To see the unrelenting efforts of the Iran Lobby at work, look no further than its continuing effort to prevent the sale of US-made F-16 fighter jets to the island kingdom of Bahrain.
That critical defense sale was blocked by the Obama administration and is now poised to move forward after congressional approval.
But undeterred by President Trump’s support of the purchase, Iran apologists, including Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., are mounting a last ditch effort to block the transfer of aircraft that are vital to the defense of Bahrain.
Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf just off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
It has been for many decades a staunch ally of the U.S. and, since 1995, has been the home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Central Command.
As a result, some 4,000 American sailors, Marines and civilian personnel are based in Bahrain. Additionally, the Bahrainis have for many years allowed the prepositioning of American military equipment on their soil as well as the use of their airfields by our military aircraft.
Iran has directly threatened Bahrain, contending that the island nation belongs to them, and makes no secret of their intention to "reclaim" it.
The mullahs argue that Bahrain is the 14th Province of Iran.
This is no empty or old historical argument.
In December of 2016 the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Hossein Salami, stated, "It is now time for the Islamic conquests. After the liberation of Aleppo, Bahrain’s hopes will be realized and Yemen will be happy with the defeat of the enemies of Islam."
In February of this year Mojtib Zonour, a former IRGC general and current member of Iran’s parliament, backed up Salami by threatening to burn the U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain to the ground.
Using subversion to prop up the claim to Bahraini territory, Iran has for many years supported sedition by the shia living in Bahrain. In doing that, the mullahs in Tehran trained, equipped and dispatched saboteurs and operatives to carry out their plans.
During the 1980’s this agitation reached a fever pitch, and this year has seen a deadly resurgence.
In January, ten Shia terrorists were freed in a coordinated assault on a Bahraini jail.
One policeman was killed in that attack and, shortly afterwards, an off-duty policeman was killed in a targeted assassination. Then, in early February, a bomb was detonated on a main thoroughfare in Manama, the capital.
On Feb. 10 of this year, security forces intercepted a boat leaving Bahrain and headed for Iran. Among others, the vessel was carrying escapees from the January jailbreak all of whom were killed in an exchange of gunfire. Bahraini officials recovered from the boat an AK-47, a satellite phone and a GPS navigation system, all clear evidence that the fugitives and their escorts had been trained and equipped for an escape after sabotage and terrorist activities inside Bahrain.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that Iran will back away from its support of terrorism in Bahrain or will renounce its claim to the territory of that sovereign nation.
On the contrary, flush with cash handed over to Tehran under the terms of the disastrous Iran nuclear deal and emboldened by former President Obama’s retreat from the Mideast, Iran has intensified its efforts to achieve hegemony in the region. This is the context in which American apologists and agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran are attempting to block the sale of defense equipment to an ally under siege.
Bahrain is a nation with a Shia majority ruled by a Sunni monarchy.
There is a need, recognized by the Bahraini government, for a transition to a more open and democratic form of government. But none of that is possible if Bahrain falls prey to Iran, the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism.
The ayatollahs have brought nothing but tyranny and oppression to their own people. They will bring nothing but the same to Bahrain.
Manama is next door to Iran, a menace that has set the entire Mideast ablaze and that now threatens the lives of American sailors, Marines and civilians. Friend and ally for many years, Bahrain deserves the best military equipment with which to defend itself. And America’s warriors.
Charles "Sam" Faddis, retired CIA operations officer, led the first CIA team into Iraq (in 2002) and retired as head of CIA’s Counterterrorism WMD unit. He is a senior counterterrorism editor for Homeland Security Today and a contributor to EpicTimes.com, Andmagazine.com, Fox News, and OANN.com. He also is a former congressional candidate and consultant to the U.S. government on military/intel issues. He is the author of “Beyond Repair” (on the need for intel reform). Faddis is a U.S. Army veteran and former assistant attorney general. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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