who entered as refugees

Merkel’s premiership is hanging by a thread today as thousands gathered to call for her resignation while a key political ally dramatically withdrew his support over immigration policy.

More than 5,000 protested in Berlin and thousands more throughout Germany over the ‘open-door’ policy that many have blamed for four brutal terrorist attacks that left 13 dead over the last month.

The Chancellor faced a fresh wave of fury after it emerged that two recent terror attacks and a third killing were carried out by men who entered the country as refugees.

84 Year Old Priest Father Jacques Hamel Beheaded by Islamic Terrorist in France … ISIS Claims Responsibility

 THE RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR CONTINUES …

An 84-year-old priest was killed and four other people taken hostage by two armed radical Islamist terrorists at a church in a suburb of Rouen in northern France. The radical Islamist savages slit the throat of an 84 year old Father Jacques Hamel and beheaded him.

French President Francois Hollande stated in a press conference that ISIS has declared war on France.

The two attackers, who said they were from the so-called Islamic State (IS), slit Fr Jacques Hamel’s throat during a morning Mass, officials say.

Police surrounded the church and shot dead both hostage-takers. French media named one of them as Adel K.

One of the hostages is in a critical condition in hospital.

President Francois Hollande, visiting the scene, in Saint Etienne-du-Rouvray, said the attackers had committed a “cowardly assassination” and France would fight IS “by all means”.

Pope Francis decried the “pain and horror of this absurd violence”.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May branded the attack “sickening” and offered her condolences to the people of France.

The suspect named as Adel K, aged 18, is reported to have been in custody and then placed under a control order, and had tried to enter Syria twice.

UPDATE I: French church attack: What we know.

UPDATE II: One of two suspects in a church attack that left a priest dead in northern France was known to anti-terror authorities.

Adel Kermiche, 19, was wearing an “electronic tag” during the deadly hostage incident at a Catholic church in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, prosecutor Francois Molins said.

The monitoring apparatus was a condition of his house arrest after two attempts in 2015 to travel abroad — at least once to Syria — using a relative’s identification, Molins said.

Kermiche was identified via fingerprints after the attack, which French President Francois Hollande said was committed in the name of ISIS.
The second killed attacker has not been identified.

Donald Trump GOP Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, Part 2 … “I Am Your Voice”

DONALD TRUMP, “I AM YOUR VOICE” …

Donald Trump spoke to the “Forgotten” people of America last night who no longer have a voice, Trump states, “I am your voice!” It is what the establishment in both parties have still not gotten, the Democrats have not figured out, the liberals are completely blind to and the pundits in the liberal MSM and many on the other side as well still refuse to get … Donald Trump has tapped into the ‘Sleeping Giant” that is the silent majority of Americans who are fed up.

Donald Trump accepts GOP nomination, Part 2

The Politico:

The Manhattan mogul sold himself as the champion of a downtrodden working class — “America’s blue-collar billionaire” as one speaker called him earlier in the evening — promising to restore “law and order” and casting himself as a change agent against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“I am your voice,” he boomed, pointing straight toward the television audience.

“Hillary Clinton’s message is that things will never change. Never ever,” Trump said. “My message is that things have to change and they have to change right now.”

Trump delivered a deeply negative speech that described a darkening America. He spoke of spiking crime, “third-world” airports, growing trade deficits, “chaos in our communities,” and terrorism on the home front. Abroad, he said, the situation was “worse than it has ever been before.”

“This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” he said.

Donald J. Trump Humbly & Gratefully Accepts the Republican Nomination for Presidency of the United States (VIDEO)

Last night at the RNC in Cleveland, Ohio Donald J. Trump walked on to the stage to the music from the movie, ‘Air Force One.’ Trump then went on to humble and gratefully accept the Republican nomination for the presidency of the United States to the roar of the crowd.

Donald Trump had big shoes to fill as the Trump Children, Donald Jr., Eric, Tiffany and Ivanka wowed the crowds and did a fantastic job in introducing America to the real Donald Trump, as opposed to the one that the liberal MSM and Democrats want you to see. Donald Trump faced the biggest speech of his life and he did not disappoint. After accepting the presidential nomination Trump said, “We will be a country of generosity and warmth, but  we will also be a country of law and order.” When the crowd chanted of Hillary Clinton, lock her up, Trump responded in kind with, “let’s defeat her in November.” Watch the VIDEO below and see a political outsider take on the establishment and the greatest establishment candidate ever, Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump accepts GOP nomination, Part 1

The Politico – Full context of speech.

Friends, delegates and fellow Americans: I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace. We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.

Our Convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.

Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities. Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims.

I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored.

The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.

It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation.

I will present the facts plainly and honestly. We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.

So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths the Democrats are holding their convention next week.

But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.

Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this Administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.

Homicides last year increased by 17% in America’s fifty largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years. In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60% in nearby Baltimore.

In the President’s hometown of Chicago, more than 2,000 have been the victims of shootings this year alone. And more than 3,600 have been killed in the Chicago area since he took office.

The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50% compared to this point last year. Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.

The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total from 2015. They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.

One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years-old, and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 Grade Point Average. Her killer was then released a second time, and he is now a fugitive from the law.

I’ve met Sarah’s beautiful family. But to this Administration, their amazing daughter was just one more American life that wasn’t worth protecting. One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders. What about our economy?

Again, I will tell you the plain facts that have been edited out of your nightly news and your morning newspaper: Nearly Four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58% of African American youth are not employed. 2 million more Latinos are in poverty today than when the President took his oath of office less than eight years ago. Another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely.

Household incomes are down more than $4,000 since the year 2000. Our manufacturing trade deficit has reached an all-time high – nearly $800 billion in a single year. The budget is no better.

President Obama has doubled our national debt to more than $19 trillion, and growing. Yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are in Third World condition, and forty-three million Americans are on food stamps.