Iran May Have Received as Much as $33.6 Billion in Cash, Gold Payments From U.S.

[Highmark]

 

21 minutes ago, Anler said:

We have done more damage to Iran than they have ever done to us. Much of this money was THEIR money that we froze and denied them access to for almost 40 years. So what exactly are you pissed about?

 What say you Anler?

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/

 

Iran Still Owes $53 Billion in Unpaid U.S. Court Judgments to American Victims of Iranian Terrorism

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Orde Kittrie
9th May 2016 - FDD Research Memo

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian government funds must be turned over to injured survivors and families of Americans killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks for which Iran was found liable by U.S. courts. This is an important, but only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism.

Even after the nearly $2 billion is used as compensation, American victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. So long as Iran refuses to settle these little-known but massive judgments, they will continue to cast a shadow over Iranian relations with the United States and over expanding Iranian trade with European and other countries that could seize Iranian assets in implementation of the U.S. court judgments. In contrast, if Iran agrees or is forced to settle these claims, as Libya did with the Pan Am 103 and similar claims against it by U.S. terrorism victims, it will be an important step towards deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future.

Tehran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – including numerous attacks that have killed and injured U.S. citizens. Iran has typically acted through Hezbollah, Hamas, or other terrorist proxies. According to Jennifer Elsea of the Congressional Research Service, U.S. federal courts have, over the last two decades, issued some 92 judgments finding the Iranian government and its officials liable for acts of terrorism that claimed American victims.[1] These judgments have resulted in over $26 billion in compensatory damages and over $30 billion in punitive damages against Iranian government entities and officials.[2] Iran has never willingly paid a penny.

Victims and their families have instead received less than $100 million in compensation from Iranian government assets blocked by the U.S. government.[3] The April 20 Supreme Court judgment – ensuring that nearly $2 billion in Iranian government assets are used to pay U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism – will increase Tehran’s price at least twenty-fold for its history of attacks against Americans.

Still, over $53 billion in U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials remain outstanding.[4] This includes over $1 billion in damages that were awarded against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself. The list of judgments against Iranian government entities and officials, and the cases underlying them, makes for remarkable reading. They include, but are not limited to, U.S. courts having held Iran liable for the following:

• A Hezbollah truck bomb that killed 63 people in April 1983 at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, including 17 Americans.[5]
• A second Hezbollah truck bomb that destroyed a U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. service members.[6]
• Hezbollah’s abduction and torture in Lebanon throughout the 1980s of U.S. citizens working in Beirut, including two journalists,[7] a priest,[8] and three administrators of educational institutions.[9]
• The April 1995 and February 1996 murders of five U.S. citizens in two terrorist bombings of Israeli buses. Judge Royce Lamberth, the U.S. District Court judge who decided these cases, found Khamenei personally responsible.[10]
• The June 1996 killing of 19 U.S. servicemen by a truck bombing at Khobar Towers, a residence on a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia. Judge Lamberth singled out Khamenei for responsibility, stating that the attack was “approved by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time.”[11]
• The July 1997 Hamas bombing of an outdoor market in Jerusalem that killed a U.S. citizen. Judge Lamberth found the Iranian government, its Ministry of Information and Security, and Khamenei himself liable for the killing.[12]
• The August 1998 truck bombings that destroyed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 300 and wounding over 5,000.[13]
• The October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which resulted in the deaths of 17 American sailors.[14
• The September 11, 2001 attacks that killed some 3,000 people. In December 2011, a U.S. District Court found the Iranian government and Khamenei himself among those responsible.[15] The court’s lengthy opinion included extensive evidence that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had provided “funding and/or training for terrorism operations targeting American citizens, including support for Hizballah and al Qaeda” and evidence that IRGC activities were controlled by Khamenei. The opinion also quoted from the 9/11 Commission report that “Iran furnished material and direct support” for travel for at least eight of the hijackers. The Iranian government, Khamenei, and the other defendants have thus far been ordered to pay over $16 billion in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims.[16]

When the U.S. government negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, it left Iranian terrorism off the table. Iran was required neither to halt its state sponsorship of terrorism nor to compensate victims. This is in contrast to the successful U.S. effort to pressure Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddafi to verifiably dismantle his nuclear program, halt sponsorship of terrorism, and compensate families of victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing and other acts of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism. As a result, Libya paid some $4 billion to U.S. victims of those attacks.

Notwithstanding U.S. officials’ hopes that last summer’s nuclear deal would moderate Iranian behavior, Iran has continued its state sponsorship of terrorism, and the nearly $2 billion was extracted from it over its objections. The good news is that the April 20 Supreme Court verdict will, when implemented, increase from less than $100 million to some $2 billion the total compensation paid from Iranian funds to U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism.

However, U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. The Supreme Court verdict is thus an important, but unfortunately only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism and deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future. Justice – and deterrence – will only be achieved when Iran has agreed or been forced to pay to its U.S. terrorism victims a far higher percentage of the U.S. court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials.

Over the decades, tension has persisted regarding these judgments between Congress (which has passed laws facilitating them), the federal judiciary (which has repeatedly found Iran liable), and U.S. administrations of both parties (which typically see these lawsuits as depriving them of control over aspects of foreign policy). Rather than seeing these judgments as a nuisance, the U.S. executive branch ought to start treating them as an opportunity to achieve justice, as well as the foreign policy objective of countering Iranian state sponsorship of terrorism.

Recent developments provide an opportunity. In implementing the nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. has lifted nuclear-related secondary sanctions that deter European and other foreign companies from doing business with Tehran. As a result, Iranian government assets will be flooding into Europe and other foreign destinations. Meanwhile, most U.S. companies continue to be prohibited from doing business with Iran as a result of remaining primary sanctions for its state sponsorship of terrorism and other illicit activities.

American victims are already working to seize Iranian assets in foreign countries. The U.S. government should maximize their ability to do so. This should include taking appropriate steps to ensure that allied governments’ courts do not inappropriately discriminate against U.S. federal court judgments against state sponsors of terrorism. U.S. pressure on Iranian assets overseas can contribute significantly to pushing Iran to settle with victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.

The lawsuits filed against Iran by such victims are an example of lawfare, the use of law to achieve national security objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms. Law is becoming an increasingly powerful and prevalent weapon of war. This is driven by the increased number and reach of international laws and tribunals, the information technology revolution, and the advance of globalization – which has vastly increased governments’ leverage over other countries and their companies by intensifying global economic interdependence.

When lawyers waging lawfare seize assets from state sponsors of terrorism, or otherwise achieve U.S. objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms, they do so less expensively and without incurring casualties. Lawfare is thus a weapon eminently suitable for the U.S. public’s aversion to casualties and the current U.S. focus on reducing government spending. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has only sporadically engaged with the concept of lawfare. It has no lawfare strategy or doctrine, and no office or interagency mechanism that systematically develops or coordinates U.S. offensive or defensive lawfare.

The U.S. executive branch ought to emulate and build upon the creativity with which private lawyers have deployed lawfare to win massive U.S. court judgments against Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism. Establishing a U.S. government lawfare strategy and office would be a good start.

- See more at: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/#sthash.AdWDjhoN.dpuf

[Anler]

7 minutes ago, Highmark said:

 

 What say you Anler?

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/

 

Iran Still Owes $53 Billion in Unpaid U.S. Court Judgments to American Victims of Iranian Terrorism

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Orde Kittrie
9th May 2016 - FDD Research Memo

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian government funds must be turned over to injured survivors and families of Americans killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks for which Iran was found liable by U.S. courts. This is an important, but only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism.

Even after the nearly $2 billion is used as compensation, American victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. So long as Iran refuses to settle these little-known but massive judgments, they will continue to cast a shadow over Iranian relations with the United States and over expanding Iranian trade with European and other countries that could seize Iranian assets in implementation of the U.S. court judgments. In contrast, if Iran agrees or is forced to settle these claims, as Libya did with the Pan Am 103 and similar claims against it by U.S. terrorism victims, it will be an important step towards deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future.

Tehran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – including numerous attacks that have killed and injured U.S. citizens. Iran has typically acted through Hezbollah, Hamas, or other terrorist proxies. According to Jennifer Elsea of the Congressional Research Service, U.S. federal courts have, over the last two decades, issued some 92 judgments finding the Iranian government and its officials liable for acts of terrorism that claimed American victims.[1] These judgments have resulted in over $26 billion in compensatory damages and over $30 billion in punitive damages against Iranian government entities and officials.[2] Iran has never willingly paid a penny.

Victims and their families have instead received less than $100 million in compensation from Iranian government assets blocked by the U.S. government.[3] The April 20 Supreme Court judgment – ensuring that nearly $2 billion in Iranian government assets are used to pay U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism – will increase Tehran’s price at least twenty-fold for its history of attacks against Americans.

Still, over $53 billion in U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials remain outstanding.[4] This includes over $1 billion in damages that were awarded against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself. The list of judgments against Iranian government entities and officials, and the cases underlying them, makes for remarkable reading. They include, but are not limited to, U.S. courts having held Iran liable for the following:

• A Hezbollah truck bomb that killed 63 people in April 1983 at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, including 17 Americans.[5]
• A second Hezbollah truck bomb that destroyed a U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. service members.[6]
• Hezbollah’s abduction and torture in Lebanon throughout the 1980s of U.S. citizens working in Beirut, including two journalists,[7] a priest,[8] and three administrators of educational institutions.[9]
• The April 1995 and February 1996 murders of five U.S. citizens in two terrorist bombings of Israeli buses. Judge Royce Lamberth, the U.S. District Court judge who decided these cases, found Khamenei personally responsible.[10]
• The June 1996 killing of 19 U.S. servicemen by a truck bombing at Khobar Towers, a residence on a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia. Judge Lamberth singled out Khamenei for responsibility, stating that the attack was “approved by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time.”[11]
• The July 1997 Hamas bombing of an outdoor market in Jerusalem that killed a U.S. citizen. Judge Lamberth found the Iranian government, its Ministry of Information and Security, and Khamenei himself liable for the killing.[12]
• The August 1998 truck bombings that destroyed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 300 and wounding over 5,000.[13]
• The October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which resulted in the deaths of 17 American sailors.[14
• The September 11, 2001 attacks that killed some 3,000 people. In December 2011, a U.S. District Court found the Iranian government and Khamenei himself among those responsible.[15] The court’s lengthy opinion included extensive evidence that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had provided “funding and/or training for terrorism operations targeting American citizens, including support for Hizballah and al Qaeda” and evidence that IRGC activities were controlled by Khamenei. The opinion also quoted from the 9/11 Commission report that “Iran furnished material and direct support” for travel for at least eight of the hijackers. The Iranian government, Khamenei, and the other defendants have thus far been ordered to pay over $16 billion in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims.[16]

When the U.S. government negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, it left Iranian terrorism off the table. Iran was required neither to halt its state sponsorship of terrorism nor to compensate victims. This is in contrast to the successful U.S. effort to pressure Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddafi to verifiably dismantle his nuclear program, halt sponsorship of terrorism, and compensate families of victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing and other acts of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism. As a result, Libya paid some $4 billion to U.S. victims of those attacks.

Notwithstanding U.S. officials’ hopes that last summer’s nuclear deal would moderate Iranian behavior, Iran has continued its state sponsorship of terrorism, and the nearly $2 billion was extracted from it over its objections. The good news is that the April 20 Supreme Court verdict will, when implemented, increase from less than $100 million to some $2 billion the total compensation paid from Iranian funds to U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism.

However, U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. The Supreme Court verdict is thus an important, but unfortunately only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism and deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future. Justice – and deterrence – will only be achieved when Iran has agreed or been forced to pay to its U.S. terrorism victims a far higher percentage of the U.S. court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials.

Over the decades, tension has persisted regarding these judgments between Congress (which has passed laws facilitating them), the federal judiciary (which has repeatedly found Iran liable), and U.S. administrations of both parties (which typically see these lawsuits as depriving them of control over aspects of foreign policy). Rather than seeing these judgments as a nuisance, the U.S. executive branch ought to start treating them as an opportunity to achieve justice, as well as the foreign policy objective of countering Iranian state sponsorship of terrorism.

Recent developments provide an opportunity. In implementing the nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. has lifted nuclear-related secondary sanctions that deter European and other foreign companies from doing business with Tehran. As a result, Iranian government assets will be flooding into Europe and other foreign destinations. Meanwhile, most U.S. companies continue to be prohibited from doing business with Iran as a result of remaining primary sanctions for its state sponsorship of terrorism and other illicit activities.

American victims are already working to seize Iranian assets in foreign countries. The U.S. government should maximize their ability to do so. This should include taking appropriate steps to ensure that allied governments’ courts do not inappropriately discriminate against U.S. federal court judgments against state sponsors of terrorism. U.S. pressure on Iranian assets overseas can contribute significantly to pushing Iran to settle with victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.

The lawsuits filed against Iran by such victims are an example of lawfare, the use of law to achieve national security objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms. Law is becoming an increasingly powerful and prevalent weapon of war. This is driven by the increased number and reach of international laws and tribunals, the information technology revolution, and the advance of globalization – which has vastly increased governments’ leverage over other countries and their companies by intensifying global economic interdependence.

When lawyers waging lawfare seize assets from state sponsors of terrorism, or otherwise achieve U.S. objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms, they do so less expensively and without incurring casualties. Lawfare is thus a weapon eminently suitable for the U.S. public’s aversion to casualties and the current U.S. focus on reducing government spending. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has only sporadically engaged with the concept of lawfare. It has no lawfare strategy or doctrine, and no office or interagency mechanism that systematically develops or coordinates U.S. offensive or defensive lawfare.

The U.S. executive branch ought to emulate and build upon the creativity with which private lawyers have deployed lawfare to win massive U.S. court judgments against Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism. Establishing a U.S. government lawfare strategy and office would be a good start.

- See more at: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/#sthash.AdWDjhoN.dpuf

I didnt know the US Supreme Court had jurisdiction over Iran...

[Highmark]

2 minutes ago, Anler said:

I didnt know the US Supreme Court had jurisdiction over Iran...

Can you show me where an international court ruled we were to return money to Iran?  

[Capt.Storm]

15 minutes ago, Anler said:

I didnt know the US Supreme Court had jurisdiction over Iran...

fuck iran and all those mid east low life mother fuckers.

[Anler]

1 hour ago, Highmark said:

Can you show me where an international court ruled we were to return money to Iran?  

Why would they need a court to let them have their OWN money?

[Anler]

1 hour ago, Capt.Storm said:

fuck iran and all those mid east low life mother fuckers.

what has iran done to you?

[Capt.Storm]

Just now, Anler said:

what has iran done to you?

those people are fawked in the head.

[Anler]

1 minute ago, Capt.Storm said:

those people are fawked in the head.

Have you ever been there?

[Capt.Storm]

Just now, Anler said:

Have you ever been there?

don't have to go there..fuck the whole mid-east..and n.korea....and china..fuck them all..build walls with trump bich!

[Anler]

Just now, Capt.Storm said:

don't have to go there..fuck the whole mid-east..and n.korea....and china..fuck them all..build walls with trump bich!

So you are just talking out your ass as usual. Got it... :thumbsup:

[Capt.Storm]

Just now, Anler said:

So you are just talking out your ass as usual. Got it... :thumbsup:

suck a dick you faggot!

[Anler]

Just now, Capt.Storm said:

suck a dick you faggot!

I just love your informed perspective on everything is all...

[Capt.Storm]

Just now, Anler said:

I just love your informed perspective on everything is all...

i know you do!

fuck all those muslims and their sick ass religion also!

[Capt.Storm]

what a bunch of pussies the US s putting out..fawking pussies.

[Anler]

1 minute ago, Capt.Storm said:

i know you do!

fuck all those muslims and their sick ass religion also!

What are you going to do when they move to your town and declare sharia law and start chopping off heads and shit?

[Capt.Storm]

3 minutes ago, Anler said:

What are you going to do when they move to your town and declare sharia law and start chopping off heads and shit?

ain't going to happen here..we have good ole boys yet with pick-em-up trucks and a bunch of tough ass mexicans!

were going to put the niggers on the front line though.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Capt.Storm

[Anler]

1 minute ago, Capt.Storm said:

ain't going to happen here..we have good ole boys yet with pick-em-up trucks and a bunch of tough ass mexicans!

were going to put the niggers on the front line though.

Nah, youre all lazy. You aint gonna do shit. Ill be watching them chop your head off on Fox news. And Ill be laughing...

[Capt.Storm]

1 minute ago, Anler said:

Nah, youre all lazy. You aint gonna do shit. Ill be watching them chop your head off on Fox news. And Ill be laughing...

don't underestimate me nigger!

now go fuck a goat!

Edited September 9, 2016 by Capt.Storm

[Anler]

1 hour ago, Highmark said:

 

 What say you Anler?

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/

 

Iran Still Owes $53 Billion in Unpaid U.S. Court Judgments to American Victims of Iranian Terrorism

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Orde Kittrie
9th May 2016 - FDD Research Memo

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian government funds must be turned over to injured survivors and families of Americans killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks for which Iran was found liable by U.S. courts. This is an important, but only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism.

Even after the nearly $2 billion is used as compensation, American victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. So long as Iran refuses to settle these little-known but massive judgments, they will continue to cast a shadow over Iranian relations with the United States and over expanding Iranian trade with European and other countries that could seize Iranian assets in implementation of the U.S. court judgments. In contrast, if Iran agrees or is forced to settle these claims, as Libya did with the Pan Am 103 and similar claims against it by U.S. terrorism victims, it will be an important step towards deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future.

Tehran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – including numerous attacks that have killed and injured U.S. citizens. Iran has typically acted through Hezbollah, Hamas, or other terrorist proxies. According to Jennifer Elsea of the Congressional Research Service, U.S. federal courts have, over the last two decades, issued some 92 judgments finding the Iranian government and its officials liable for acts of terrorism that claimed American victims.[1] These judgments have resulted in over $26 billion in compensatory damages and over $30 billion in punitive damages against Iranian government entities and officials.[2] Iran has never willingly paid a penny.

Victims and their families have instead received less than $100 million in compensation from Iranian government assets blocked by the U.S. government.[3] The April 20 Supreme Court judgment – ensuring that nearly $2 billion in Iranian government assets are used to pay U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism – will increase Tehran’s price at least twenty-fold for its history of attacks against Americans.

Still, over $53 billion in U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials remain outstanding.[4] This includes over $1 billion in damages that were awarded against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself. The list of judgments against Iranian government entities and officials, and the cases underlying them, makes for remarkable reading. They include, but are not limited to, U.S. courts having held Iran liable for the following:

• A Hezbollah truck bomb that killed 63 people in April 1983 at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, including 17 Americans.[5]
• A second Hezbollah truck bomb that destroyed a U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. service members.[6]
• Hezbollah’s abduction and torture in Lebanon throughout the 1980s of U.S. citizens working in Beirut, including two journalists,[7] a priest,[8] and three administrators of educational institutions.[9]
• The April 1995 and February 1996 murders of five U.S. citizens in two terrorist bombings of Israeli buses. Judge Royce Lamberth, the U.S. District Court judge who decided these cases, found Khamenei personally responsible.[10]
• The June 1996 killing of 19 U.S. servicemen by a truck bombing at Khobar Towers, a residence on a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia. Judge Lamberth singled out Khamenei for responsibility, stating that the attack was “approved by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time.”[11]
• The July 1997 Hamas bombing of an outdoor market in Jerusalem that killed a U.S. citizen. Judge Lamberth found the Iranian government, its Ministry of Information and Security, and Khamenei himself liable for the killing.[12]
• The August 1998 truck bombings that destroyed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 300 and wounding over 5,000.[13]
• The October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which resulted in the deaths of 17 American sailors.[14
• The September 11, 2001 attacks that killed some 3,000 people. In December 2011, a U.S. District Court found the Iranian government and Khamenei himself among those responsible.[15] The court’s lengthy opinion included extensive evidence that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had provided “funding and/or training for terrorism operations targeting American citizens, including support for Hizballah and al Qaeda” and evidence that IRGC activities were controlled by Khamenei. The opinion also quoted from the 9/11 Commission report that “Iran furnished material and direct support” for travel for at least eight of the hijackers. The Iranian government, Khamenei, and the other defendants have thus far been ordered to pay over $16 billion in compensatory and punitive damages to the victims.[16]

When the U.S. government negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, it left Iranian terrorism off the table. Iran was required neither to halt its state sponsorship of terrorism nor to compensate victims. This is in contrast to the successful U.S. effort to pressure Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddafi to verifiably dismantle his nuclear program, halt sponsorship of terrorism, and compensate families of victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing and other acts of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism. As a result, Libya paid some $4 billion to U.S. victims of those attacks.

Notwithstanding U.S. officials’ hopes that last summer’s nuclear deal would moderate Iranian behavior, Iran has continued its state sponsorship of terrorism, and the nearly $2 billion was extracted from it over its objections. The good news is that the April 20 Supreme Court verdict will, when implemented, increase from less than $100 million to some $2 billion the total compensation paid from Iranian funds to U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism.

However, U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism will still hold some $53 billion in outstanding U.S. federal court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials. The Supreme Court verdict is thus an important, but unfortunately only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism and deterring similar Iranian-sponsored atrocities in the future. Justice – and deterrence – will only be achieved when Iran has agreed or been forced to pay to its U.S. terrorism victims a far higher percentage of the U.S. court judgments against Iranian government entities and officials.

Over the decades, tension has persisted regarding these judgments between Congress (which has passed laws facilitating them), the federal judiciary (which has repeatedly found Iran liable), and U.S. administrations of both parties (which typically see these lawsuits as depriving them of control over aspects of foreign policy). Rather than seeing these judgments as a nuisance, the U.S. executive branch ought to start treating them as an opportunity to achieve justice, as well as the foreign policy objective of countering Iranian state sponsorship of terrorism.

Recent developments provide an opportunity. In implementing the nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. has lifted nuclear-related secondary sanctions that deter European and other foreign companies from doing business with Tehran. As a result, Iranian government assets will be flooding into Europe and other foreign destinations. Meanwhile, most U.S. companies continue to be prohibited from doing business with Iran as a result of remaining primary sanctions for its state sponsorship of terrorism and other illicit activities.

American victims are already working to seize Iranian assets in foreign countries. The U.S. government should maximize their ability to do so. This should include taking appropriate steps to ensure that allied governments’ courts do not inappropriately discriminate against U.S. federal court judgments against state sponsors of terrorism. U.S. pressure on Iranian assets overseas can contribute significantly to pushing Iran to settle with victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.

The lawsuits filed against Iran by such victims are an example of lawfare, the use of law to achieve national security objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms. Law is becoming an increasingly powerful and prevalent weapon of war. This is driven by the increased number and reach of international laws and tribunals, the information technology revolution, and the advance of globalization – which has vastly increased governments’ leverage over other countries and their companies by intensifying global economic interdependence.

When lawyers waging lawfare seize assets from state sponsors of terrorism, or otherwise achieve U.S. objectives traditionally achieved by force of arms, they do so less expensively and without incurring casualties. Lawfare is thus a weapon eminently suitable for the U.S. public’s aversion to casualties and the current U.S. focus on reducing government spending. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has only sporadically engaged with the concept of lawfare. It has no lawfare strategy or doctrine, and no office or interagency mechanism that systematically develops or coordinates U.S. offensive or defensive lawfare.

The U.S. executive branch ought to emulate and build upon the creativity with which private lawyers have deployed lawfare to win massive U.S. court judgments against Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism. Establishing a U.S. government lawfare strategy and office would be a good start.

- See more at: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/orde-kittrie-after-supreme-court-decision-iran-still-owes-53-billion-in-unpaid-us-cour/#sthash.AdWDjhoN.dpuf

Here are the things that baffle me about our condemnation of Iran. When we talk about these acts of terror, it isnt in fact the Iranian military doing this. It is Hezbollah or Hamas. So it seems whenever one of these groups is involved in something, Iran is automatically associated.

However, when the US is involved we take no responsibility. Like in Iran Contra or the creation of Sadaam Hussein, or the creation of Bin Laden. Or supporting or funding/training terror groups like AL QUIEDA to overthrow govt leaders.

Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government)

• China 1949 to early 1960s
• Albania 1949-53
• East Germany 1950s
• Iran 1953 *
• Guatemala 1954 *
• Costa Rica mid-1950s
• Syria 1956-7
• Egypt 1957
• Indonesia 1957-8
• British Guiana 1953-64 *
• Iraq 1963 *
• North Vietnam 1945-73
• Cambodia 1955-70 *
• Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 *
• Ecuador 1960-63 *
• Congo 1960 *
• France 1965
• Brazil 1962-64 *
• Dominican Republic 1963 *
• Cuba 1959 to present
• Bolivia 1964 *
• Indonesia 1965 *
• Ghana 1966 *
• Chile 1964-73 *
• Greece 1967 *
• Costa Rica 1970-71
• Bolivia 1971 *
• Australia 1973-75 *
• Angola 1975, 1980s
• Zaire 1975
• Portugal 1974-76 *
• Jamaica 1976-80 *
• Seychelles 1979-81
• Chad 1981-82 *
• Grenada 1983 *
• South Yemen 1982-84
• Suriname 1982-84
• Fiji 1987 *
• Libya 1980s
• Nicaragua 1981-90 *
• Panama 1989 *
• Bulgaria 1990 *
• Albania 1991 *
• Iraq 1991
• Afghanistan 1980s *
• Somalia 1993
• Yugoslavia 1999-2000 *
• Ecuador 2000 *
• Afghanistan 2001 *
• Venezuela 2002 *
• Iraq 2003 *
• Haiti 2004 *
• Somalia 2007 to present
• Honduras 2009
• Libya 2011 *
• Syria 2012
• Ukraine 2014 *

[Capt.Storm]

all fawked up countries..2nd world chit for the most part....religious crap also!

[Anler]

18 minutes ago, Capt.Storm said:

don't underestimate me nigger!

now go fuck a goat!

You couldnt bust a grape...

[Capt.Storm]

Just now, Anler said:

You couldnt bust a grape...

Go suck a muslim dick you fawking do-gooder!

[Highmark]

On 9/9/2016 at 0:14 PM, Anler said:

Here are the things that baffle me about our condemnation of Iran. When we talk about these acts of terror, it isnt in fact the Iranian military doing this. It is Hezbollah or Hamas. So it seems whenever one of these groups is involved in something, Iran is automatically associated.

However, when the US is involved we take no responsibility. Like in Iran Contra or the creation of Sadaam Hussein, or the creation of Bin Laden. Or supporting or funding/training terror groups like AL QUIEDA to overthrow govt leaders.

Instances of the United States overthrowing, or attempting to overthrow, a foreign government since the Second World War. (* indicates successful ouster of a government)

• China 1949 to early 1960s
• Albania 1949-53
• East Germany 1950s
• Iran 1953 *
• Guatemala 1954 *
• Costa Rica mid-1950s
• Syria 1956-7
• Egypt 1957
• Indonesia 1957-8
• British Guiana 1953-64 *
• Iraq 1963 *
• North Vietnam 1945-73
• Cambodia 1955-70 *
• Laos 1958 *, 1959 *, 1960 *
• Ecuador 1960-63 *
• Congo 1960 *
• France 1965
• Brazil 1962-64 *
• Dominican Republic 1963 *
• Cuba 1959 to present
• Bolivia 1964 *
• Indonesia 1965 *
• Ghana 1966 *
• Chile 1964-73 *
• Greece 1967 *
• Costa Rica 1970-71
• Bolivia 1971 *
• Australia 1973-75 *
• Angola 1975, 1980s
• Zaire 1975
• Portugal 1974-76 *
• Jamaica 1976-80 *
• Seychelles 1979-81
• Chad 1981-82 *
• Grenada 1983 *
• South Yemen 1982-84
• Suriname 1982-84
• Fiji 1987 *
• Libya 1980s
• Nicaragua 1981-90 *
• Panama 1989 *
• Bulgaria 1990 *
• Albania 1991 *
• Iraq 1991
• Afghanistan 1980s *
• Somalia 1993
• Yugoslavia 1999-2000 *
• Ecuador 2000 *
• Afghanistan 2001 *
• Venezuela 2002 *
• Iraq 2003 *
• Haiti 2004 *
• Somalia 2007 to present
• Honduras 2009
• Libya 2011 *
• Syria 2012
• Ukraine 2014 *

Evan the Obama admin's own state department admitted Iran's sponsorship of terrorism.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_state-sponsored_terrorism

State Department Report[edit]

In July 2012, the United States State Department released a report on terrorism around the world in 2011. The report states that "Iran remained an active state sponsor of terrorism in 2011 and increased its terrorist-related activity" and that "Iran also continued to provide financial, material, and logistical support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia." The report states that Iran has continued to provide "lethal support, including weapons, training, funding, and guidance, to Iraqi Shia militant groups targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces, as well as civilians," despite pledging to support the stabilization of Iraq, and that the Qods Force provided training to the Taliban in Afghanistan on "small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery, and rockets." The report further states that Iran has provided weapons and training to the Assad regime in Syria which has launched a brutal crackdown on Syrian rebels, as well as providing weapons, training, and funding to Hamas,Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, among others, and has assisted in rearming Hizballah. The report states as well that Iran has remained unwilling to bring to justice senior members of Al Qaeda that it continued to detain, and also refused to publicly identify these senior members, as well as that Iran has allowed Al Qaeda members to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iranian territory, which has enabled Al Qaeda to carry funds and move facilitators and operatives to South Asia and elsewhere.^[9][10][11]

 

Iraq insurgency[edit]

Iranian proxies killed an estimated 1,100 US troops in Iraq.^[38] In addition, insurgents supported by Iran reportedly committed acts of terrorism.^[37][39][40] The United States State Department states that weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran's allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army.^[41]

During his address to the United States Congress on September 11, 2007, Commanding officer for the United States forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus noted that the multinational forces in Iraq have found that Iran's Quds force has provided training, equipment, funding, and direction to terrorists. “When we captured the leaders of these so-called special groups … and the deputy commander of a Lebanese Hezbollah department that was created to support their efforts in Iraq, we’ve learned a great deal about how Iran has, in fact, supported these elements and how those elements have carried out violent acts against our forces, Iraqi forces and innocent civilians.”^[39]

Dexter Filkins has described the extensive involvement of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani in arming and training both Sunni and Shi'ite militias in Iraq. According to a Western diplomat quoted by Filkins: "Suleimani wanted to bleed the Americans, so he invited in the jihadis, and things got out of control."^[37]

http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2014/239410.htm

2014 Govt Report

IRAN

Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2014, including support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, Lebanese Hizballah, and various groups in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. This year, Iran increased its assistance to Iraqi Shia militias, one of which is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), in response to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) incursion into Iraq, and has continued to support other militia groups in the region. Iran also attempted to smuggle weapons to Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza. While its main effort focused on supporting goals in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iran and its proxies also continued subtle efforts at growing influence elsewhere including in Africa, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to implement foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence operations, and create instability in the Middle East. The IRGC-QF is the regime’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad.

Iran views Syria as a crucial causeway in its weapons supply route to Lebanese Hizballah, its primary beneficiary, and as a key pillar in its “resistance” front. In 2014, Iran continued to provide arms, financing, training, and the facilitation of primarily Iraqi Shia and Afghan fighters to support the Asad regime’s brutal crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 191,000 people in Syria, according to August UN estimates. Iran publicly admits to sending members of the IRGC to Syria in an advisory role. There is consistent media reporting that some of these troops are IRGC-QF members and that they have taken part in direct combat operations. While Tehran has denied that IRGC-QF personnel participate in combat operations, in 2014 it acknowledged the deaths in Syria of two senior officers (Brigadier Generals Abdullah Eskandari and Jamar Dariswali). Tehran claimed they were volunteers who lost their lives while protecting holy shrines near Damascus.

Likewise in Iraq, despite its pledge to support Iraq’s stabilization, Iran increased training and funding to Iraqi Shia militia groups in response to ISIL’s advance into Iraq. Many of these groups, such as Kata’ib Hizballah (KH), have exacerbated sectarian tensions in Iraq and have committed serious human rights abuses against primarily Sunni civilians. The IRGC-QF, in concert with Lebanese Hizballah, provided training outside of Iraq as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in the construction and use of sophisticated improvised explosive device (IED) technology and other advanced weaponry. Similar to Hizballah fighters, many of these trained Shia militants have used these skills to fight for the Asad regime in Syria or against ISIL in Iraq.

Iran has historically provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). These Palestinian terrorist groups have been behind a number of deaths from attacks originating in Gaza and the West Bank. Although Hamas’s ties to Tehran have been strained due to the Syrian civil war, in a November 25 speech, Supreme Leader Khamenei highlighted Iran’s military support to “Palestinian brothers” in Gaza and called for the West Bank to be similarly armed. In December, Hamas Deputy Leader Moussa Abu Marzouk announced bilateral relations with Iran and Hamas were “back on track.”

In March, Israeli naval forces boarded the Klos C cargo ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Sudan. On board, they found 40 M-302 rockets, 180 mortars, and approximately 400,000 rounds of ammunition hidden within crates of cement labeled “Made in Iran” and believed to be destined to militants in the region.

Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has also assisted in rearming Lebanese Hizballah, in direct violation of UNSCR 1701. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC Aerospace Force stated in November that "The IRGC and Hezbollah are a single apparatus jointed together," and Lebanese Hizballah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem boasted that Iran had provided his organization with missiles that had “pinpoint accuracy” in separate November public remarks. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Lebanese Hizballah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of its fighters at camps in Iran. These trained fighters have used these skills in direct support of the Asad regime in Syria and, to a lesser extent, in support of operations against ISIL in Iraq. They have also continued to carry out attacks along the Lebanese border with Israel.

Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) members it continued to detain, and refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran previously allowed AQ facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria.

Iran remains a state of proliferation concern. Despite multiple UNSCRs requiring Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear proliferation activities, Iran continued to be in noncompliance with its international obligations regarding its nuclear program. Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) between the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, coordinated by the EU), and Iran began on January 20, 2014. Iran has fulfilled the commitments that it made under the JPOA. The parties negotiated during 2014 to pursue a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to achieve a long-term comprehensive solution to restore confidence that Iran’s nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Highmark

[Elkhorn]

Wtf is wrong with these people??

[Anler]

2 hours ago, Highmark said:

Evan the Obama admin's own state department admitted Iran's sponsorship of terrorism.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_and_state-sponsored_terrorism

State Department Report[edit]

In July 2012, the United States State Department released a report on terrorism around the world in 2011. The report states that "Iran remained an active state sponsor of terrorism in 2011 and increased its terrorist-related activity" and that "Iran also continued to provide financial, material, and logistical support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia." The report states that Iran has continued to provide "lethal support, including weapons, training, funding, and guidance, to Iraqi Shia militant groups targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces, as well as civilians," despite pledging to support the stabilization of Iraq, and that the Qods Force provided training to the Taliban in Afghanistan on "small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery, and rockets." The report further states that Iran has provided weapons and training to the Assad regime in Syria which has launched a brutal crackdown on Syrian rebels, as well as providing weapons, training, and funding to Hamas,Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, among others, and has assisted in rearming Hizballah. The report states as well that Iran has remained unwilling to bring to justice senior members of Al Qaeda that it continued to detain, and also refused to publicly identify these senior members, as well as that Iran has allowed Al Qaeda members to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iranian territory, which has enabled Al Qaeda to carry funds and move facilitators and operatives to South Asia and elsewhere.^[9][10][11]

 

Iraq insurgency[edit]

Iranian proxies killed an estimated 1,100 US troops in Iraq.^[38] In addition, insurgents supported by Iran reportedly committed acts of terrorism.^[37][39][40] The United States State Department states that weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran's allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army.^[41]

During his address to the United States Congress on September 11, 2007, Commanding officer for the United States forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus noted that the multinational forces in Iraq have found that Iran's Quds force has provided training, equipment, funding, and direction to terrorists. “When we captured the leaders of these so-called special groups … and the deputy commander of a Lebanese Hezbollah department that was created to support their efforts in Iraq, we’ve learned a great deal about how Iran has, in fact, supported these elements and how those elements have carried out violent acts against our forces, Iraqi forces and innocent civilians.”^[39]

Dexter Filkins has described the extensive involvement of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani in arming and training both Sunni and Shi'ite militias in Iraq. According to a Western diplomat quoted by Filkins: "Suleimani wanted to bleed the Americans, so he invited in the jihadis, and things got out of control."^[37]

http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2014/239410.htm

2014 Govt Report

IRAN

Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2014, including support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, Lebanese Hizballah, and various groups in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. This year, Iran increased its assistance to Iraqi Shia militias, one of which is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), in response to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) incursion into Iraq, and has continued to support other militia groups in the region. Iran also attempted to smuggle weapons to Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza. While its main effort focused on supporting goals in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iran and its proxies also continued subtle efforts at growing influence elsewhere including in Africa, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to implement foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence operations, and create instability in the Middle East. The IRGC-QF is the regime’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad.

Iran views Syria as a crucial causeway in its weapons supply route to Lebanese Hizballah, its primary beneficiary, and as a key pillar in its “resistance” front. In 2014, Iran continued to provide arms, financing, training, and the facilitation of primarily Iraqi Shia and Afghan fighters to support the Asad regime’s brutal crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 191,000 people in Syria, according to August UN estimates. Iran publicly admits to sending members of the IRGC to Syria in an advisory role. There is consistent media reporting that some of these troops are IRGC-QF members and that they have taken part in direct combat operations. While Tehran has denied that IRGC-QF personnel participate in combat operations, in 2014 it acknowledged the deaths in Syria of two senior officers (Brigadier Generals Abdullah Eskandari and Jamar Dariswali). Tehran claimed they were volunteers who lost their lives while protecting holy shrines near Damascus.

Likewise in Iraq, despite its pledge to support Iraq’s stabilization, Iran increased training and funding to Iraqi Shia militia groups in response to ISIL’s advance into Iraq. Many of these groups, such as Kata’ib Hizballah (KH), have exacerbated sectarian tensions in Iraq and have committed serious human rights abuses against primarily Sunni civilians. The IRGC-QF, in concert with Lebanese Hizballah, provided training outside of Iraq as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in the construction and use of sophisticated improvised explosive device (IED) technology and other advanced weaponry. Similar to Hizballah fighters, many of these trained Shia militants have used these skills to fight for the Asad regime in Syria or against ISIL in Iraq.

Iran has historically provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). These Palestinian terrorist groups have been behind a number of deaths from attacks originating in Gaza and the West Bank. Although Hamas’s ties to Tehran have been strained due to the Syrian civil war, in a November 25 speech, Supreme Leader Khamenei highlighted Iran’s military support to “Palestinian brothers” in Gaza and called for the West Bank to be similarly armed. In December, Hamas Deputy Leader Moussa Abu Marzouk announced bilateral relations with Iran and Hamas were “back on track.”

In March, Israeli naval forces boarded the Klos C cargo ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Sudan. On board, they found 40 M-302 rockets, 180 mortars, and approximately 400,000 rounds of ammunition hidden within crates of cement labeled “Made in Iran” and believed to be destined to militants in the region.

Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has also assisted in rearming Lebanese Hizballah, in direct violation of UNSCR 1701. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC Aerospace Force stated in November that "The IRGC and Hezbollah are a single apparatus jointed together," and Lebanese Hizballah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem boasted that Iran had provided his organization with missiles that had “pinpoint accuracy” in separate November public remarks. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Lebanese Hizballah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of its fighters at camps in Iran. These trained fighters have used these skills in direct support of the Asad regime in Syria and, to a lesser extent, in support of operations against ISIL in Iraq. They have also continued to carry out attacks along the Lebanese border with Israel.

Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) members it continued to detain, and refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran previously allowed AQ facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria.

Iran remains a state of proliferation concern. Despite multiple UNSCRs requiring Iran to suspend its sensitive nuclear proliferation activities, Iran continued to be in noncompliance with its international obligations regarding its nuclear program. Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) between the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, coordinated by the EU), and Iran began on January 20, 2014. Iran has fulfilled the commitments that it made under the JPOA. The parties negotiated during 2014 to pursue a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to achieve a long-term comprehensive solution to restore confidence that Iran’s nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful.

Of course they did. our govt has been trying to get iran under the control of the International Banking Cabal since the 50's. Dont forget it was Obama who stepped up military aid and training to Syria resistors (ISIS) and left over $1 Billion in military hardware laying around Iraq for ISIS to roll in a take. I have said before that I think the deal with Iran was to get them on the petro dollar and to buy US treasury notes since China and Russia were selling theirs off. There are not too many countries in the world that can pick up that kind of debt. A little change in strategy in dealing with Iran. But make no mistake we will intervene militarily before its all over.