Iran’s Latest Show of Strength"

George W. Bush won the war in Iraq, and now Barack Obama is losing the peace. I'm as anxious as the next guy to get our troops home with their families, but to risk losing all that we've accomplished so that Obama can gain political points is outrageous!

If we lose Iraq to the Islamists, which looks like what will happen and at a faster pace than I anticipated, that means that the American lives that were shed were sacrificed in vain. What a disturbing concept to swallow! Obama's foreign policy is proving to be as alarming as his domestic policies.

Read from Now the End Begins:

After Obama Pulled Out Iran Steps In To Take Over Iraq

"Iran stands ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq, its armed forces chief of staff said Sunday, a week after the exit of US forces from the neighbouring Arab country.

General Hassan Firouzabadi hailed the 'forced departure' of the US and allied forces that he said 'was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government,' the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The statements were made in messages Firouzabadi sent to his Iraqi counterpart, Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari, and to Iraq’s acting defence minister, Saadun al-Dulaimi, IRNA said.

The departure of the US troops 'was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government,' he said.

'I hope the humiliating failure of the United States after nine years of occupying Iraq will serve as a lesson for them to never think of attacking another country,' he said.

Firouzabadi added that Iran was now 'ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq.'

Zebari led a delegation of Iraqi military chiefs to Iran last month to explore greater cooperation between the two defence forces.

US analysts have expressed concern that Iran could exploit the vacuum left by the US withdrawal to bolster links with Iraq’s Shiite-led government.

The United States frequently accused Iran of arming Iraqi militias that attacked US forces when they were deployed there.

US President Barack Obama said on December 14 that, while the situation left behind in Iraq was not perfect, 'we are leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq.'

His administration has warned Iran against trying to interfere in Iraq. source – Brietbart"


Wow! I'll bet the Iranians are shaking in their shoes over Obama's empty threats.

Then, we have this disturbing piece of news, as Iran practices for war. Also from Now the End Begins:

Iran Begins War Games in Strait of Hormuz

"Iran’s navy has started a 10-day drill in international waters near the strategic oil route that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The exercises, dubbed 'Velayat 90', could bring Iranian ships into proximity with United States Navy vessels in the area. 'Velayat' is a Persian word for 'supremacy' and it is currently used as a title of deference for the Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.


(CNN) -- Iran's Navy ordered a helicopter from an unspecified foreign country to leave to leave the area of maneuvers it is conducting in the Persian Gulf, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Monday.

The war games cover a 2,000km stretch of sea off the Strait of Hormuz, northern parts of the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Aden, near the entrance to the Red Sea, state television reported.

The drill will be Iran’s latest show of strength in the face of mounting international criticism over its controversial nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Tehran denies those charges, insisting the program is for peaceful purposes only.

Adm Habibollah Sayyari, the navy chief, said Iran is holding the drill to show off its prowess and defense capabilities.

'To show off its might, the navy needs to be present in international waters. It’s necessary to demonstrate the navy’s defense capabilities,' state TV quoted Sayyari as saying.

Sayyari said submarines, surface-to-sea missile systems, missile-launching vessels, torpedoes and drones will be employed in the maneuvers.

Strategic waterway

The Strait of Hormuz is of strategic significance as the passageway for about a third of the world’s oil tanker traffic. Beyond it lie vast bodies of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet is also active in the area, as are warships of several other countries that patrol for pirates there.

Iran regularly holds war games and has also been active in fighting piracy. Both the US and Israel have not ruled out a military option against Iran over its nuclear program.

Iranian hard-liners have come out with occasional threats that Tehran would seal off the key waterway if the US or Israel moved against the country’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian authorities have given no indication the strait will be closed during the exercise, and it has not been shut during previous drills.

The US, Britain and Canada announced new measures against Iran’s energy and financial sectors last month and the European Union is considering a ban, already in place in the US, on imports of Iranian oil. source – Al Jazeera"