Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah- BREAKING Iran released WP journalist and three others

[malaise]

in prison release swap.


Fuck you Neo-Cons!!! Big win Obama and Kerry!!!

[RKP5637]

1. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[underpants]

2. Wait for it...here comes the whining about who we exchanged for them

As posted elsewhere. Blast you PEACE! I thought we were about to get our bomb on

[malaise]

4. Diplomacy is very bad for war profits - GObama!

You betcha!!!

[tblue37]

72. FYI, typo in your subject line. nt

[malaise]

81. Thanks

[tblue37]

86. I often post in a rush and then cringe when I see my typos later, so

I try to give people a heads-up when I can.

[malaise]

87. And then I say

If my mother or my students saw that

[spooky3]

91. Yep-heard the whining on the radio about an hour ago. Terra Terra Terra!

[TrollBuster9090]

114. Fox Headline: Weak Obama Swaps Four Americans For Bin Laden, Saddam, Assad, and Hitler.

Poor bastards at Fox News just got finished revising the talking points over the Navy guys deliberately cutting across Iran's territorial waters; and now THIS!?

I'm pretty sure Charles Krauthammer, George Will, and Steve Hayes will call in sick on Monday. There's only so much good news the whiney plutocrat shills at Fox can take.

[meow2u3]

119. Don't give those neocon assholes any ideas

They just might use them.

[spanone]

3. K&R...

[malaise]

6. Cuba and Iran

No wonder the Cons and THUGs are pissed.
Today is the day sanctions are lifted.

[spanone]

8. yep.....they hate progress in the pursuit of peace

[KingCharlemagne]

5. "The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make

him a friend."

~Abraham Lincoln

[ejbr]

16. +1 n/t

[Fantastic Anarchist]

52. Great quote.

[jonno99]

77. +1! nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. To me, this underscores the fecklessness of the argument ...

that "the American people has an absolute right to transparency of government action".

Does anyone doubt that this would have occurred, with diplomatic transparency?

[Skidmore]

40. I so agree with you.

Sometimes issues need to be negotiated behind closed doors and this was one of those times.

[1StrongBlackMan]

48. Most (all) things of consequence must be negotiated behind closed doors ...

or they wouldn't have arisen in the first place.

[Roy Rolling]

63. Yes

Being able to save face publicically, even if privately compromises are made, is the most important element of a successful negotiation. Only fools seek to humiliate a negotiating component.

Neocons mistakenly equate exploiting opponents with compromise, and fear for respect.

[blackspade]

46. There is a huge difference between negotiations of this sort....

And things like the TPP.
But in this case you are right on the mark.
Obama and Kerry have been terrific in their dealings with Iran.

[1StrongBlackMan]

50. No ... there is no difference ...

beyond one's own position on the topic of negotiations and/or one's agreement with the outcome.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

54. Yes, there is a difference.

One is done discreetly for the benefit of human life, or in some cases, for the needs of the many.

The other is done secretly for the profits of the few, while being injurious to the many.

I can live with and support the former, while abhorring the latter.

[1StrongBlackMan]

57. Like I said ...

Most (all) things of consequence must be negotiated behind closed doors. One's support or opposition of the negotiation is based, solely, in one's support or opposition to the topic of the negotiation, and/or the outcome.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

61. It's not that cut and dry ...

But if you want to be an absolutist, you're absolutely allowed to have your opinion.

[YvonneCa]

65. We have a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. We choose leaders...

...to serve our democracy in our stead. Sometimes...whenever possible...we should have transparent government. But there are events/situations where that is detrimental to success of our policy. International diplomacy is one of those situations.

Usually that means transparency is delayed, not forsaken. And IF we elect competent, intelligent, honest representatives of integrity...like President Obama and Secretary Kerry...the job gets done well and transparency eventually happens. We citizens have a huge responsibility to do that.

Very proud of our representatives today!

[1StrongBlackMan]

70. I completely agree ...

though, I was speaking to the what I've seen on DU, and other forums, whether the issue is diplomacy, military strategy, or national security.

[YvonneCa]

76. I think we agree. I know there is a case some make that...

...everything should be transparent. I agree that should be the goal. I'm just okay with it not always being instant, because that may not be productive. I think we elect our representatives and then have to give them space...within the law, of course...to do their job.
The problem we have with not trusting them to do that and demanding micromanagement through transparency would lessen if we citizens took OUR job as citizens more seriously and made sure we elected leaders with integrity. JMHO.

[1StrongBlackMan]

80. +1 ... Exactly ...

agree that should be the goal. I'm just okay with it not always being instant, because that may not be productive. I think we elect our representatives and then have to give them space...within the law, of course...to do their job.
The problem we have with not trusting them to do that and demanding micromanagement through transparency would lessen if we citizens took OUR job as citizens more seriously and made sure we elected leaders with integrity. JMHO.

That, and stop imposing on them impossible standards ... recognizing that politics is premised on compromise.

[YvonneCa]

82. Yes. And it remains to be seen...

...if that will happen this November.

[1StrongBlackMan]

83. I remain convinced that the Democratic Party ...

like the British assessment of the United States, can be counted on to do the right thing ... after it has exhausted every unreasonable option!

[YvonneCa]

84. Hope you are right. BTW, here is Kerry at NDU this week...

...in case you missed it:

http://m.state.gov/video/secretary.html

[madokie]

9. Most people living in this world like our President and SoS

only the deluded 'CONs here in America don't. IMO

The thing is no matter how much shit they throw none of it sticks and the reason it doesn't is because it's smelly and no one believes them anymore. To long too much crying wolf to the point that no one is paying attention to them anymore. Good for us for standing our ground and supporting these very capable people who are leading the pack, our pack

[malaise]

14. So will the News Editors now write a joint letter

thanking Obama and Kerry????

[madokie]

18. Probably not

they're mostly owned lock stock and barrel by the very people who has been feeding us garbage for years now.

[malaise]

19. This is so big that Blitzer has taken over the CNN proceedings

Look for some spin.

[madokie]

24. He really is the bottom of the barrel,

is he not.

[Enthusiast]

105. He is the bottom. The wood is showing. Good thing he has Jeopardy to fall back on.

[Skidmore]

43. I'm sure he's vastly disappointed.

Blitzer joneses for war continually. He's a war junkie. I want us to normalize relationships with Iran. I'm glad that the President has been able to pull this forward in a way that will make it hard to go back on.

How are you doing? I don't post much anymore but this news is so exciting.

[malaise]

44. I'm only surprised that he hasn't called Bibi yet

[bigdarryl]

60. Well to be fair even people on the far left don't like this president

They think he's more of a.Republican all you got to do is read DU

[joshcryer]

100. This president is game changing geopolitics.

[Glimmer of Hope]

10. This is great news!!!

[malaise]

13. Which ReTHUG will crawl out first to spew the neo-con psychobabble?

[RandiFan1290]

22. Silence so far

They are waiting for their talking points.

Looks like it takes a while on a Saturday morning

[YvonneCa]

25. Good SNL skit idea. GOP waiting for...

...talking points.

[RandiFan1290]

27. Plugging their ears

Pretending they don't hear the news breaking

Furiously reloading the blaze

[YvonneCa]

30. Love it! That's hilarious! n/t

[malaise]

35. Cruz wins - pure Fundie BS

throws in doubt about what America gave up.
Ah well

[Dont call me Shirley]

11. Fuck the war making zealots.

[malaise]

12. This is huge

Now watch them crawl out to fuck themselves in public - Someone once said 'Obama will fuck you up!!
GObama and Kerry - reminds me of the Washington Correspondents Dinner and Bin Laden take down.

Obama gets another laugh at Trump.

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Peace trumps war, every time. Too bad the war zealots can't see that.

[Green Forest]

15. Kudos to the best Secretary of State in my lifetime. He is working towards peace as is Pres. Obama.

[karynnj]

47. You can say that again - he was key to both the Paris Climate change and to Iran

Both representing years of diligent, serious work.

Did you see his speech the day after the SOTU expanding on Obama's foreign policy comments? http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/01/251177.htm

Watching it, I could not help but remember Kerry ending his 1971 testimony to the SFRC by speaking of hoping that that reaction to Vietnam would be when American foreign policy turns. In addition, to being an incredibly able diplomat, he is a visionary.

Today, reading some of Zarif's comments, the Iran deal might be the beginning of an effort by Islamic nations to reject extremism. This would be a 180% change, but if BOTH Iran and SA would see that the extremism both have used against others is destroying their region, fixing Syria, Yemen and denying ISIS their caliphate could be at least possible.

[malaise]

49. You left out Cuba

[karynnj]

64. That was intentional -- Neither Iran or the climate Change Pact were likely without Kerry

Reestablishing ties with Cube needed an American President with the guts to ignore the right wing anti Castro Cubans and their allies. That was President Obama. Kerry was involved and I think it was Kerry who thought to involve the Pope, but the details were all worked out by others in the administration. Unlike the other two accomplishments, this could have been done with any competent Secretary of State.

It is easy to forget how even a few months before the Iran deal, articles in sources like the Washington Post even used words like delusional and unreasonably optimistic to describe Kerry on the possibility of getting a deal and it suggested that he was wasting too much time on something that would fail. Go back to when he and Zarif, greatly against odds secured the interim agreement -- the coverage was mostly the expectation that the Iranians would violate the agreement and held out little chance for successfully getting a final deal. When the deadline for getting a final deal was both missed and changed to a deadline to get a framework for the final deal, hope was very very low. This changed when a detailed framework was agreed on and it was better than anyone expected ... but, it did not take long for the media to shift back to negativity. Then, Kerry broke his leg ....

On climate change, per many accounts, Kerry wanted that to be a signature issue of his being secretary, but was told by the administration that it was unlikely that they could do much diplomatically. Copenhagen had been pretty much a failure and there seemed no hope of working with the Chinese. On Kerry's first trip to China, he spoke to people he knew from his years attending climate change summits -- and reported back to Obama that the Chinese were open to working with the US. That was the start of the US/China pact, that allowed the Lima conference to be successful and which set the possibilities for Paris.

There was an interesting comment by Ban Ki Moon saying that many people helped -- and he included George W Bush,referring to the fact the approach used had some roots in the Bali conference that happened in 2007, where there had been fear that the US might not participate. They did and were helpful. Having been someone who spent time reading DU JK group then, it brought back things I had not thought of for years. Though it got almost no coverage in the media, at both House and Senate hearings, the Bush team reporting back thanked John Kerry for his help in Bali. In particular, Kerry reached out to China and India. (Here is a link to my response to the Ban Ki Moon article using links from DU2 - http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141297170#post12 - where some of my links to back comments don't work, but they did when I posted it back in 2007!)

I would argue that, like in A WONDERFUL LIFE, if there were no John Kerry, both of these efforts would have failed. Pretty awesome considering one likely avoided another war and the other - if people work hard to make it so - might jumpstart a shift to clean energy.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

116. And you forgot Poland!! Need wood?

[Green Forest]

111. Thank you for the clip. I am a huge admirer of John Kerry. I think he is a visionary, too...

You sound like you're a sharp foreign policy cookie. Your last paragraph is insightful. I hope you are right. If only John Kerry could be SoS for a long time... I would feel in safe policy hands!

[Nye Bevan]

115. Some here criticize him vehemently for voting for the IWR,

but like you, I am still a big Kerry fan.

[RandiFan1290]

118. Aww still had to take a shot at us?

Having a bad day?

Get some bad news?

[YvonneCa]

17. Huge win. HUGE...

...

[malaise]

20. So much so that Blitzer is on CNN

[YvonneCa]

23. And FOX is ignoring the story..

...

[malaise]

26. They have no story because the Iranians

were locked up for violating sanctions - nothing more.

[YvonneCa]

28. Makes coming up with talking points...

...a challenge, doesn't it?

[cynzke]

31. Iran's Leaders are no fools!

Looking at the crazies the GOP has lined up to run for the White House, they must realize the narrow opportunity they have left to establish a diplomatic relationship with the US.

[malaise]

37. Good point

I am convinced that the boat story was not supposed to end the way it did.
Neo-cons have been rebuked all week.

[YvonneCa]

67. Finally. Been waiting for truth for a VERY...

...long time.

[valerief]

29. Who will the neocons want to bomb now??? Poor bombless neocons.

[malaise]

34. Cruz jumps first with the Fundie psychobabble

Blitzer and Smerconowhateverthefuchever are spinning away- Trump won't be far behind.

[grahamhgreen]

90. I think Vermont is their next target ;)

[Stellar]

32. Big Kick!!!

[mountain grammy]

33. Very good news!

Thanks, Obama!

[malaise]

38. The Americans are on their way home as I type

Poor Neo-cons

[Duval]

36. K&R!!!!!

[watoos]

39. Interesting item in the article,

The 4 American prisoners were also Iranian citizens, something that was glossed over by our M$M.

When I had to work out of the country I was reminded that other countries have different laws than the U.S.
If I ended up in jail, well, my company said it increased my life insurance policy for foreign travel and good luck.

[malaise]

41. m4greedia only promotes its agenda

Never expect the truth

Can''t wait for a Kerry and/or Obama press conference

[blackspade]

42. And to think that I was criticized for noting that....

US and Iranian interests may be synergizing.
What a weird world.

[malaise]

45. Clearly you pay attention

[Cary]

51. Engage Iran because it is stable and balance is good...

Who knew?

[spanone]

53. m$nbc has some good old neocons letting us know how we're getting screwed in this deal

[malaise]

55. Who - Jack Jacobs and Jimwhateverthe fuckever??

Expect no less.

I want to hear from Kerry and Obama - and JebusEnoughfuggingBushes of course - maybe Cheneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Where is Tweety?

[spanone]

56. i turned them off...republican 'strategist' and a former bu$hwhacker...

i had no interest in their names...fuck them, they would see night in the sunrise

p.s. it was not the little colonel jacobs or jim miklaszewski, some other tools

[EdwardBernays]

58. more goodwill

from the Iranians as well... good on them.

[Blue_Tires]

59. Epic kick

[Kingofalldems]

62. Republicans/Fox wanted these people dead.

As did their internet pallies.

[navarth]

66. kick!

[MadDAsHell]

68. Human lives are not a "game" that someone wins. WTF??nt

[firebrand80]

69. Jen Bush says

He wouldn't have negotiated, he would have simply threatened military action.

A. He's lying
B. He has to lie, because the GOP's base is crazy

[tblue37]

71. Idiot RWer Ralph Reed was complaining about the situation on Bill Maher's show last night.

Obama's diplomacy just knocked that leg out from under RWers, too.

[Enthusiast]

103. Idiot weasel RWer Ralph Reed is a miserable fuck.

I'm just saying.

[ZX86]

73. Republican Talking Point

Once again our feckless and weak President in a typical tyrannical power grab has put America in danger by getting prisoners released on foreign soil without firing a shot. This will only embolden Iran and foreign governments negotiate to release more prisoners and hostages and resolve other issues without bloodshed. America is doomed!

[Johnny2X2X]

74. Watch the GOP response

The Republicans have gone off their rockers, this is a good day for our country, and watch them totally lose it the same way they totally lost it when Obama ordered the killing of a Bin Laden.

[spanone]

75. trump just called it 'a total disgrace'.....fuck you donnie

[B Calm]

78. So that's how they are spinning good news. LOL

[malaise]

85. The hacks are in a state of complete and utter confusion

I swear between the ReTHUGs and the hacks I need to puke

[malaise]

79. The Neo-cons are pissed

Who is the lunatic on GEM$NBComcast?

[lunatica]

89. 'disgrace' is his go to word for everything he doesn't like

He has a limited vocabulary which mostly relies on a handful of adjectives. He makes Idiocracy look scarily possible.

[Enthusiast]

104. Yeah! "Shut the fuck up, Donnie!"

[spanone]

108. love that movie.

'i can get you a toe, dude'

'nobody fucks with the jesus'

[Enthusiast]

110. Truly amazing.

I must see it again.

[lunatica]

88. I love diplomacy

I think of diplomacy as a very high and noble calling.

[Enthusiast]

106. War is far more profitable. And then there is oil!

[Uncle Joe]

92. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, malaise.

[Takket]

93. hearing about it just now... this is SO HUGE

The GOP said the nuke deal was a disaster for the US and said Obama abandoned the Americans over there.

Now we have them back, inspectors say the nuke deal is a success............ Obama's foreign policy is proving to be 100% correct. Isn't it amazing when you reach across the table instead of threatening to carpet bomb ever nation on earth just what you can accomplish????????

[malaise]

94. Trump is a disaster

Fugg 'em

[Enthusiast]

95. Anyone ever get the idea the Neo-Cons want to replay the late 1970s hostage crisis?

[malaise]

96. I thought so on Tuesday

[Enthusiast]

107. It was like their greatest moment. That and 9/11.

[malaise]

109. Only in their dreams

[napkinz]

97. I'm with you ... F U neo-cons!

How quickly they forget Reagan illegally sold arms in exchange for release of hostages back in the 80s

[malaise]

98. I remember the Ollie North dolls

Those ReTHUG scumbags were shameless - they celebrated their crimes. And hacks in the media treated them like celebrities.

[joshcryer]

99. Remember when the admin got TRASHED over this?

Holy shit.

[Gothmog]

101. This is great news

Sec. Kerry did a great job

[Siwsan]

102. Amir Hekmati is a Flint home town boy

Congressman Kildee has been relentless in his work to bring Amir home.

[pansypoo53219]

112. i thnk the iranians are purposely dicking the GOP.

[malaise]

117. I too have that feeling

I've had it since Tuesday (wink)!!

[Thespian2]

113. K & R!!!

Neo-cons continue to exhibit their worst characteristics...