RUSH: Here is Ray in Lafayette, Louisiana, as we head back to the phones on Open Line Friday. Welcome, sir.
CALLER: Oh, good morning, Rush. Thank you. Great honor to speak to you.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: You’ve always said in the past, “Follow the money.” The crisis in the Middle East has been backed by Iran financing the unrest. I’m just wondering: How are we going to solve this without our next US leader doing some type of military interaction? I mean, the last time they listened to us was in 1981 when Reagan took office. So to me, the Middle East is Theodore Roosevelt: Speak softly; carry a big stick.
RUSH: What are you specifically advocating or suggesting here, Ray?
CALLER: I don’t see us doing anything with Iran without strong force.
RUSH: You’re speaking specifically of Iran and nukes?
CALLER: Well, they’re gonna get nukes. (chuckles) I’m not saying nuke them.
RUSH: No, no. Is that what you’re talking about, or are you talking about the Middle East at large? Are you talking about Syria, Yemen, what?
CALLER: I’m talking about the entire Middle East. I mean, between Iran financing the Brotherhood in Egypt and Libya, and now with ISIS in Syria, they’ve spread all the way back into Iraq that we spent so much time and money in. I mean, they have financed everything. They’re getting the better value for the $1 they’re spending against us than we’re getting for what $9 billion we spent over there fighting two wars.
RUSH: So I take it you believe that there is a solution to this?
CALLER: No. (chuckles) I wish I had one. (chuckles) I’d run for president.
RUSH: But you think you have the prescription? You think the use of force will be called for by somebody, maybe the next president?
CALLER: Well, I’m sorry. You know, like I said, Theodore Roosevelt: Speak softly; carry big stick.
RUSH: Ray?
CALLER: Or Reagan. When he walked into that office, they ran out the door.
RUSH: Ray? It’s Friday, and everybody wants to get in a good mood for the weekend.
CALLER: (chuckling)
RUSH: I hate to do this to you. I really do. You have to understand. We’re in the business now of appeasing anything that we think is a militant jihadist.
CALLER: I know that. That’s my point.
RUSH: We’re not confronting these people. In fact, Obama is declaring victory and he’s getting out of Afghanistan. He declared victory over ISIS the other day! “We’re moving on. Great economic recovery going, here. Time to go talk to GloZell Green! I don’t need to worry about the Middle East. Yemen? Don’t tell me Yemen. It’s a hellhole anyway. We were never involved in Yemen. Saudi Arabia? Okay, new king. Big whoop.”
That’s our attitude.
Syria?
“Well, we were going to take out Bashar al-Assad, but then we backed out of that when he crossed the red line.” We’re not doing anything. We won’t even call it what it is! We won’t even call it terrorism! I’m talking about as a country: The State Department, president, executive branch. We won’t call it terrorism. We won’t even call it “Islamic extremism.” We’re calling it “extremism in the name of Islam.” I hate to tell you this, Ray, but I don’t detect any official American stance on this that seems aimed at stopping it.
Except maybe at our borders.
But even then.
Look at Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s desperate for the US to lead on eliminating or preventing Iran from getting nukes. Look at you! “Oh, they’ll get them. There’s no question about it.” Isn’t that kind of sad? How many officials of both parties, presidents, senators, members of Congress…? How many people said for the last ten years that they’re hell-bent making sure that Iran never gets nukes? If I’ve heard that once from one leader, I’ve heard it 25 times.
I’ve heard it from Obama. I’ve heard it from senators and congressmen. But now everyone seems resigned to the fact that they’ll get nukes. And some people are even saying, “We don’t have a right to stop them. Who are we to say who gets nukes and who does not?” Now Netanyahu wants to increase/ratchet up sanctions. Obama is telling him to shut up and, “Don’t you dare come to Congress and say that!” If you listen to this Regime, the Obama administration, you would conclude that the real problem in the Middle East is Israel!
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I’ll tell you, not only is Obama setting it up that Israel is the big problem in the Middle East, as we speak Obama is threatening to veto anything Congress might do to try to stop Iran, ever. Now, what are we to make of that? He’s within his power to do so. But what does it mean, policy-wise, that Obama is hell-bent on stopping and vetoing anything Congress might do to reign in or prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons?