The Achilles heel of Iran

On those Obama pallets of cash: Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, when asked about the payment by a local Denver, Colorado, television station, said it was "old news."

Peter Skurkiss "When it comes to Iran, most analysts and commentators speak as if the country were a homogenous monolith comprising Persians.  It is not.  In fact, the seldom mentioned Achilles heel of Iran is its diverse ethnic and religious make-up.  This is highlighted by Brenda Shaffer of Georgetown University, who is a leading expert on Iran's ethnic minorities.

Shaffer projects that Iran's current population of more than eighty-five million is made up of forty-two million Persians, an estimated twenty-seven million Azerbaijanis, and roughly eight million Kurds, five million Arabs, two million Turkmen, and one-and-a-half million Baluch.

 . . .
 "As luck would have it, there is civil unrest in the Khuzestan province, which is located at the center of Iran's oil production.  This gets the regime's attention. 

To get an idea of how fragile Iran might be, Berman writes that average Iranians are so fearful of national fragmentation that they mute their criticisms of Tehran's brutal treatment of the non-Persians in the outer provinces even as they themselves suffer under the regime's lash.

"It does not take a geopolitical genius to see that Iran is internally vulnerable.  Its enemies could take the county's ethnic divide as an opportunity to sow the seeds of rebellion within Iran.  This would be poetic justice.  Since the 1970s, Iran has been attempting to export its Shia Islamic revolution to other countries in the region, creating murderous mischief in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, and the Gulf countries through its proxies. 

"To date, these countries have spent their energy and resources responding to Iranian initiatives.  This has essentially been a one-way street and a draining exercise for those on the receiving end.  A country with resources — say, Israel — could decide that it is time to return the favor and take serious aim at destabilizing Iran.  The rationale here is clear.  If Iran is tied up with armed civil resistance at home, it will be far less capable of causing trouble far afield.  Given the current environment, this might not be that hard to accomplish."

Double Exposure: The Dems Coddling of Criminals and Iranian Terrorists

Clarice Feldman  "This week, the Democrats have been revealed as the party that exposes us to (1) criminal mayhem (often anti-Semitic) on the streets of New York and (2) terrorism everywhere as they consistently ignored it, indeed, paid off the perpetrators with pallets of airlifted unmarked bills and praised the worst of its perpetrators. The President has the magical power, it seems, to get idiots and criminals to expose themselves.. . . 

Toon added by TD

"Precision bombings in Iraq Expose the Democrats’ Love Affair with Iranian Terrorism

Precision bombing in Iraq killed the number-one terrorist in the world, far more dangerous to U.S. personnel and interests than Osama bin Laden was when he, a frail, isolated old man, was killed: Qassem Suleimani. 

“General Suleimani was the architect of nearly every significant operation by Iranian intelligence and military forces over the past two decades, and his death was a staggering blow for Iran at a time of sweeping geopolitical conflict.”

"Also killed, according to Iran, were General Hussein Jaafari Naya, Colonel Shahroud Muzaffari Naya, Major Hadi Tarmi, and Captain Waheed Zamanian. Other reports include Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi paramilitary leader, who attacked American and Western embassies and was the founder of a group responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq.

. . . "Back in 1992, Obama’s friend Professor Skip Gates warned of the dangers of Black anti-Semitism,  Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan and Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright have been leaders in stirring this pot and yet no Democratic leader has called them on it. Indeed, most seek their endorsement and support. Linda Sarsour, the new anti-Semite on the block, is an ally of Mayor de Blasio. Obama named her one of his “Champions of Change.” Don’t look to the media to report honestly about this Democrats' tradeoff of black underclass votes for Jewish votes. Don’t expect leftists of any background to call them on it. 

"People like Farrakhan are not “fringe figures,” they are key players in the Democratic effort to round up votes. As by online friend Alex Bensky writes:

He comes to Detroit every year or so and fills the arena with twenty thousand people, while local black leaders jostle for prominent seats. A black guy I know decided to see for himself a couple of summers ago when fifteen thousand filled an outdoor theater. He said the crowd was very enthusiastic, equally so when Farrakhan went into the Jew stuff, applauding and cheering as for anything else he said.
Both local gazettes limited themselves to observations at the end of their stories that Farrakhan has sometimes said things "that some people consider anti-Semitic." The local black weekly gives him extensive and admiring coverage and doesn't mention the Jew-hatred at all.
Imagine a comparable situation -- a caucus of Republicans in Congress has close and longstanding ties with an out and out racist who can command the presence of thousands wherever he goes. My guess is the media's coverage would have a different tone.. . . 

Advertisement Iran threatens the WHITE HOUSE: Tehran ups the ante by promising a 'crushing and powerful retaliation on American soil' and US military sites and calls Donald Trump a 'terrorist in a suit' for warning he will attack 52 Iranian targets

"Iran has threatened to attack the White House in response to Donald Trump's warning that any strike on American interests in the region will bring massive retaliation as Iranian leaders brand the president a 'terrorist in a suit'. On Sunday, Iranian MP Abolfazl Abutorabi (left) said: 'We can attack the White House itself, we can respond to them on the American soil. We have the power, and God willing we will respond in an appropriate time.’ Abutorabi went on to say that 'this is a declaration of war, which means if you hesitate you lose. When someone declares war do you want to respond to the bullets with flowers? They will shoot you in the head.' Abutorabi came during an open session of parliament in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, and just days after Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani (top right), the architect of Tehran's overseas clandestine and military operations as head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, was killed on Friday in a US drone strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport. Following massive funeral marches in Iraq, Soleimani's body was flown to the city of Ahvaz in southwest Iran on Sunday. His casket (center) was wrapped in an Iranian flag as it was unloaded from a plane as a military band plays and the crowd angrily chanted 'Death to America'. On Saturday, Revolutionary Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami promised 'a strategic revenge which will definitely put an end to the US presence in the region'. However, Trump threatened to hit 52 critical targets in Iran in retaliation if Tehran strikes any American interests in the region, upping the stakes after Iran said it had identified 35 targets for potential strikes and raised its red 'flags of revenge' over a key mosque."

'Iranian hackers' breach US government website operated by the Federal Depository Library Program in retaliation for airstrike  . . . "It followed the similar hacking of websites for a number of obscure, non-governmental entities, including the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, the Taiwan Lung Meng Technology Company, and the Human Rights Protection Association of India.
"The website for a British company called Bigways was also struck in the cyber attacks.

Security experts have already warned that cyber attacks could be part of Iran's retaliation for the U.S. airstrike on Friday that killed Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, a top official in Iran and beloved there. 

"Iran's state-backed hackers are already among the world's most aggressive and could inject malware that triggers major disruptions to the U.S. public and private sector.

"Potential targets include manufacturing facilities, oil and gas plants and transit systems. A top U.S. cybersecurity official is warning businesses and government agencies to be extra vigilant." . . .

Defense stocks rise after U.S. kills Iranian general in Iraq

American Military News  "American gasoline prices could rise in the coming weeks over fears about the potential fallout from the U.S. killing of an Iranian military leader. And those price hikes could escalate if the conflict intensifies.
"But with oil production strong in the U.S. and elsewhere, the effect on fuel is likely to be muted in the near term.
"“We’re talking about making a nickel of an impact on gas prices over the next week,” says Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings app GasBuddy.
"To be sure, the American airstrike that killed the Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, while he was visiting Iraq could trigger a chain of events that would have a greater effect on the price of gas.
“ 'The severity of their response is what’s going to impact gas prices most,” DeHaan says. “This could really escalate from here on out.”

"If oil jumps more than $5 a barrel and gasoline follows it higher, the increase in prices could have a “pretty significant impact to consumers” says AAA spokeswoman Jeanette Casselano. Gas is made by refining crude oil.

"U.S. oil futures prices rose 3.7% to $63.44 at 9:51 a.m. ET on Friday.

"The national average price of gasoline reached $2.59 on Friday, up 3 cents from a week earlier, according to AAA.

"Traders are bracing for the possibility that Iran will retaliate by restricting the flow of oil in the Middle East or potentially attacking production sites." . . .