Obama’s True Legacy: Iran Commemorates ‘Captured US Sailors Day’ with Massive Billboard Display

Just over a year since Iran captured 10 US sailors – and detained them for around 15 hours – for entering Iranian waters “illegally,” it appears America’s nuclear-deal-partner wants to make sure its citizenry do not forget.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember last year when Iran captured 10 United States sailors and detained them right before Obama gave a State of the Union speech? And remember his swift and decisive action  demanding that Iran release them immediately? Yeah, me neither. But what I do remember is the national embarrassment of Obama bowing before his Muslim master in the Middle East, and doing nothing – absolutely nothing – to get them set free or to punish Iran for doing it. Now Iran makes a billboard to continue mocking the pusillanimous Obama “lead from behind”, way behind, foreign policy. 

On Tuesday evening January 12, 2016, just prior to President Obama’s last State of the Union address, a geopolitical black swan landed on Farsi Island. Ten US sailors and two US Navy boats were seized by Iran when they purportedly entered Iranian waters “illegally.” The timing couldn’t have been worse.

Over the past several weeks, Obama has again come under fire for a “soft” approach to Iran after the IRGC conducted a live-fire rocket test some 1,500 yards from a US aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz. That incident led directly to calls from GOP lawmakers to slap Tehran with fresh sanctions in connection with Iran’s test-firing of two next gen surface-to-surface missiles.

Iran Releases Captured US Sailors After Questioning, Apology

On the morning the new sanctions were set to be announced, the administration got cold feet and decided the US needed “more time” to study the measures. For Republicans, the abrupt 180 was further evidence that The White House is hopelessly inept in its dealings with what the GOP still deems a pariah state.

Of course the reason the administration shied away from announcing new sanctions is that the old sanctions haven’t been lifted yet. That is, the ink on the nuclear accord is barely dry and implementation is imminent. Angering Tehran would risk undermining the whole deal and that, in turn, would jeopardize an important part of Obama’s legacy.

Obama lets Iran get away with video designed to humiliate US Navy sailors:

Thus, the President had an impossibly difficult decision to make on Tuesday evening: mention the sailors and risk escalating the conflict and turning it into a protracted spat that could both derail the nuclear deal and imperil US citizens, or don’t mention the sailors and risk looking ridiculous by discussing “improvements” in relations with Tehran just as everyone in the chamber (not to mention the millions watching at home) wondered what’s to come of the ten hostages being held on Farsi.

The President chose not to mention the incident, but nevertheless, the Ayatollah had pulled of a rather epic propaganda coup. Effectively the IRGC clouded the President’s final address to the nation and it now appears there will be no repercussions.

On Wednesday both Iranian and US officials confirmed that all ten of the sailors have been released. The sailors departed the Iranian base on Farsi Island at 0843 GMT on the same boats that brought them there, a statement from the Navy said. “There are no indications the sailors were harmed,” the Pentagon added. source

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