As the United States, and really the world, commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that killed 3,000 Americans, Joe Biden and his administration has seriously disgraced itself on several fronts today, dishonoring the memory and actually willfully go against US policies by securing a disastrous deal with Iran.
First Joe Biden opted not to attend the memorial services at ground zero in New York, sending Kamala Harris instead. He is the first sitting president since the terror attacks 22 years ago that rocked this nation and the world to neither visit one of the attack sites or spend the day at the White House.
Terry Strada, whose husband died at the World Trade Center on 9/11, was very critical of Biden’s decision. She told “Fox & Friends First”, Biden’s choice was “the opposite of what we’ve all pledged to never forget.”
“He is now just saying that flippantly that he doesn’t have to come to any of the sites and commemorate the loss with the families. That’s terrible,” she continued.
The 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda terrorists under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, claimed the lives of 2,977 victims, changing America’s national security and foreign policy for decades to come.
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy inquired about Biden’s absence from one of the attack sites. The White House responded, “22 years after Pearl Harbor, US Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii.”
“It’s no surprise to me that he’s not coming to Ground Zero or any of the 9/11 sites,” Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Donald Arias told “Fox & Friends First” Monday. Arias tragically lost his brother Adam during the attacks.
“And quite frankly, I prefer he stay away anyway. We will be spared one of his stories of how he can relate, like he did with the people of Lahaina, how he can relate because of a kitchen fire. We can do without that,” he said.
Sadly Biden managed to bungle the commemorative speech he did give from Anchorage, Alaska.
Not only did he disgrace the memory of those fallen, he actually went on to tell a flat out lie. Biden claimed to be at ground zero on September 12, 2001.
“I remember standing there the next day… I felt like I was looking through the gates of hell,” Biden said.
In fact, Biden was at the Capitol.
Sadly, this was not the worst thing for Biden on this day. Today, the administration informed Congress that it has struck a deal with Iran. At its core, this agreement involves a prisoner exchange and the release of $6 billion in Iranian assets.
Under the terms of the deal, Iran will release five American citizens who had been detained within its borders. In return, the United States will release five Iranian individuals held on American soil.
On the surface, it may appear as a simple prisoner swap but beneath the surface lies a troubling reality: this agreement essentially greenlights the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds, which had been frozen in South Korea, to Qatar.
This financial maneuver has ignited a firestorm of controversy, primarily due to the fact that the United States, despite categorizing Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, is effectively facilitating the unfreezing of these funds.
Adding to the unease is the secrecy surrounding the deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave his approval late last week yet Congress was not apprised of this deal until a deeply symbolic date: the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Remarkably, four of the five American detainees had already been relocated from Iranian prisons to house arrest last month, with the fifth detainee already under house arrest.
The financial logistics of this transfer deserve scrutiny. Numerous U.S. sanctions explicitly target foreign banks engaged in transactions that favor Iran, causing several European nations to balk at participating. Secretary Blinken’s waiver can be seen as an effort to appease these concerns and sidestep the specter of potential U.S. sanctions.
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However, this agreement has not escaped the scrutiny of its critics. Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies specializing in Iranian security, voices grave concerns. He believes that releasing these funds “will only feed Tehran’s appetite to keep taking hostages,” as reported by Fox News.
“And as the case of the recently revealed Swedish diplomat illustrates, dual-nationals and foreign citizens are not the only targets. Tehran even intends to extort foreign government officials!” he said.
“Indeed, the Islamic Republic showcased for the world a willingness to take hostages less than a year since its inception. Worse, freeing-up the $6 billion forgets why it was frozen in the first place. Even the Obama administration, who signed sanctions bills into law creating those escrow accounts, did not trust Iran to stop funding its nuclear or military programs using oil money.”
He is not the only critic. Members of Congress took to social media to slam Biden’s administration for the incredulousness of this deal and the incredibly insensitive timing.
It remains to be seen the real damage that will be done with the insane deal Biden has agreed to with Iran. Once again, Biden proves America is not first in his administration.