Iranian terrorists let go? Wrong.
Did President Obama make a goodwill gesture towards Iran at the expense of American security and our troops’ lives?
Wrong.
Since the release of the five Iranian officials known as the “Irbil Five” from Iraqi government custody, various rumor emails, blogs, websites, and even mainstream media have published versions of a story that President Obama had released “Quds Force commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who were coordinating terrorist attacks in Iraq that have killed hundreds — yes, hundreds — of American soldiers and Marines using Iranian-designed Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) devices.” [1]
While the accusation may serve the political interests of the President’s ideologically motivated critics, it’s just flat out wrong.
There is plenty of evidence to show that President Bush’s Administration – who originally detained the men – had made two errors. First, there was little evidence Iranian agents were in fact aiding insurgents against American and Iraqi troops at all. [2, 3] Second, they appeared to have detained Iranian diplomats who had been openly and publicly meeting with Iraqi and Kurdish government officials – and at all not responsible for attacks against American troops. [4]
Finally, the President and his Administration were abiding by a U.S-Iraqi security pact which requires that the United States transfer over 10,000 of its detainees to the Iraqi government. The prisoners’ fate was to be decided by the Iraqi government. Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Major-General Hussein Kamal says that “There is nothing specific about the timing of their release. The Iraqi judiciary looked into their cases and the court decided to release them.”
But members of the right-wing and even mainstream press are still on the attack.
Smears, left unchallenged, can have a real impact. Make sure to tell your friends and family the truth.
[1] “Obama Frees Iranian Terror Masters,” by Andrew C. McCarthy. The National Review, July 11, 2009.
[2] “Goading Iran Into War.” Newshoggers, April 7, 2007.
[3] “Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link,” by Alexandra Zavis. Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2007.
[4] “Rightwing Dishonesty and the Irbil Five,” by Steve Hynd. Newshoggers, July 12, 2009.